The Henness Ridge Fire Lookout in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

was built in 1934 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) which was a public work relief program for unemployed men age 18-24. The CCC provided unskilled manual labor related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural areas of the United States. One of two examples of the

National Park Service Rustic National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create buildings ...

style built in Yosemite, the Henness Ridge Fire Lookout is a three-story structure. On the lowest level, this version has a garage with room for one vehicle. The mid level is an office/bunk area with a 360 view of Yosemite and the surrounding Sierra National Forest. Atop this level is an upper observation area, with an overhanging roof. It is smaller than the underlying office level to provide a walkway around the periphery. This lookout was the second built in Yosemite, with the prototype built at Crane Flat and was still in use in the 1980s. It was designed in the

style, and is one of only four similar structures in California, with the

Crane Flat Fire Lookout The Crane Flat Fire Lookout in Yosemite National Park was built in 1931. An example of the National Park Service Rustic style, the lookout is a two-story structure with a lower storage or garage level and an upper observation level, with an over ...

being the only other in Yosemite. These lookouts were specifically designed to blend with their surroundings, in contrast to the metal towers used by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. "The 1979 case study recommended certain properties for further evaluation under the National Register criteria. Those included … the Henness Ridge structure is also significant in conservation. It is historic structure number 5300"

Hiking trails in the Yosemite West Area

The hiking trail to the Henness Ridge Fire Lookout begins at an unmarked trailhead at the end of Azalea Lane in Yosemite West. Using the asphalt access road to the right, hike past the water towers and continue 0.7 miles to the Henness Ridge fire lookout tower. Of the four that were built, this historic site is one of only two remaining rustic-style lookouts in the state. Built in 1934 by CCC, it was used by the National Park Service for fire detection during the 1960s and 1970s, At 6300 feet elevation, the site contains montane hardwood forest dominated by black oaks with a Greenleaf manzanita layer. Mixed conifer and hardwood species form the multiple forest layers seen here. Also, white and red fir is present.http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/upload/Yosemite_CDN_EA_%2801-08-10%29-w_tags.pdf page 95, Parkwide Communication Data Network Environmental Assessment, January 2010

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1934 Towers completed in 1934 History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Civilian Conservation Corps in California Fire lookout towers in California Rural tourism Buildings and structures in Mariposa County, California National Park Service rustic in Yosemite National Park 1934 establishments in California

Hiking trails in the Yosemite West Area

See also

References