Type: 92′ steel Aermotor tower
Status: Staffed in summer
Elevation: 6,850 feet
Visited: September 15, 2024
I visited Tower Mountain on an overcast September day.
I was fortunate to meet the lookout, Mike, during my visit and we had a nice chat. The broad summit area is forested, hence the need for a 92-foot-tall tower:
This is the cabin where Mike sleeps and cooks:
Outhouse:
The tall tower with is many steps:
Repeater:
Mike unloaded groceries while I looked around, and told me it was okay to go up the stairs:
Due to the cold windy weather I didn’t go all the way up. Not much point on this cloudy day anyway.
Looking north:
Looking east:
The cabin and outhouse:
Looking south:
Looking west:
More information
Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
National Historic Lookout Register
Peakbagger
Panorama Photos
History
The first structure on Tower Mountain was a 60 foot pole tower topped with a 6×6 foot cab that was built in the 1920s. At the time this spot was known as Lookout Mountain, but there was another Lookout Mountain 66 miles to the northeast, so the name was changed to Tower Mountain.
That first tower was replaced by a 92 foot Aermotor steel tower in 1935, which still stands today. The living quarters cabin burned down in 1947. In 1949 the Forest Service removed the cabin at Lucky Strike lookout 17 miles to the northwest and relocated it to Tower Mountain, where it still stands.
1957