Albert Mountain Fire Tower

Albert Mountain is located near Franklin in North Carolinas Nantahala Range. It is the second tallest peak the Appalachian Trail crosses in its first 100 miles from Springer Mountain. The 100 mile mark of the Appalachian Trail is at the top of Albert Mountain as the trail passes over the summit. The tower offers views of the Blue Ridge and the Little Tennessee River valley, including distant views to the Great Smoky Mountains and the Great Balsam Mountains. Although the top cab is normally locked, you have great views from the stairs in three directions. Albert Mountain is named after Albert Siler (1829-1904), a local resident.

Status: Standing Lookout and former patrol point
Elevation: 5,220 feet
Prominence: 200 feet
State: North Carolina
County: Macon
AT Access: Trail goes by tower

A log lookout cabin first existed on Albert Mountain. The photo looks to be in the early 1930s or late 20s. The image is very similar to a cabin over on Standing Indian Mountain but I think it is different, but could be labeled wrong. No early maps show Albert with a lookout.

In 1951, a steel tower was built on the summit with an L4 hip metal roof cab on top. This site replaced the need for the Standing Indian Mountain lookout and a wooden tower one half mile north on Pinnacle Mountain. The lookout provided fire detection for the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. The steel tower has a height of 55 feet.

Pinnacle was likely patrol point of Albert Mountain when Albert was just a cabin and wood tower. If an early Albert site did not exist, the wood tower at Pinnacle would still offer a fine viewpoint in most directions. Sources suggest this lookout site was here prior to the 1951 tower on Albert. It would seem logical that the early cabin on Albert was in use and Pinnacle Mountain would be a secondary observation point for the Albert Mountain Lookout. Time will tell. I can confirm that I found enough debres at the summit to say there was some kind of structure there. During my 2024 visit, some kind of fire break trail had just been built from the AT up to the summit, making the off-trail very easy.

Status: Former Lookout
Elevation: 5,000 feet
Prominence: 40 feet
State: North Carolina
County: Macon
AT Access: 0.1 mile detour, 50 foot gain