The Mountain Fire Lookout Tower is a 100-foot steel tower with a 7-by-7 foot cab. It is one of the few remaining lookouts on the east side of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Of the original 14 fire lookout towers located in the former Nicolet National Forest, it is the only tower open for visitors to climb to the top.
The tower is open May 1 to November 1, weather permitting. Site hours are 8:00am 'til sunset.
The Mountain Fire Lookout Tower was built in 1935 by the U.S. Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Fire Tower is on the National Historic Lookout Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The tower was taken out of service in 1970. It was restored in 1994 and again in 2015-2016.
The area around the tower was hit hard by the July 2019 deracho. Hundreds of thousands of trees were leveled or twisted by 100-mph winds. Dozens of homes and cottages were damaged. More than 50,000 customers lost power and it was out for days. The damage path was about 60 miles long and up to 10 miles wide at times.
Special thanks to Sammy from Oconto County Tourism for sharing the awesome photos for the cache page!
You need to climb the tower to appreciate what makes this place special. The terrain rating reflects that.
To log this virtual cache you must send me the answers to the following questions before logging your find.
1. How many intact spindles are part of the wooden railing inside the "cab" at the top of the tower? (Do not count the 4"x4" posts)
2. How many locks are on the trap door in the roof?
3. Post a picture of yourself, someone in your group or a personal item in the cab at the top of the tower with your Found It log. Faces are not required to be in the photo.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.