Fire lookout towers were once essential pieces of equipment in forests and other heavily wooded areas. Rangers watched for telltale signs of wildfires so the problem could be contained as early as possible. Today, technology has diminished the need for lookout towers. Here in Nebraska, our national forest isn’t dense enough to have ever required a large series of fire lookout towers, but we do have one that is still standing and open for tours.

Scott Lookout Tower is located in Halsey. It was built in 1944 in the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest. It is the only functioning fire lookout tower in the state. It is still used to scan for fires when the danger of forest fires is high.
Crossroads of the Sandhills
The tower was showing its age, so it was closed back in 2009 for some much-needed repairs. It was opened to visitors again in spring of 2012.
US Forest Service
The tower is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, though you can make arrangements to tour the facility at different times with enough advance notice.
Halsey, Nebraska
Just contact the ranger office at (308)-533-2257.

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If you can handle the stairs to climb all the way up the 50-foot tower, you'll be rewarded with some seriously magnificent views.
US Forest Service
From the observation deck you can see the magnificent forest and grasslands up to about 10 miles away. In perfect conditions, you can see all the way to the Dismal River.
By Bkell (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Scott Tower is on the Nebraska Historical Registry, and it's a true state treasure. If you have the opportunity to visit - and the stamina to climb all those stairs - it's an experience you won't soon forget. Admission to the forest and to the tower are free, but there is a fee if you want to camp in the forest.
By Bkell (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Want to learn more about Nebraska’s forests? Check out this article.

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