In 1907, the US Forest Service – which was a brand new agency at the time – planned to build seven lookouts along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico. Only four of these lookouts were ever actually built; one on Medicine Bow Peak in Wyoming, and three in Colorado at Twin Sisters Peak, Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain, and Devil’s Head.
Today only one – Devil’s Head – remains in operation.
(As I’m writing this, I’m realizing I’ve stood on all four of these summits. Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain still has a tower, though it’s no longer used as a lookout. The other towers no longer exist.)
Devil’s Head Lookout sits at an elevation of 9748 feet (2971 m) atop the highest point in the Rampart Range. It has been in operation since 1912, though the road into the trailhead and the trail up to the cabin (where the lookout lives) were built in the 1930s by the CCC, and the stairs up to the tower itself were not built until the 1950s. Prior to the staircase, it would have been a short but challenging commute to work each day.
To reach Devil’s Head Lookout, navigate to the town of Sedalia and follow Rampart Range Road to its terminus in the middle of the Rampart Range. These low (by Colorado standards) mountains are encompassed within the Pike National Forest and a popular spot for various forms of outdoor recreation.
We didn’t have any issues with parking, but we arrived at 9:00am on a Sunday in October. By the time we returned to our car, the main lot was full. Expect lots of congestion in the summer, and please don’t park illegally alongside the road as it blocks emergency vehicles from accessing the trailhead.
Though not a long hike, this one is steep, coming it at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) each way with about 870 feet (265 m) of elevation gain. It’s a fairly steady gain from beginning to end, so we focused on just putting one foot in front of the other and trying to enjoy the pine forest and towering rocks that are characteristic of this area. The Rampart Range is made from a particularly pinkish hue of granite that dates to over 1 billion years old.
Eventually, we reached a meadow known as Hell’s Half Acre. This is the site of the lookout’s cabin… and the base of stairs we would have to scale to reach the lookout itself.
If you don’t like heights, you’re probably not going to love this stairway. Definitely resist the urge to look down as you’re climbing.
But if you can manage it, it’s worth the climb to the top. The summit views are panoramic and honestly, if you aren’t going to climb the stairs there really isn’t much point in doing this hike. There isn’t a lot of note to see along the trail.
I had read online that the actual tower is only open to the public from May to September, so I wasn’t expecting it to be staffed. But when we arrived at the summit, the doors were open and there was a Forest Service ranger on the porch.
(the distant mountain in this photo is Pikes Peak)
So we walked on up, enjoyed the view from the 360° porch (see previous photos), and then chatted up the ranger. It was super interesting! He talked with us about his job responsibilities (performing a complete scan of the landscape every 15 minutes to a distance of 20 miles, among other things), some of the tools they use, and life as a lookout.
His wife lives in the cabin with him and she is actually the main lookout, while he typically performs other forest ranger duties. On this particular day, she’d been called out on another task so he was taking her place. He said it’s a quiet life but not boring and that they actually really enjoy it.
One of the signs at the base of the stairs talked about the longest-serving fire lookout, a man named Bill Ellis who worked the Devil’s Head Lookout for 35 years, until retiring in 2019 at the age of 87.
It’s definitely not the life for me – despite my introversion, I get bored way too easily for a job like this – but apparently some people really love it. My husband, for example, thinks it’s the type of simple, quiet life he would enjoy.
From 1919-1921, Devil’s Head was also the home of Colorado’s first female lookout.
Left: during lightning storms, these glass insulators are placed over the feet of the wooden stools to prevent electrocution. Although wood is generally considered to not conduct electricity, it does when struck by lightning.
Right: An Osborne Fire Finder, a tool used to pinpoint the precise location of a fire
The Forest Service was conducting a small, controlled burn on this particular day as well. It was just getting started, but we could spot the smoke fairly easily from the tower.
After about half an hour on the summit, including enjoying the view while eating our traditional summit fruit snacks, it was time to head back to the car. It was an uneventful hike out and drive back home.
All in all, we really enjoyed our Devil’s Head hike. It was short and sweet, and the perfect half-day outing!
Up next: a hike at Rocky Flats Nuclear Plant turned Wildlife Refuge
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: the Devil’s Head trailhead is located at the end of Rampart Range Road (Forest Service Route 300) west of Sedalia, Colorado. Note that Rampart Range Road is closed from December 1-May or June annually, making this hike inaccessible
- Fees and passes: none!
- Hiking: 3.05 miles (5 km) roundtrip with 870 feet (265 m) of elevation gain; moderate-difficult.
- Where to stay: while this can be completed as a day hike from Denver, Colorado Springs, or anywhere in between, you could also camp in one of the designated frontcountry campgrounds or dispersed spots along Rampart Range Road, or any of the other surrounding Pike National Forest roads. However… as we drove past we noticed that most of the dispersed sites were occupied by large groups and many had dirt bikes or ATVs, so I’m not sure this would be the quietest place to camp.
- Other: the lookout tower is closed to the public during lightning, so be sure to check the weather prior to heading out. If you’re hiking this trail in the summer, go early to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms which are almost a daily occurrence from June-August.
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