Lookout Tower Challenge (LTC)

Nanatahala National Forest

Mileages are listed one way; double the distance for round trip length.  Various routes are listed, depending on the hiker’s desire as to length of trip. Many can be incorporated into loops or shuttle hikes. Any of the routes are acceptable to meet the Challenge requirement. For some towers, other routes are possible but must meet mileage requirements. Check with the Lookout Tower Challenge Coordinator to confirm other routes in question.

LOOKOUT TOWERS:

Wayah Bald
Panther Top
Joanna Bald
Albert Mountain
Wesser Bald
Cowee Bald
Yellow Mountain

Wayah Bald

Situated along both the Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail, Wayah Bald was built by the CCC in the 1930s. Once a 53-foot tall, three story stone lookout, faulty mortar led to its decommissioning in the 1940s. Later, the USFS removed half of its structure for conversion to a public observation tower. Wayah Bald features breathtaking views of the entire Nantahala National Forest and extends to the Great Smoky, Unicoi, and Great Balsam mountain ranges as well as into Georgia.

Appalachian Trail via Wine Spring Bald access trail from FS 69B (1.5)
Appalachian Trail from Wilson Lick Ranger Station (3.2)
Appalachian Trail from Wayah Gap at Wayah Crest Picnic Area (4.2)
Appalachian Trail from Burningtown Gap (4.5)
Bartram Trail From Nantahala Lake (7.3)
Bartram Trail From FS 713 at Harrison Gap (5.3)

Panther Top

A 30 ft. live-in USFS lookout, Panther Top is the western most NC fire tower and sits perched on a peninsula jutting out into the Hiwassee Lake. Built in 1940 by the CCC, its road accessing the summit is opened for vehicular access for several weekends each autumn by the Tusquitee District of the Nantahala National Forest. The tower features a stone monument underneath the tower commemorating its listing in the National Historic Lookout Register. Panther Top was staffed by the USFS until 1971 and then periodically by the NCFS thereafter.

FS 85 Access Road (0.75)

Joanna Bald

Rising high between Andrews and Robbinsville at the crest of the Snowbird Mountains, Joanna Bald is a 31ft. live-in lookout built in 1952 which replaced a wooden lookout house with a cupola. Staffed through the early 2000s, its use for fire detection ceased due to state budget cuts. This lookout was staffed by FFLA member Marshall McClung during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Joanna Bald features spectacular views of the Nantahala, Snowbird, Unicoi, and Cheoah Mountains.

Joanna Bald FS 423B Access Road (0.6)

Albert Mountain

Albert Mountain took over fire detection duties from the lookout house on nearby Standing Indian Mountain on the opposite rim of the Nantahala River Basin in 1951. Built to compliment a lookout cabin on the summit, it also replaced a wooden lookout tower one half mile north on the peak of Big Pinnacle Mountain. It overlooks the deep Nantahala River Basin to the west and the steep sloped Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory to the east. Over 10 other current or former lookout tower summits are visible from this tower. Its views also extend into Georgia as well as the Great Smoky Mountains. Located directly on the Appalachian Trail, one route to this tower features a brutally steep, hand-over-hand climb up abrupt slopes that lives in infamy among AT thru-hikers.

Bearpen Trail & AT (2.9)
Albert Mountain Access Trail & AT (0.5)
Albert Mountain Short Loop /w FS 69 (1.0)
AT From Mooney Gap (2.5)

Wesser Bald

Built 1936 by the CCC, this 30 ft. former live-in lookout on the Appalachian Trail offers stunning views of the Nantahala, Snowbird, Unicoi, and Great Smoky Mountains while hovering just above the canyon-like southern rim of the Nantahala River Gorge. Most are unaware of Wesser Bald’s significance in revitalizing the Appalachian Trail when first ever thru-hiker Earl Shaffer spent the night in the tower during his 1948 epic journey. In awe of his quest, the tower watchman radioed ahead to lookouts further north on the trail and word eventually spread into trail towns and into the media. Becoming overgrown and forgotten during a post-World War II slump, the AT gained national popularity after word of Shaffer’s hike got out from the Wesser Bald lookout. The live-in cab was destroyed by arson in 1979 and replaced in the early 1990s by the USFS with an observation deck for hikers.

