Welcome to Angora Lookout

Years before there was an established lookout, Forest Service fire spotters used Angora Ridge to watch for blazes in the Tahoe Basin forests. Prior to this lookout being built, wildfires burned millions of acres every year. In response, the Forest Service built lookouts in forests across the country. Here at Lake Tahoe, there were three built: Angora, Stateline, and Zephyr Point.

The original Angora Lookout was built in 1924 and was later converted into a small residence. In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the current lookout structure. Some time during the 1940’s, the garage (next to the parking lot) was constructed.

Technological advances in fire detection and poor visibility due to decreasing air quality made this lookout and others like it obsolete. Now the Forest Service relies on the many people who report fires by cell phone and from aircraft, along with highly technological advances in fire detection – satellites, infrared and lightning triangulation sensors.

[US Forest Service logo]

[photo caption] The original Angora Lookout, July 1925.

[inset photo caption] The idea of using fire lookouts was conceived by forester Coert duBois in 1914. This Lookout and others were based on duBois’s design.