Trico Fire Tower - Warren County Fire Tower

Status: Former Lookout
Elevation 2,205 feet
Prominence: 1,265 feet
State: Virginia
County: Fauquier (County Highpoint) and Warren County
AT Access: 0.3 side trail with 136 feet of gain (original AT route)

This mountain has had lots of names over the years. Even the tower had two names. Maps give the name Blue Ridge but locally it is known as either Blue Mountain, Freezeland Mountain and the earliest Paris Mountain.

In 1934, funding of $225 dollars was supplied by the Warren County board of supervisors toward the construction of this fire lookout. Clarke County also paid $225 dollars toward the tower, and the remaining cost was paid by the Forest Service. The Forest Service did the observations.

In 1957, a USGS party described it as a standard four-legged tower about 60 feet tall on Virginia State Forest Service land.

At some point the tower was removed but a ground structure remains.

During my visit in 2024, there was a sign off the AT saying Trico Tower Trail. This suggested there may still be a tower or something interesting to see. This is not the case. Few would find the summit interesting. If you did not want to backtrack, you can drop down to Freezeland Road and walk the road 10 minutes north to a nature trail that drops down to the Appalachian Trail.