Lookouts of the Lincoln

Fire Lookouts

Fire lookouts have been used for over 100 years to spot forest fires.

New Mexico once boasted 92 fire lookout sites. Sixty-nine were located on National Forests across the state, including 16 on the Lincoln National Forest. While not all fire lookouts have withstood the ravages of time, the Lincoln National Forest is fortunate to have nine of the original 16 still standing. Two of the fire lookouts are still used today, the Monjeau and Ruidoso Lookouts. Six of the remaining nine lookouts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1950, firefighters rescued Smokey Bear from the famous Capitan Gap Fire spotted from the Block Lookout, which no longer exists.

Today fires are spotted by aircraft that fly patterns over the forest, looking specifically for wildfires.

View more photos of the Lincoln National Forest Lookouts.

• Monjeau Lookout

  

  Built in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Monjeau Lookout is one of the most exceptional fire lookouts in the southwest. Due to its unique rustic style and amazing views, Monjeau Lookout remains a major tourist destination on the Lincoln National Forest.

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• Ruidoso Lookout

  

  Built in 1940, Ruidoso Lookout is a 30-foot-high steel tower with a 14'x14'wooden cab. It is an Aermotor MI-25 type. This type of lookout is unusual and rare in the Southwestern region, with only one other known, located on the Gila National Forest. Ruidoso Lookout is on the Smoky Bear Ranger District.

  Access to the site is by foot traffic only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Wofford Lookout

  

  Built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Wofford Lookout Complex has a lookout tower, small observer's cabin, and storage shed. The building is a 7'x7' Aermotor MC-39 steel cab that sits on an eighty-foot-high tower. At the base of the tower sits the observer's cabin and storage shed that were both restored in 2012.

  Access to the site is by foot traffic only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• James Ridge Lookout

  

  James Ridge Lookout was formerly the Mayhill Lookout. It is a 7' X 7' steel cab sitting on a 62-foot high steel tower. It is an Aermotor LX-24 type. The lookout was moved to James Ridge on the Sacramento Ranger District in 1967. The lookout has been extensively remodeled since it was moved from its original location.

  Access is by foot only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Weed Lookout

  

  Built in 1926, Weed Lookout is the oldest surviving lookout on the Lincoln National Forest! This early version Aermotor LX-24 lookout is located on the Sacramento Ranger District. Originally it had wooden steps that were replaced in 1966 with metal ones. The site also had a wood cabin that was removed in 1978. Weed Lookout is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  Access is by foot only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Bluewater Lookout

  

  Erected in 1937, the Bluewater Lookout is unique because it's unclear if the 7'x7' cab is an International Derrick type or an Aermotor MC-40 type. The lookout tower was built in 1917 for the U.S. Weather Bureau and eventually sold to the Forest Service in the 1930s. The site also contains two additional structures, the observer's cabin and a storage shed, designed and constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Bluewater Lookout is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  Access to the site is by foot only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Sacramento Lookout

  

  Built in 1968, Sacramento Lookout is a CL-100 type lookout. It is located on the Sacramento Ranger District. Sacramento Lookout is a 14' X 14' cab sitting on a 62-foot high steel tower that was designed to be lived in during the summer months. On clear days you can see all the way to Mexico. Beginning in the 1970s lookouts added their names to the wall to document who was working there over the years.

  You can access the site by road. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Carrisa Lookout

  

  Built in 1934, the Carrisa Lookout is a 7'x7' Aermotor MC-39 cab on an 80-foot-high steel tower. The Carrisa Lookout Complex contains the lookout, observer's cabin, shed and outhouse. Carrisa's Observers cabin and shed were constructed in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The site's structures were restored in 2012. The Carrisa Lookout Complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  Access is by foot only. The cab is closed to the public, but you are welcome to admire the tower from the ground.

• Dark Canyon Lookout

  

  Erected in 1949, Dark Canyon Lookout is the only lookout on the Guadalupe Ranger District. It is an Aermotor MC-99 type 7'x7' cab sitting on a 48-foot-high steel tower. It is one of only two MC-99 type still standing in the Southwest Region. The site had been used for fire detection since 1910, utilizing two tall pine trees with ladders and platforms. Dark Canyon Lookout was surplused from the U.S. Army. The original tower height was 90 feet, but lookouts only used the first 48 feet. Next to the lookout are an observer's cabin and shed. Both were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s.

Forest Fire Lookout Association

The Forest Fire Lookout Association, founded in 1990, is dedicated to the research of current and former forest fire lookout sites, ground cabins, and early forest fire detection methods. They have chapters in every state and maintain the National Fire Lookout Registry. These registries show the desire to preserve lookout history and heritage and mark the locations of many historic lookouts that have been restored. Many of these landmark lookouts are being operated once again, this time by volunteers, showing that their existence is valuable.