Happy Valley Fire Lookout

Happy Valley Fire Lookout as it appeared in 1968, when it was still an active part of the park’s fire management program.

NPS

 

We were newly married and we loved it there….if we were rich and could have, we would have stayed there forever.

—Mary Caldwell, stationed at Happy Valley Lookout with her husband Ed Caldwell in 1967-1968.

 

Fire lookouts at Happy Valley were typically young married couples. Pictured here are Ed and Mary Caldwell, who were fire aides at Happy Valley during the summer of 1967-1968.

NPS

Happy Valley Fire Lookout is one of a dwindling number of fire outposts that still stand in national parks. Set high in the Rincon Mountains, the current lookout was built in 1968 and doubled as a residence for the fire fighters, who were typically young married couples.

The lookout has large glass windows (currently boarded up) that gave the fire aides a stunning 360 degree view of Mica Mountain to the north, the San Pedro River Valley and sky island mountains to the east, Rincon Peak to the south, and Tucson to the west.

After aerial fire patrols replaced lookouts in the late 1970s, the structure was used by park rangers and trail crews. However, it later fell into disrepair. In 2024 support from Western National Parks enabled Saguaro National Park to evaluate the structure's historic value. Due to its historic integrity and important place in the park’s fire management history, architectural historians determined that the Happy Valley Lookout was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Park staff are currently working on cleaning and stabilizing the structure and developing plans to restore it to its historic condition.