Olson Observation Tower

Olson Observation Tower
Fire Tower
Olson Observation Tower
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Tucker

Part of	Backbone Mountain

Elevation	3,736 ft (1,138.7 m) ^[1]
Coordinates	39°06′24″N 79°36′12″W / 39.10667°N 79.60333°W / 39.10667; -79.60333Coordinates: 39°06′24″N 79°36′12″W / 39.10667°N 79.60333°W / 39.10667; -79.60333

Owner	Monongahela National Forest

Easiest access	drive-up via FR 717

Topo map	USGS Mozark Mountain

Nearest city	Parsons, West Virginia

Location of Olson Observation Tower in West Virginia
Website: Olson Observation Tower

Olson Observation Tower is one of the few remaining fire towers in Monongahela National Forest. Olson is located at the southern end of Backbone Mountain northeast of Parsons in Tucker County, West Virginia.

The southern end of Backbone Mountain is the site of West Virginia's first fire tower, originally built by the state in 1922.^[1] This tower was later given to Monongahela National Forest, which replaced it in 1963 with the current tower.

The current tower is constructed of steel and features 133 steps leading to a cab on top. While the cab is closed to the public, the entire walkway up to the top is accessible. The tower provides 360-degree views of the surrounding area including the Cheat River watershed, Parsons, Blackwater Canyon, Canaan Mountain, Backbone Mountain and the Otter Creek Wilderness.

Olson Tower is named after Ernst B. Olson in recognition of 28 years of fire control and conservation program service to Monongahela National Forest.

Other facilities

A small picnic area is located along FR 717 near Olson Tower.

Accessing Olson Tower

Olson Tower is located at the end of Forest Route 717, a spur from Forest Route 18. Both roads are gravel but can easily be traversed by normal passenger cars coming from U.S. Route 219 in the west. While FR 18 provides excellent views of Blackwater Canyon east of FR 717, this section of the road is only traversable by high-clearance vehicles. Passenger car travel is not recommended.

References

1 2 "Olson Observation Tower". Monongahela National Forest. Retrieved 2008-06-02.

Monongahela National Forest

National Recreation Areas	Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area

Wilderness areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains West Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

Mountains and summits	Allegheny Front Allegheny Mountain Back Allegheny Mountain Backbone Mountain Barton Knob Bickle Knob Champe Rocks Cheat Mountain Gaudineer Knob Mount Porte Crayon North Fork Mountain River Knobs Seneca Rocks Shavers Mountain Spruce Knob Spruce Mountain

Rivers and creeks	Black Fork Blackwater River Cheat River Cranberry River Dry Fork Elk River Gauley River Glady Fork Greenbrier River Laurel Fork Seneca Creek South Branch Potomac River Shavers Fork Tygart Valley River Williams River

Canyons and valleys	Blackwater Canyon Canaan Valley Germany Valley Smoke Hole Canyon

Lakes and bogs	Lake Sherwood Spruce Knob Lake Summit Lake Cranberry Glades

Observation towers	Bickle Knob Olson Tower

Other features	Bear Rocks Preserve Camp Allegheny Cheat Summit Fort Fernow Experimental Forest Gaudineer Scenic Area Highland Scenic Highway Middle Mountain Cabins Mill Point Federal Prison Sinks of Gandy

US Forest Service

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Olson Observation Tower

Other facilities

Accessing Olson Tower

See also

References