FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Washburn County, Wisconsin

Five Mile Lookout

Washburn County, WI tower built August 1932; NHLR-registered 2017 as a standing 84-ft tower, but the FFLOS Wisconsin list marks it gone; the sources disagree and no site description found.

Status unknown: We do not know yet whether it still stands. FFLOS Wisconsin list marks the tower Gone; the 2017 NHLR entry describes it in the present tense as an 84-foot tower. The sources disagree and no source records its removal

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Status unknown sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower84-foot Wisconsin standard tower with external protected ladderThe design: Wisconsin standard tower
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1932
Height
84 ft (25.6 m)
Elevation
1,113 ft (339 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Washburn County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
46.10737, −92.02858
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-five-mile

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1932 BuiltBuilt August 1932 per NHLR Built fieldSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1932 and 2017
  3. 2017 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 28, 2017 as US 1242, WI 37; nominated by Tyler BormannSource: nhlr.org
  4. TodayStatus unknownWe do not know whether it still stands.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Five Mile Lookout is in Washburn County, Wisconsin, at 1,113 feet.1 The register lists the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as the agency that administers it.1

The register dates the tower to August 1932.1 The register gives it as an 84-foot tower of the Wisconsin standard design, with a protected ladder on the outside.1 The register listed it on August 28, 2017, on the nomination of Tyler Bormann.1

The name is shared with the Five Mile Tower Fire, a wildfire that started on the afternoon of April 30, 1977, and burned over 13,000 acres across Washburn and Douglas counties.2

The register describes the tower in the present tense.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Wisconsin list marks the same tower as gone.3 The two sources disagree on whether it still stands.1,3

No source we read describes the site today or whether visitors may go there.1,3

  1. Five Mile Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/five-mile-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. What A 1977 Inferno In The North Woods Left In Its Wake, PBS Wisconsin, https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/what-a-1977-inferno-in-the-north-woods-left-in-its-wake/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Wisconsin Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Five Mile Lookout
Photo: Brian Ziegler, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • Firefinder research: Status unknown
    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing

    Research (2026-10-10) gives unknown where the source records give gone. The page shows the researched status; please tell us if it is wrong.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.