Chews Ridge Lookout, Fire lookout tower in Los Padres National Forest, California, US.

Chews Ridge Lookout is a fire watch tower located in Los Padres National Forest in California. The structure sits atop a ridge at high elevation and provides sweeping views across the surrounding forest and mountains.

A government cabin at the summit served as a fire lookout in 1919, when a family lived there. The 12-foot steel tower with its 13-by-13-foot cab was built in 1929 and staffed until about 1990. The Marble Cone Fire destroyed the lookout in 1977 and it was rebuilt in 1978; in 1984 the cab was replaced with a standard R-6 design with a catwalk and flat roof.

The ridge is named for Constantine Marcus and Eleanor "Nellie" Chew, who married near Carmel in 1881 and homesteaded two parcels of 155 and 160 acres west of the peak in 1880 and 1892. Nellie served as Jamesburg postmaster from 1894 to 1919 and wrote the "Jamesburg Gleanings" newspaper column for 25 years.

Reach the lookout from Carmel Valley Road, then go south 9 miles (14 km) on Forest Route 18S02/Tassajara Road; most of it is unpaved. The southern high-altitude stretch suits only high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles and can become impassable in extended wet weather. The cab is climbed by a steep staircase of very narrow steps, and there is no running water, electricity, heating or cell service; communication is by battery-powered Forest Service radio.

The tower was destroyed by the Marble Cone Fire in 1977 and rebuilt in 1978; in 1984 its cab was replaced with a standard R-6 design with a catwalk and flat roof. Volunteers from the Forest Fire Lookout Association began staffing it again in August 2019, aiming for seven days a week from May through November.