FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Langlade County, Wisconsin

Villas Lookout

Also known as Vilas

1936 100-ft Aermotor tower in Langlade County, Wisconsin, administered by the state DNR; NHLR-registered 2017; listed standing; no staffing or access sources found.

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 tower100-foot Aermotor tower with inside corner ladderThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1936
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,703 ft (519 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Langlade County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
45.23684, −89.30795
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-villas

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 3.7 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. 1936 BuiltNHLR says built in October 1936Source: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1936 and 2017
  3. 2017 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 16, 2017 as US 1226, WI 30Source: nhlr.org
  4. 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.

The Villas Lookout stands in Langlade County, Wisconsin, and the Register lists the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as its administrator.1 The Register lists it as a 100-foot Aermotor with a ladder set in an inside corner, and dates its construction to October 1936.1 The Register spells the name Villas, while the statewide list and OpenStreetMap both use Vilas.1,2,3

The statewide list shows the tower as standing under the Register's number, US 1226, WI 30.2 The Register gives the elevation as 1,703 feet (519 m) and says it was registered on August 16, 2017. OpenStreetMap places its node at the same coordinates and gives 506 metres, so the two differ by about 13 metres.1,3

The Register does not describe staffing, fire work or the lookouts who served here.1 WJFW reports that the 72 towers still in use were taken out of service in 2015, and a Door County Pulse article says the DNR sought new owners for decommissioned towers.4,5 The Register does not say whether Villas was among them or what has happened to it since.1

I found no readable source on public access, climbing or rental. Before planning a visit, check with the DNR, and do not climb the tower without permission.

  1. Villas Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/villas-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Wisconsin Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Vilas Lookout Tower, OpenStreetMap, https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/353894099 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. 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). ↩
  5. DNR Decommissioning All Wisconsin Fire Towers, Door County Pulse, https://doorcountypulse.com/dnr-decommissioning-wisconsin-fire-towers/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

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

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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.