FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Clark County, Wisconsin

Twin Mound Lookout

Early-1930s 82-ft Wisconsin standard tower in Clark County; staffed intermittently until the state's 2015 decommissioning; NHLR-registered 2018; listed standing.

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
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower82-foot Wisconsin standard tower with external cage-protected ladderThe design: Wisconsin standard tower
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1932
Height
82 ft (25.0 m)
Elevation
1,305 ft (398 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Clark County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
44.58143, −90.89495
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-twin-mound

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 3.4 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

  1. 1932 BuiltBuilt by May 1932: a Post-Crescent item quoted on Forest Lookouts lists Twin Mounds in district 10 as already completed; NHLR says early 1930sSources: nhlr.org, centraluslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 EventNHLR cites National Geodetic Survey notes from 1934 that show a fire tower at the siteSource: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1934 and 2015
  4. 2015 ClosedWisconsin decommissioned its lookout network; the 72 towers still in use were decommissioned; DNR sought new owners and said unsold towers would be torn downSources: nhlr.org, wjfw.com, doorcountypulse.com
  5. 2015 Last staffedStaffed intermittently during spring fire season until 2015Source: nhlr.org
  6. 2018 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered February 4, 2018 as US 1267, WI 48Source: nhlr.org
  7. 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 (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Twin Mound Lookout sits in Clark County, Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is listed as its administrator.1 The Register dates the tower to the early 1930s. It describes an 82-foot Wisconsin standard design with a ladder protected by an external cage.1

The earliest dated mention I could check is a May 1932 newspaper item, quoted on a Forest Lookouts page, that lists "Twin Mounds" in district 10 among the towers already completed.2 The Forest Lookouts page files that item under Clark County, which fits this site.2 The Register also points to 1934 National Geodetic Survey notes that place a fire tower on the site by then.1

According to the Register, the site had part-time staffing during the spring fire season until 2015, when the state ended its lookout network.1 A WJFW feature says Wisconsin took its 72 remaining towers out of service in 2015.3 A Door County Pulse article says the DNR had settled on decommissioning all 72 towers and was looking for new owners. Towers left unsold would be torn down.4

The Register lists the tower as US 1267, WI 48, registered on February 4, 2018, at an elevation of 1,305 feet (398 m).1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's statewide list still shows the tower as standing.5

I found no readable source on whether the tower is open to visitors, has been sold or rented since 2015, or can be climbed. Before planning a visit, ask the DNR, and do not climb the tower without permission.

  1. Twin Mound Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/twin-mound-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Wisconsin, Forest Lookouts, https://centraluslookouts.weebly.com/wisconsin.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Connecting the dots: the fire towers of Wisconsin, WJFW, https://www.wjfw.com/news/connecting-the-dots-the-fire-towers-of-wisconsin/article_fd447056-4b4e-11ed-b245-cf384385e71f.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. DNR Decommissioning All Wisconsin Fire Towers, Door County Pulse, https://doorcountypulse.com/dnr-decommissioning-wisconsin-fire-towers/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Wisconsin Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Twin Mound 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.

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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. 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.