Every Lookout in Oregon

January 13-15, 2019 For our annual sisters winter trek this year, Deb and I reserved Fivemile Butte Lookout in the Mt. Hood National Forest. It was our third stay there. On Sunday we headed to The Dalles, down to Dufur,…

It’s getting harder and harder to snag reservations for fire lookouts, but last August I was lucky enough to get two nights at Fivemile Butte for the end of February. Unlike our March 2015 visit when the ground was bare, we…

Due to a combination of vandalism and careless renters, the Forest Service is removing Flag Point Lookout from the rental program. Flag Point is one of only three staffed lookouts in the Mt. Hood National Forest. I’ve been there twice…

Type: 41′ tower with R-6 cabin Status: Staffed in summer, rental in winter Elevation: 4,458 feet Visited: February 7-9, 2016 In March 2014 my sister and I made our first lookout excursion together, staying at Clear Lake Butte for one…

In September 2012 I visited Fivemile Butte to find the geocache there. No one was staying in the tower at the time and the catwalk is locked when no is around, so I admired things from the ground. Six months…

Type: 50′ tower with octagonal cab Status: Staffed intermittently in summer Elevation: 5,614 feet Visited: September 6, 2014 There is no trail to the summit of Sisi Butte, but there is a road, which is gated at the bottom. It’s 2.8…

Type: 10′ L-4 tower Status: Abandoned Elevation: 5,523 feet Visited: June 22, 2014 In the heart of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness is an abandoned lookout that was built in 1942. I hiked there via the Pansy Lake Trail…

In July 2012 I walked up to the Clear Lake Butte lookout. It is staffed in summer and I had a lovely conversation with Carol who was working the tower that summer. In winter the tower is available to rent,…

Last September I visited Flag Point for the first time with Greg. It was still fire season and the lookout was staffed. The friendly guy in the tower invited us up but the views were marred by smoke from wildfires…

Type: Crow’s nest Status: Abandoned Elevation: 3,333 feet Visited: Visited July 20, 2013 I headed out to Bus Point last weekend to find the remains of the old crow’s nest there and to hide a geocache. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the…