North Carolina Lookout Tower Challenge
The Lookout Tower Challenge (LTC) is a program that challenges hikers to reach 24 lookout towers in Western North Carolina put on by the Carolina Mountain Club. I love fire towers, they have fascinated me since my first steps up Wesser Bald on the Appalachian Trail. Providing amazing views and sometimes places to sleep for a night, it's always rewarding when I get to the top of a mountain and see a tower. They have so much history, it's a shame there aren't a few more of them, one on the top of Roan Mountain would be pretty sweet! Anyway, the Carolina Mountain Club gives out a patch to those that complete this challenge. This should be fun!
Below is a list of all the fire and lookout towers that are apart of the challenge and their relative location. Those marked in red, I've seen! Click on a picture further down to read about the hike and how to get there yourself.
Below is a list of all the fire and lookout towers that are apart of the challenge and their relative location. Those marked in red, I've seen! Click on a picture further down to read about the hike and how to get there yourself.
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Nantahala National Forest
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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Central NC Highlands
Blue Ridge and Black Mountains
Northwestern North Carolina
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Rules:
(Information on this page was taken from Carolina Mountain Club website) |
Albert Mountain
Located right on the Appalachian Trail, this tower lives in thru hiker infamy. Northbounders face a brutal hand over hand climb to get to the structure that leaves all strained and exhausted! Fantastic views from atop span 3 states. This tower is also accessible by road for the less daring.
Camp Creek Bald
Located on the Appalachian Trail, this tower is pretty dilapidated and was closed in 2012 when I went by it. Definitely not the prettiest structure out there, I do like it's circular shape though. There are also other electronic towers nearby that disturb any tranquility.
Flat Top Mountain
Located off the Blue Ridge Parkway at MM 293 and just north of Blowing Rock, NC, this fire tower sits in Moses Cone Memorial Park as a replacement for a wooden structure that once stood here. This 40ft. structure was built in 1954.
Green Knob
Built in 1931, Green Knob provides a stunning look at Mt. Mitchell and a ridge line of 6000' peaks. This 21ft. tower is located off the BRP near MM 350. It's cab can be slept in, but does flood during rain (warning!)
Moore's Knob
Located in Hanging Rock State Park, the stone fire tower, which replaced a steel structure from the 1930's, was damaged in a hurricane and decommissioned. It's one of the most visited towers yearly.
Mount Noble
Located in the Cherokee Indian Reservation near the GSMNP, this 60ft tower replaced the wooden structure that stood previous to 1957. Views of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee are had by those daring enough to climb to the top!
Rich Mountain
Built in 1932, this 30ft. tower was staffed until the earth 1990's for fire detection. Located just outside of Hot Springs, NC and right off the Appalachian Trail, this is a popular hiking destination. Access to the catwalk and cab provide hikers with excellent views and a place to camp for the extra adventurous!
Wayah Bald
Located along the Appalachian Trail (and a terminus for the Bartram Trail) this stone structure once stood over 50ft tall. Not long after it was built (1930's), it was shortened and converted into a public lookout tower. Tremendous views of the Nanatahala National Forest can be had from the top!
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Barnett Knob
Located inn the Cherokee Indian Reservation, this lookout is just a half mile off of the Blue Ridge Parkway and overlooks both Cherokee, NC and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Built in 1932 by the CCC, this 60 ft. tower was manned for fire detection until 2004.
Clingmans Dome
At 6,643 ft., Clingmans Dome stands as the highest peak in the GSMNP, the state of Tennessee, as well as on the entire 2,100+ mile Appalachian Trail. It receives over 4 million visitors each year. A 375 ft. ramp leads to the top of the 45 ft. tower for the most all-encompassing view of the wild and rugged Great Smoky Mountains.
Fryingpan Mountain
Built in 1941, this 70ft. structure is located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway near mile marker 410. Though the cab is locked, successfully climbing to the top of this behemoth provides awesome views of Cold Mountain, Looking Glass Rock, the BRP, Mt. Pisgah and more!
Little Snowball
Originally located on top of Little Snowball Mountain, this tower was deconstructed, held in a garage, then rebuilt in the adjacent community of Big Ivy for historical purposes. It's the only tower that doesn't require a hike for access and completion of the LTC.
Mount Cammerer
Mt. Cammerer lookout tower is perched perilously on a rocky promontory at the eastern edge of the GSMNP. An octagonal stone lookout house, completed in 1939 by the CCC, has become one of the most endearing symbols of the Great Smokies following its 1995 restoration and is probably my favorite of them all!
Mount Mithchell
Sitting on top of the tallest mountain in the East, this stone lookout was built in 2008. Easily accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway near mile marker 355.
Mount Sterling
Built in 1935 by the CCC, this 60 ft. steel tower stands at the highest elevation of any true fire tower remaining in the eastern United States. A backcountry campsite located at the tower base offers hardy backpackers a chance to enjoy sunrises and sunsets from the top of the 5,842 ft. summit.
Shuckstack Mountain
Constructed in 1934, this tower is the first landmark AT hikers get when going through the GSMNP. Overlooking Fontana Dam, Fontana Lake and the GSMNP, Shuckstack provides some tremendous views. At 60ft, this is one of the tallest remaining fire towers in North Carolina.
Wesser Bald
The original 30ft. tower was built in 1936 but suffered considerable arson damage in 1979. This observation deck was built in the early 1990's by the USFS. The original tower housed Earl Shaffer on his epic 1948 AT thru hike!
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