Fire tower restoration complete
The historic Rich Mountain Fire Lookout Tower has been restored, thanks to a collaborative effort from the Carolina Mountain Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Forest Fire Lookout Association and the U.S. Forest Service.
The tower was initially located along the A.T. near Hot Springs until the trail was rerouted in the 1980s. It’s now accessible using a short side trail but had fallen into disrepair due to the stresses of extreme weather at its 3,670-foot elevation.
Robbinsville-based Williams Construction completed the work and CMC built a log staircase leading to the base of the tower, also performing tree work around its perimeter to preserve the scenic view.
The restoration took a combination of funds to pull off. Because it sits on the N.C.-Tennessee border, the project received funds from both states’ A.T. license plate programs, $3,500 from N.C. and $5,000 from Tennessee. The Forest Fire Lookout Association contributed $1,000 and the Forest Service provided the bulk of funding, $101,158.
Rich Mountain is one of six remaining fire lookout towers on the Appalachian Trail within North Carolina and Tennessee. The others include Camp Creek Bald, as well as Mt. Cammerer and Shuckstack in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
