The Long Way
Albany County
A tall wooden fire lookout tower stands among pine trees under a blue sky.
Plate I. Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
A green metal gate blocks a dirt road in a forest.
Plate II. Entrance gate, Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
A campsite with a picnic table, fire ring, and grill, with a lookout tower visible in the background among trees.
Plate III. Picnic area at Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
A tall wooden fire lookout tower stands among pine trees and rocks under a blue sky.
Plate IV. Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
A picnic table and fire ring in a forest clearing.
Plate V. Picnic area, Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
An elevated view of a forest landscape with green and dead trees under a partly cloudy sky.
Plate VI. Forested view from Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov
A wide landscape view of a vast forest with a lake in the distance under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Plate VII. View from Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower. From recreation.gov

Spruce Mtn Fire Lookout Tower

Albany, Albany County, Wyoming. Fire lookout tower.

Details

Map. Albany, Albany County, Wyoming. Larger map
Where
Laramie Ranger District, 3838 Cherrywood East Loop, ATTN: Recreation Program, LARAMIE, Albany, WY 82070. Directions
When
Check-in time is after 2:00 p.m. on the first day of the reservation. Check-out time is 1:00 p.m. on the last day of the reservation.
Season
open mid-June through the first of October, weather permitting.
Getting there
Take Hwy 130 west of Laramie to Hwy 11 and Albany, WY. The tower is located seven miles west of Albany, Wyoming on Forest Road #500, a well-graveled road accessible by two-wheel-drive vehicles.
Fees
$80/night, 4 person maximum capacity.
Access
No water is available at the tower and a pit toilet is located nearby. Elevation at the tower is 10,003 feet.
Walk-in or reserve
Reservations can be made at recreation.gov.
Phone
(307) 745-2300
Managed by
Laramie Ranger District, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland.
Established
1938.
Coordinates
41.2030556, -106.2166667.

Live a bit of history and enjoy incredible views of southeastern Wyoming including Medicine Bow Peak, Rob Roy Reservoir, Jelm Mountain and the southern end of the Snowy Range. Formerly used to detect fires, the tower rises 55 feet above a forested mountaintop in the Medicine Bow Mountain range.

Notable Events

  1. 1965The current tower was built in 1965, probably in response to the high number of Medicine Bow National Forest fires in the 1950s. wyomingnews.com
  2. 1997The newer 55-foot tower served as a fire lookout until the 1990s, then was renovated and opened for overnight rental in 1997. recreation.gov
  3. After thirty years of use, the original lookout was replaced by a taller, more structurally sound tower. recreation.gov

People

  • Joe Luck, Forest Fire Lookout Association member helping coordinate the volunteer preservation effort at Spruce Mountain.
  • Kolleen Kralick, Forest archaeologist with the Forest Service.
  • Lou Fox, Volunteer who repaired loose nails and staples on the tower's wooden staircase.

Sources

  1. recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233989
  2. recreation.gov/api/camps/campgrounds/233989
  3. historicwyoming.org/profiles/fire-lookout
  4. wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/outdoors/sprucing-up-the-fire-lookout-tower/article_7b27edc8-08f0-51f6-bcb6-d57b7320e72e.html
  5. fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/spruce-mountain-fire-lookout
  6. wyomingnews.com/news/little-cabin-in-the-woods/article_0c150df0-4a19-53be-8d5c-10ca4537a69d.html