AT From Tellico Gap (1.9)
Old Jeep Road from Tellico Gap (0.9)
AT from Nantahala Gorge (6.5)
Wesser Creek Trail (4.3)

Cowee Bald

Steeped in Native American and pioneer history, the summit of Cowee Bald hosts another 30 ft. live-in USFS lookout tower. Built in 1933 by the CCC at the crest of the Cowee Mountains, it overlooks the Macon County seat of Franklin with superb views of the Nantahala, Great Smoky, Plott Balsam, and Great Balsam Mountains. Used for fire detection through the mid-1990s, Cowee Bald lookout also overlooks the nearby Big Laurel, a peculiar high altitude “hanging valley”. Accessible within a half mile by vehicle, Cowee Bald shares the summit with numerous other communication and meteorological towers.

FS 70 Access Road (0.5)

Yellow Mountain

Atop the highest peak in the Cowee Mountains, this 1934 CCC-built stone lookout house is among only two of its kind remaining in the southeastern United States. Staffed until 1969, Yellow Mountain lookout tower fell into disrepair until the mid-1980s when USFS employee Ron Carnes led a restoration effort to rehabilitate the tower to its former condition. Its central location among mountain ranges enables a spectacular vantage point of the Great Smoky Mountains, Plott Balsams, Cowees, Nantahalas, and Great Balsams as well as into the Georgia and South Carolina high country. Reach it by hiking the Yellow Mountain Trail starting near the quaint town of Highlands.

Yellow Mountain Trail (6.3)

Great Smoky Mountains & Vicinity

Mileages are listed one way; double the distance for round trip length.  Various routes are listed, depending on the hiker’s desire as to length of trip. Many can be incorporated into loops or shuttle hikes. Any of the routes are acceptable to meet the Challenge requirement. For some towers, other routes are possible but must meet mileage requirements. Check with Lookout Tower Challenge Coordinator to confirm other routes in question.

Lookout Towers

Shuckstack
Kuwohi
Mount Cammerer
Mount Sterling
Barnett Knob
Mount Noble

Shuckstack

A Public Works Administration effort completed in 1934, the Shuckstack lookout tower had a bird’s eye view of the start to finish construction of Fontana Dam, just 2 miles south, from 1941 to 1944. The tallest dam in the eastern United States was finished in just three years using work shifts encompassing 24 hours per day as a war effort project during World War II. Shuckstack also witnessed the subsequent flooding of the Little Tennessee River and creation of the 35 mile long Fontana Lake – one of the most dramatic landscape changes ever seen in western North Carolina. Incorporated into the route of the Appalachian Trail in 1946-47, Shuckstack offers the first glimpse of the massive Great Smoky Mountains range soon to be traversed for northbound thru-hikers. Standing 60 ft. tall, this steel tower has suffered grave structural deterioration and is in desperate need of restoration.

AT from Fontana Dam (3.5)
Twentymile Creek Trail (5.5)
Lakeshore & Lost Cove Trail (8.5)
Lakeshore & AT Loop (12.0)

Kuwohi

At 6,643 ft., Kuwohi stands as the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the state of Tennessee, as well as on the entire 2,100+ mile Appalachian Trail. An abstract concrete observation tower crowns the summit after replacing an earlier wooden surveyor tower in the 1920s and a wooden observation tower in the 1930s. Built in 1959 as part of the National Park Service “Mission 66” initiative, Kuwohi receives over 4 million visitors each year, the highest among all state high points. 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.

Clingmans Dome Summit Trail (0.5)
Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail (1.0)
Clingmans Dome Summit Loop (1.5)
AT From Collins Gap (1.7)

Mount Cammerer

More resembling a lighthouse or castle turret, Mt. Cammerer lookout tower is perched perilously on a rocky promontory at the eastern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains range. 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. Two decades of deterioration followed its decommissioning in the 1970s until a restoration effort restored it to its former glory in the 1990s. The project was the first undertaking of the group that soon became the Friends of the Smokies, the national park’s leading fundraising organization. Formerly known as White Rock, Mt. Cammerer is often debated as the best view in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is located just a half mile off of the Appalachian Trail.

Low Gap Trail & AT (5.6)
Big Creek Loop (16.9)
Lower Cammerer Loop (15.0)
AT from Davenport Gap (5.2)

Mount Sterling

Another CCC lookout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this 60 ft. steel tower stands at the highest elevation of any true fire tower remaining in the eastern United States. Built in 1935, the tower overlooks the Cataloochee Valley, the location of the recent reintroduction of elk to western North Carolina. Known as the Devil’s Bedchamber to early Cherokee hunters, Mt. Sterling can be reached with a three mile hike via its former jeep access road or a six mile epic ascent on the Baxter Creek Trail, debated as the most strenuous and demanding trails in the southeast. Because of a backcountry campsite located at the tower base, hardy backpackers can enjoy the sunrises and sunsets from the top of the tower following a night camped atop the 5,842 ft. summit. Mt. Sterling lookout boasts the highest elevation of any remaining true fire lookout in the eastern United States.

