Fire lookout · Washington County, Wisconsin
Little Switzerland Lookout
93-foot tower on the Little Switzerland ski hill in Slinger, Wisconsin; NHLR says built and moved 1935 (a 2019 Journal Sentinel article gives the same move year), registered 2019; FFLOS lists it standing. No staffing found; climbing access is not stated for this tower.
- Standing
- Access unknown
- Verified
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
- Type
- Cab on a tower93-foot tower, most likely an Aermotor LS-40 with an internal stairwayThe design: Aermotor LS-40
- Built of
- Not recorded
- Built
- 1935
- Height
- 93 ft (28.3 m)
- Elevation
- 1,223 ft (373 m)
- Agency
- Little Switzerland Ski Hill
- Land
- Unknown
- Location
- Washington County, Wisconsin
- Coordinates
- 43.33639, −88.27739
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-wi-little-switzerland
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.
Downloads about 4.1 MB of terrain data the first time.
Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.
History
Then and now
- 1935 BuiltNHLR build year; says the tower was built by the Wisconsin Conservation Corps and moved to this location in 1935. A 2019 Journal Sentinel article gives the same move year (cite 4). The move date predates the ski hill's December 7, 1941 establishment, and no source read says where the tower stood before it moved.Sources: nhlr.org, clemsonwire.usatoday.com
- 1941 EventLittle Switzerland ski hill established December 7, 1941 (site context; the sources read do not tie the tower to this date)Sources: en.wikipedia.org, thetowerheritagecenter.org
- No record between 1941 and 2019
- 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 14, 2019 as US 1295, WI 55; nominated by Brecken YoungSource: nhlr.org
- TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.
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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
The Little Switzerland Lookout is a 93-foot tower standing on the Little Switzerland ski hill in Slinger, Washington County, Wisconsin.1,2
According to the National Historic Lookout Register, the tower was built by the Wisconsin Conservation Corps and moved to its present site in 1935.1 The Register thinks it is most likely an Aermotor LS-40 and says it has an internal stairway.1
A Tower Heritage Center article says motorcycle races ran on the hill from 1938 to 1940, before the ski hill was established on December 7, 1941.3 Wikipedia gives December 7, 1941 as the opening date.2 A 2019 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article also gives 1935 as the move year.4 That is before the ski hill was established, and no source read says where the tower stood before it moved, so the date is worth checking before anyone repeats it.1
The sources read say nothing about who staffed the tower or what fires it watched.
Firelookout's Wisconsin list still shows the tower as standing.5 Its original owners ran the ski area until March 10, 2007.2 After a full remodel in 2012, new owners reopened it that fall as a year-round restaurant with winter skiing.2
The Register names Little Switzerland Ski Hill as the tower's administrator.1 A 2019 Journal Sentinel article calls the Mountain Fire Lookout Tower the only Wisconsin fire tower open to the general public for climbing and says nothing about climbing at this one, so anyone who wants to see this tower up close should ask the ski hill first.4
- Little Switzerland Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/little-switzerland-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Little Switzerland (Wisconsin), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Switzerland_(Wisconsin) (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- 5 Snowy Winter Stories from Washington County's Early History, The Tower Heritage Center, https://www.thetowerheritagecenter.org/5-snowy-winter-stories-from-washington-countys-early-history/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- These Wisconsin fire towers are still standing, and you can climb at least one, Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (syndicated at clemsonwire.usatoday.com), August 29, 2019, https://clemsonwire.usatoday.com/story/travel/wisconsin/day-out/2019/08/29/wisconsin-fire-towers-mountain-fire-lookout/2083791001/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Wisconsin Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/wi-co/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
Photos
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Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- central US (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site) Gave us: links centraluslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
- 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
- NHLR register entry US 1295 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- NHLR register entry (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- Little Switzerland (Wisconsin) (Wikipedia) (opens another site)
- 5 Snowy Winter Stories from Washington County's Early History (The Tower Heritage Center) (opens another site)
- Wisconsin Lookouts (by County) (Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org)) (opens another site)
- These Wisconsin fire towers are still standing, and you can climb at least one (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (syndicated at clemsonwire.usatoday.com)) (opens another site)
- FFLA Wisconsin lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Little Switzerland (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.