Devil's Head Lookout Hike & Tower | |
Location | Douglas County, Colorado |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°15′37.42″N105°6′6.64″W / 39.2603944°N 105.1018444°W Coordinates: 39°15′37.42″N105°6′6.64″W / 39.2603944°N 105.1018444°W |
Built | (original built) 1912, (remodeled)1951 |
NRHP reference No. | 03000518 |
CSRHP No. | 5DA.960 |
Added to NRHP | June 13, 2003 |
Devil's Head Lookout is a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower at the summit of Devils Head in Douglas County, Colorado. Located on a large pinnacle of Pikes Peak granite, the fire lookout point lies within the Pike National Forest and is accessed by hiking the Devils Head National Recreation Trail.
The station was first established in 1912, with the original tower built in 1919. In the summer of 1951, the old tower was dismantled and current structure was built. In 1991, Devil's Head Lookout was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Sitting at the highest point of Rampart Range, the fire lookout is the last remaining such structure to be in service along the Front Range of Colorado. [1]
The view from the current structure extends at least 100 miles in every direction on clear days. [2]
The lookout (elev. 9748 feet, or 2971 m) can be accessed via easy/moderate trail (2.8 miles, or 4.5 km round trip) with elevation gain of 951 feet, or 290 m. The last stretch is a climb on 143 stairs. The access is from Rampart Range Road, a 14.5-km dirt road (easily accessible by passenger cars) from CO67. Note that the road to the trailhead is always closed to vehicles during the winter and typically does not open until April or May.
Mount Columbia is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,077-foot (4,291 m) fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 9.9 miles (16.0 km) northwest by west of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The mountain was named in honor of Columbia University in the City of New York and in commemoration of its rowing victory at the renowned Henley Royal Regatta in 1878.
The Desolation Wilderness is a 63,960-acre (258.8 km2) federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe.
Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres, mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, a government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture. It is divided into the Descanso, Palomar and Trabuco Ranger Districts and is located in the counties of San Diego, Riverside, and Orange.
Mount Antero is the highest summit of the southern Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,276-foot (4351.4 m) fourteener is located in San Isabel National Forest, 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest by south of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The mountain is named in honor of Chief Antero of the Uintah band of the Ute people.
Cimarron National Grassland is a National Grassland located in Morton County, Kansas, United States, with a very small part extending eastward into Stevens County. Cimarron National Grassland is located near Comanche National Grassland which is across the border in Colorado. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Comanche National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado. There are local ranger district offices in Elkhart, Kansas. The grassland is the largest area of public land in the state of Kansas.
The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres (4,478 km2) within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte and Fountain Creek. Rampart Reservoir is a large artificial body of water located within the forest.
Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which is in Springfield and the other of which is in La Junta. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, and the Cimarron National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado.
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 m) high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.
Barr Trail is a 13-mile (21 km) trail in the Pike National Forest that begins in Manitou Springs, Colorado and ends at the Pikes Peak summit. The high elevation trail with a long sustained grade is rated more difficult by the U.S. Forest Service. With a 7,800 feet (2,400 m) elevation gain to reach the summit, the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau states that it is an advanced trail and is the most difficult trail in the Pikes Peak region.
Devils Head is a mountain summit in the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The 9,749-foot (2,971 m) peak is located in Pike National Forest, 14.2 miles (22.9 km) southwest by south of the community of Sedalia in Douglas County, Colorado, United States.
Aiken Canyon Preserve is a 1,621-acre (6.56 km2) Nature Conservancy-managed state property in Colorado. It was first observed and named after Charles Aiken who was a 19th century U.S. surveyor, pioneer, and ornithologist who first surveyed Aiken Canyon in the 1870s and identified more than 75 bird species. The preserve consists of foothills, shrub and woodland ecosystems and is 12.4 miles southeast from Colorado Springs located on the eastern slope of the Rampart Range which is within a smaller foothill system of the Front Range. The surrounding mountain ranges of the Rampart Range and Palmer Divide created the nature preserves sustainable ecosystem. There is also a four-mile (6 km)-loop hiking trail on the preserve.
The Rampart Range is a mountain range located in Douglas, El Paso, and Teller counties, Colorado. It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The range is almost entirely public land within the Pike National Forest.
Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent 14,115-foot (4,302.31 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.
The White Mountain Wilderness is a 46,963 acre designated wilderness area managed by the United States Forest Service. Located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, the White Mountain Wilderness lies in the Sierra Blanca mountains of south central New Mexico, approximately 15 miles (24 km) north northwest of the town of Ruidoso.
Blodgett Peak is a mountain summit in El Paso County, Colorado. Blodgett Peak is located in Pike National Forest. and at its base is Blodgett Peak Open Space of Colorado Springs.
The Manitou Park Recreation Area is a recreation area in the Pike National Forest, located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) north of Woodland Park along Colorado State Highway 67 in Teller County, Colorado. The recreation area includes several campgrounds and a picnic area, the Manitou Lake Picnic Area.
Long Scraggy Peak is a mountain in Jefferson County, Colorado. A prominent peak, it is characterized by its elongated, craggy ridge, for which it is named. The mountain is located within the Pike National Forest near the confluence of the North Fork South Platte River and the South Platte River.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Devil's Head Lookout . |