Mt. Sterling Trail (2.7)
Baxter Creek Trail (6.1)
Pretty Hollow Gap & Mt. Sterling Ridge Trails (7.4)

Barnett Knob

Another fire tower on 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 staffed for fire detection until 2004. The lookout and its breathtaking views of the Plott Balsams and the Great Smoky Mountains may be incorporated into the 700 mile North Carolina Mountains-To-Sea Trail in the future. Accompanied by a watchman’s cabin, Barnett Knob is reached with just a half mile hike off of the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Maggie Valley.

Barnett Fire Tower Access Road (0.6)

Mount Noble

Mount Noble Lookout Tower is in the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC. The route to the summit, the Fire Tower Trail, is part of the new Fire Mountain Trail System. The trailhead is located at 160 Indian Village Road, about 100 yards from the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee and shares a parking lot. Total distance is 5.1 miles, including 1600’ of climb.

Fire Tower trail (2.5)

Central NC Highlands

Milages are listed one way; double the distance for round trip length.  Various routes are listed, depending on the hiker’s desire as to length of trip. Many can be incorporated into loops or shuttle hikes. Any of the routes are acceptable to meet the Challenge requirement. For some towers, other routes are possible but must meet mileage requirements. Check with the Lookout Tower Challenge Coordinator to confirm other routes in question.

LOOKOUT TOWERS:

Rich Mountain
Camp Creek Bald

Rich Mountain

Just off of the Appalachian Trail, the Rich Mountain lookout tower was used for fire detection through the 1980s. Built by the USFS in 1932 straddling the NC/TN state line, a 30 ft. live-in tower overlooks the quaint mountain town of Hot Springs, NC where the Appalachian Trail shares the sidewalk as it passes through downtown. Amazing views of the Bald and Black Mountains, including the east’s tallest Mt. Mitchell, are seen from this lookout.

AT from Tanyard Gap (2.6)
AT From Hurricane Gap (1.1)
Roundtop Ridge Trail (4.3)
Roundtop Ridge/AT Loop (11.6)

Camp Creek Bald

North Carolina’s oldest remaining lookout, Camp Creek Bald was built in 1928 with a standard square live-in cab supported by a 21 ft. steel tower. Prior to replacement with a proprietary circular live-in cab in the 1960s, this tower – like Wesser Bald, hosted Earl Shaffer for a night during his first ever 1948 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Once threatened by a ski resort development gone bust, this lookout offers views of Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains as well as the Highlands of Roan.

Camp Creek Bald Jeep Road (0.8)
AT from Jones Meadow (1.3)
Hickey Fork & Pounding Mill Trails (5.5)
White Oak Flats Trail (6.4)

Blue Ridge & Black Mountains

Mileages are listed one way; double the distance for round trip length.  Various routes are listed, depending on the hiker’s desire as to length of trip. Many can be incorporated into loops or shuttle hikes. Any of the routes are acceptable to meet the Challenge requirement. For some towers, other routes are possible but must meet mileage requirements. Check with the Lookout Tower Challenge Coordinator to confirm other routes in question.

LOOKOUT TOWERS:

Fryingpan Mountain
Bearwallow Mountain
Little Snowball
Mt. Mitchell
Green Knob

Fryingpan Mountain

An easy hike off of the Blue Ridge Parkway or from the Pisgah Inn, Fryingpan Mountain is the tallest USFS lookout tower in western North Carolina at 70 ft. tall. Built in 1941 and supporting a steel live-in cab, this tower features the most stunning view of nearby Cold Mountain than anywhere else in the area. Its views of Mt. Pisgah, the Shining Rock Wilderness, the Cradle of Forestry, the Pisgah National Forest, and distant Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains are equally impressive.

FS 450 Access Road (0.7)
Big Bald/Fryingpan Mountain Trail from Pisgah Campground (1.6)

Bearwallow Mountain

Built in 1934 and standing 47 ft. tall, the steel Bearwallow Mountain lookout tower straddles the Eastern Continental Divide in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains range. It hovers above a scenic bald mountaintop which features panoramic views of the city lights of both Asheville and Hendersonville as well as the deep Hickorynut Gorge and Lake Lure. The Great Balsam, Craggy, and Black Mountains are all visible from its perch. Reached by a mile hike on its access road, the mountain’s central location among North Carolina’s highest ranges offers the opportunity to identify a seemingly innumerable amount of nearby and distant peaks.

