Wednesday, June 19, 2024
During a trip to the Umpqua National Forest I visited Lookout Mountain, a former fire lookout site.
The trailhead is on Road 800, off of Road 2703. I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Forest Service had recently brushed out the road. I parked on the shoulder just downhill from the trail:
I set off up Lookout Mountain Trail #1528:
The route appeared to follow an old bed for the first part:
There was some blowdown:
I don’t think this trail sees much traffic:
Starting to get some views. This is Middle and South Sister:
Diamond Peak:
I started seeing wildflowers:
Almost to the summit, and lots more wildflowers:
After just half a mile of hiking I reached the summit. Wow, check out these awesome views! Looking southeast at Quartz Mountain and the tippy top of Mt. McLoughlin:
Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey to the east:
Middle and South Sister to the northeast, with Dog Mountain in the foreground:
Diamond Peak to the east:
Looking northeast towards Middle and South Sister and Diamond Peak:
Looking east:
Looking east towards Diamond Peak
Looking south at Black Butte, with Red Butte at far right:
Zoomed-in on Black Butte:
Zoomed-in on Red Butte, which has an abandoned lookout on it:
Looking northeast:
Looking north at Grass Mountain, the snowy top of Mt. Jefferson, the rounded hump of Huckleberry Mountain, and the distinct profile of Bearbones Mountain:
Wildflowers:
This was once the site of a fire lookout. There was a D-6 cupola here from 1924-1949:
In the foreground are the footings for the tower that came later, and in the background is where the D-6 cupola stood:
The site of the D-6 cupola:
A 30′ tower with an L-4 cabin was built in 1949:
Not much left except the footings:
Talk about getting a lot of bang for your buck! For such a short trail with amazing views and wildflowers I’m surprised this hike doesn’t get more attention. An awesome hidden gem.
Gaia stats: 1 mile, 450′ elevation gain
