Olson Firetower 📍

The Olson Firetower was built in 1922 by the state of West Virginia, Backbone Mountain was the original site of the state’s very first fire tower. Subsequently, it was transferred to the Monongahela National Forest and remained in service until 1963 when it was replaced.

Perched atop the mountain, Olson Tower offers visitors the chance to ascend 133 steps for awe-inspiring panoramic views. While the cabin at the top is not accessible to the public, you’re welcome to climb up to just below it. From this vantage point, you can behold breathtaking vistas of Parsons town, the Blackwater Canyon, Otter Creek Wilderness, Canaan Mountain, and the Cheat River watershed.

Olson Tower can be found on Backbone Mountain in Tucker County, reaching an elevation of approximately 3,736 feet above sea level. Accessible for most of the year via a dirt road, the area also features a variety of trails, including the 3-mile-long Canyon Rim Trail #117, which begins just 0.1 miles below the picnic area, and the 4.1-mile Limerock Trail #142, located along Forest Road 18.

🖼️ Photos
Map: Shindagin Hollow State Forest Ortho

Flat Land – No the Allegheny Front

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You might think the this area looks remarkably flat, but looks can be deceiving from the Olson Firetower which is on Backbone Mountain at 3,650 feet.

The range in the distance is the Allegheny Front (the Eastern Continental Divide), indeed it tops out at above 4,200 feet elevation with Petersburgh on the east side beyond it only about 1,000-1,500 feet elevation. The west side of Allegheny Front isn't as big of a drop, but the Canaan Valley is still only 3,200-3,500 feet elevation.

In the middle you can see the smoke stacks of the Mount Storm Coal Power Plant, the largest in the northeastern West Virginia which is a major electricity source for the Greater Washington DC area.

 

Thursday October 26, 2023 — Monongahela National Forest — Blackwater Canyon Trail 🗺 — Forest Road 13 Informal Camping Opporunities 🗺 — Monongahela National Forest 1:24k Topographic Map Index 🗺 — Olson Fire Tower 🗺
Map: Mountain House Trail and North Mountain
Map: Debar Pond
Map: Hartland Swamp Wildlife Management Area