Bearwallow Mountain Trail (1.0)

Little Snowball

Little Snowball is perhaps one of the most fascinating lookout stories in western NC. Built by the Big Ivy CCC camp in 1934, this 21 ft. live-in fire tower stood on a spur of the Great Craggy Mountains, north of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Staffed by only two tower operators until its use for fire detection ceased in 1980, it was earmarked for removal and schedule for demolition. Local resident Lloyd Allen, who grew up in the Big Ivy community below and had fond childhood memories of the tower, bid $300 for the lookout and spent the next year dismantling it by hand. After sitting in storage for over a quarter decade, Little Snowball was re-erected and restored on the Big Ivy Historical Campus in 2006, the site of the CCC camp that built it and in the valley that it once protected. Today, it stands as the most historically complete lookout tower remaining in western NC

Big Ivy Historical Campus – This tower must be driven and does not have a trail. Douglas Falls is nearby; Craggy Gardens is nearby and is the location of the Little Snowball Trail, which is also required for the challenge.

Little Snowball Trail (3.6)

Mt. Mitchell

The summit of Mt. Mitchell boasts a more extensive history than any other southern Appalachian peak. At 6,684 ft., Mitchell’s Peak is the highest mountain in the eastern United States. Preceded by four different lookout towers, the squat stone observation tower atop Mt. Mitchell was replaced in 2009 with an observation platform that is handicap accessible through the use of a long ramp. The panorama from the tower is 360 degrees.

Old Mitchell Trail (2.0)
Mt. Mitchell Trail from Black Mountain Campground (6.1)
Black Mountains Crest Trail From Bowlens Creek (12.0)

Green Knob

The Green Knob lookout boasts the best viewing point of the rugged and tall Black Mountains range, including Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina?s highest peak. Accessible by a half mile trail from the Blue Ridge Parkway, or for a hardier workout – a grueling 3 mile ascent from the Black Mountain campground, 5,000 ft. Green Knob hosts a 21 ft. former live-in lookout tower built by the USFS in 1931. Staffed through the late 1970s, Green Knob was restored in the 1990s but has again suffered deterioration and desperately needs additional rehabilitation. Straddling the Eastern Continental Divide, the tower also features stunning views of the Great Craggy Mountains, Table Rock, Grandfather Mountain, and the North Carolina Piedmont.

Green Knob Trail/Lost Cove Ridge Trail (3.3)
Green Knob Trail from BRP overlook (0.5)
Snooks Nose Trail & Green Knob Trail (4.4)

Northwestern North Carolina

Mileages are listed one way; double the distance for round trip length.  Various routes are listed, depending on the hiker’s desire as to length of trip. Many can be incorporated into loops or shuttle hikes. Any of the routes are acceptable to meet the Challenge requirement. For some towers, other routes are possible but must meet mileage requirements. Check with the Lookout Tower Challenge Coordinator to confirm other routes in question.

LOOKOUT TOWERS:

Flat Top Mountain
Rendezvous Mountain
Moores Knob

Flat Top Mountain

The highest point on the former estate of denim king and textile tycoon Moses H. Cone and his wife Bertha, Flat Top Mountain first hosted a 1900 built wooden lookout tower that served as an observatory for Cone and guests to his elaborate Flat Top Manor. Following the death of the Cones, their estate was given to the National Park Service who removed the wooden tower and replaced it in 1954 with a 40 ft. modified steel lookout tower for visitor use to the park now incorporated into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Reach this observation tower via a 3.5 mi. carriage trail that begins at the steps of the Cone?s impressive colonial revival mountain mansion and incorporates a piece of the North Carolina Mountains-To-Sea Trail.

Flat Top Tower Trail (2.7)

Rendezvous Mountain

Rendezvous Mountain received its name for its use as a meeting point for Colonel Benjamin while summoning the local militia to organize against the threat of invading British forces. Above 350 Patriot militia organized on the summit and marched south to join the Overmountain Men who later took part in the victorious Battle of Kings Mountain. The lookout, a 60 ft. steel structure built by the nearby Camp James Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in 1936, is accompanied by a CCC cabin adjacent to the tower. Both are incorporated into the North Carolina Forest Service Rendezvous Mountain Education State Forest, an interpretive park designed to educate visitors about the importance of forest conservation and management in the past, present, and future.

