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Fire lookout · Hardy County, West Virginia

Big Ridge Fire Tower

Also known as Big Ridge (Cranny Crow)

A 1935 Aermotor tower in Lost River State Park, WV; its lower stairs have been removed, and a parks foundation campaign aims to restore it for visitors.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Inside Lost River State Park and reached on foot. A parks foundation campaign aims to make the tower available to park visitors, which suggests it is not open to them now.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Hike from a gravel lot just across the state line on U.S. Route 33 (travel blog gives 2.6 miles round trip). A 2021 register visit comment says 4 miles.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor 7x7 ft cab on an 80 ft towerThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1935
Height
80 ft (24.4 m)
Elevation
3,211 ft (979 m)
Agency
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Land
State land
Location
Hardy County, West Virginia
Coordinates
38.91399, −78.89530
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-big-ridge

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 3.2 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. 1935 BuiltErected by the West Virginia Division of Forestry as an Aermotor 7x7 tower on an 80 ft structureSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1935 and 2010
  3. 2010 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered December 7, 2010 as US 893, WV 8; nominated by Robert BeanblossomSource: nhlr.org
  4. 2021 Condition assessmentVisit report dated September 12, 2021: lower two flights of stairs removed; tower would take work to get back in shapeSource: nhlr.org
  5. 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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Big Ridge Fire Tower stands in Lost River State Park in Hardy County, West Virginia, and some lists call it Cranny Crow.1,2 The West Virginia Division of Forestry erected it in 1935 as an Aermotor tower about 80 feet tall, topped with a 7-by-7-foot cab.1,3 A state parks campaign describes it as a CCC-era tower.4

The National Historic Lookout Register added it on December 7, 2010, as US 893, WV 8, with Robert Beanblossom as nominator.1 I found no record of when the tower was last staffed.

Its condition has slipped. A visitor's report dated September 12, 2021, says the lower two flights of stairs had been removed and that the tower would take work to get back in shape, though the visitor noted it still had plenty of glass.1 A travel blog says the bottom stairs are gone, which rules out climbing.5

Visitors reach the tower on foot.1,5 The 2021 report describes a four-mile hike, while the travel blog gives 2.6 miles round trip from a gravel lot just across the state line on U.S. Route 33, so the distance is unclear.1,5 The state parks foundation is campaigning to restore the tower and make it available to park visitors, which suggests it is closed to them for now.4

Please check with the park before going, and do not try to climb the tower.

  1. Big Ridge Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wv/big-ridge-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. West Virginia lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wv/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Big Ridge, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/big-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Save Big Ridge Tower at Lost River State Park, West Virginia State Parks Foundation, https://www.lovewvstateparks.com/special-project/save-big-ridge-tower-at-lost-river-state-park/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. 11 West Virginia Fire Towers With Incredible Mountain Views, Unearth the Voyage, https://unearththevoyage.com/11-west-virginia-fire-towers-with-incredible-mountain-views/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
September 2021 photo
September 2021 photo (2021)Photo: Talan Schoonover, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Ridge Fire Tower
Photo: 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, 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: what it is built of, design, height, ownership, links easternuslookouts.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
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, visiting details, 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.