Ute Mountain Fire Tower

The Basics

ADDRESS: The easiest way to find this would be to use the directions on the Forest Service website:
Link to US Forest Service Ute Mountain Fire Tower Page

LAST VISIT: 2024

VIDEO: Link to Flaming Gorge Video on YouTube

Ute Mountain Fire Tower has a wonderful combination of interesting history and beautiful scenery.

It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 as the first fire tower with elevated living quarters in the state of Utah. It is still in use today during the fire season, and during the summer, tours are provided.

We're not sure what timing would be best for visiting the tower... the fall colors in the surrounding area are amazing, but if you want to see the view from the tower, tours are only available during the summer. You will have to choose between bright yellow aspen and the elevated view!

In order to get to the fire tower, you need to use three different Forest Service roads that have varying degrees of maintenance. The first road, the Sheep Creek Geological Loop road is well maintained and would be accessible with a standard vehicle. When you turn off onto Forest Service Road 221, it gets a bit rougher. For the last turnoff, Forest Service Road 55, I might hesitate to use a vehicle that's not high clearance. I tend to be pretty conservative about that, so I guess you could argue that point if you're really good about choosing your line when you drive off highway. If you do not have high clearance and don't feel comfortable with that last section, you could park and walk the final 1.3 miles.

Final note: There is also a vault toilet available near the fire tower, which can be a welcome sight when you are out in the forest!

Our Opinion

This is a site that deserves a short description for our opinion: Just go there! You won't be disappointed!