Amadehy Waterfalls Trail to Mountain Ridge Trail and Fire Tower (3.7)

Moores Knob

The highest point in Stokes County and the Sauratown Mountain range, Moores Knob is crowned with a former stone lookout tower that features awe-inspiring views of the Winston-Salem skyline, Virginia, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Use for fire detection for only a few years, hurricane damage caused its decommissioning and eventual conversion to a observation tower. The lookout was preceded by a steel fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s later destroyed by fire. Located in Hanging Rock State Park, one of NCs most popular, the lookout is just one feature in the park that features hiking trails to a variety of fascinating caves, waterfalls, cliffs, and rock formations.

Moores Knob Trail (1.9)
Moores Wall Loop Trail (4.5)

Many lookout towers can only be accessed by short trails or roads.  The maximum roundtrip hiking distance for several towers, such as Joanna Bald, Cowee Bald, and Panther Top barely exceed 1.0 mile. Road walking additional distance to achieve more mileage was not deemed to be necessary nor desirable.  Nevertheless, towers with short hikes are equally worth visiting for their views and history.

For those that can be driven, reaching a lookout tower by car will not qualify for the LTC. However, many towers which are accessible by car present the opportunity for hiking shuttles. An example is hiking from the bottom to the top and driving back to the bottom. Towers where shuttles like this are possible include Rich Mountain, Mt. Noble, Wayah Bald, Camp Creek Bald, and Rendezvous Mountain.

Many other towers are restricted due to disrepair and deterioration, vandalism, private property, and communications equipment. Towers in disrepair that are rehabilitated can be added to the LTC in the future.  Likewise, towers on the LTC that become restricted or fall into disrepair can be removed from the LTC.

Carolina Mountain Club cannot assume the risk of requiring a hiker to climb the towers in order to achieve this challenge. While hikers may climb a tower, if desired, they do so at their own risk. A few of the towers have certain sections that are closed due to conditions that are not considered safe.

The Little Snowball Lookout was saved from demolition and re-erected at another location. A private citizen purchased the tower in 1980 when it was earmarked for removal.  After dismantling and removal from the mountain piece by piece over the course of a year, it remained in storage for over two decades.

In 2004, it was re-erected and restored by the Big Ivy Historical Society on their campus. With the tower’s pristine preservation and extensive restoration, it is the most historically complete lookout tower in North Carolina. It now stands as one of the most successful lookout tower restoration stories in the state and an example of the importance of saving lookout towers. 

In addition to visiting the tower, reached by car, the LTC also requires the hike to its former location near Little Snowball Mountain. This hike exhibits a removed lookout site – a common scene all over western North Carolina and one that will become more prevalent without intervention to preserve lookouts. Nevertheless, CMC periodically maintains the summit clearing which offers great views.

The hiking distance requirement for this challenge is predetermined by the lack of long hiking options to several towers and therefore is short in duration. However, other hikes, such as Yellow Mountain and Mt. Cammerer, require significantly greater mileage (10+ miles) than the minimum requirement.  Additionally, many hikes, regardless of distance, often require an ascent of many thousand feet.  Just because a hike isn’t long will not mean that it is not difficult.  Mt. Sterling and Shuckstack are examples. 

In addition, most towers cannot be coupled into the same day because of their spatial proximity; this is contrary to SB6K, P400, and 900M challenges.  Therefore, most towers will require a separate hike on a separate day and result in a longer time commitment to complete the challenge. This factor benefits the hiker with exposure to multiple regions and mountain ranges in western North Carolina.

Lookout towers offer one of the best hiking destinations. There is no better reward than a stunning, 360 degree vista after the difficult physical expenditure of reaching the summit of a high mountain. Most mountain peaks in the southern Appalachians are shrouded in trees and offer limited or no views to reward a difficult ascent. Lookout towers promise the ability to elevate above the trees to enjoy the surrounding mountain scenery – some of the most beautiful in the country. 

Moreover, lookout towers are historic structures, just like historic cabins, barns, churches, and mills. For nearly half a century they were used as watch posts to quickly detect forest fires that threatened our valuable wild lands.  Lookout tower challenges are popular in other parts of the country – including New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

Many towers no longer receive maintenance funding and continue to deteriorate. Others have already been removed. Supporting organizations like the Forest Fire Lookout Association helps preserve these historic landmarks for future generations.