Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Today I visited Little Cowhorn Lookout, which has been inaccessible for several years due to closures from the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire. Those closures were recently lifted so headed up there.
I first tried to get to the trailhead via Road 1817, but I encountered a road-blocking tree about a mile past Clark Butte:
So I turned around, went all the way back down to Road 18, headed east, and drove up Road 1830. The trail starts at the base of Road 388, an old logging road:
There is no sign, just some flagging on a tree:
The forest was lush and green:
The hillside was dotted with stumps from long-ago logging operations:
The trail met back up with Road 388 at a sharp bend:
The route followed the road a short distance before the trail veered off into the forest. The former continuation of the road has been reclaimed by nature:
I continued up the mountain:
I saw some trillium in bloom:
There are cool rock spires along the way:
It’s so amazing how trees have managed to grow on those rocks:
The last stretch of trail is a narrow ledge with a cable handrail:
Some of the posts have come out of the ground:
Fawn lilies:
Then I reached the summit and the old 1960 fire lookout:
The catwalk is in pretty good shape:
But the interior is a different story. The roof started leaking a few years ago, causing damage to the floor. Last fall members of the Sand Mountain Society coordinated with the Willamette National Forest to come up with a band-aid fix that involved creating a large funnel from plastic sheeting and channeling the water through a tube that would drain the water beneath the lookout instead of onto the floor:
This used to be a first-come first-serve lookout for people who wanted to stay here, but the place is in such bad shape now that I can’t imagine anyone wanting to sleep in here. The Forest Service is exploring their options, but with budget cuts and the fact that this lookout can only be accessed by foot, it’s not looking good.
Views were somewhat limited. The forecast said “cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny” but that turned out to be wrong. By 4pm there was still no sun in sight.
Looking north:
Looking northeast:
Looking east:
Looking southeast:
Charlton Butte in the distance:
Looking south:
Looking southwest:
Mt. June:
Looking west:
Closeup of nearby Gibralter Mountain:
After lingering on the summit for awhile, I headed back down and made a detour. Shortly before the trail reaches the summit there’s a side trail that heads out to an open rocky area:
I hiked out there and found some nice wildflowers in bloom:
Similar views from this spot. Looking northwest:
Looking northeast:
I was glad to make it back here, but it’s sad to see the lookout in such a sorry state. Hopefully next time I’m back it’ll be in better shape (and the skies will be clear!)
Gaia stats: 2.1 miles, 800′ elevation gain
