Type: L-4 Ground Cabin
Status: Abandoned
Elevation: 5,700 feet
Visited: July 5, 2014
2020 UPDATE: Although I haven’t been back to Olallie Mountain since my 2014 visit, it’s reported that the lookout has burned down. The Forest Service has not determined the cause, but it would seem that vandalism or careless visitors are the likely culprit. Since the Rebel Lookout burned in a 2017 wildfire, there are no longer any lookouts standing in the Three Sisters Wilderness.
Olallie Mountain is in the Three Sisters Wilderness (and not to be confused with Olallie Butte near Mt. Jefferson). The mountain is home to one of only two remaining lookouts in the wilderness (the other is over at Rebel Rock).
Along the trail I spotted an old phone insulator up in a tree. All the ones I’ve seen before have been white but this one was dark brown.
Just below the summit are some little meadow-like areas where I saw columbine, tiger lily, paintbrush, penstemon, false solomon’s seal, and more. Conditions weren’t good for wildflower photography so I just enjoyed looking at them and kept pushing on.
And then finally the summit! With views, views, views all around. Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Three Fingered Jack:
At center are Packsaddle Mountain, Little Roundtop Mountain, and Cultus Mountain. I think the snowy bumps on the right are The Twins and Maiden Peak:
Diamond Peak:
The French Pete Creek drainage, site of the famous logging vs. wilderness controversy in the 1970s.
And of course, front and center, the Three Sisters and Broken Top.
One of the best parts of the expansive views up here is that the forest at your feet is unspoiled and clearcut-free thanks to the fact that it’s designated wilderness. It is so rare to have a big view in the Cascades that doesn’t include clearcuts that I can’t think of anywhere else that I’ve experienced this.
The lookout that sits up here was built in 1932 and has been abandoned for quite some time.
A few years ago the Sand Mountain Society did some emergency shoring up inside to keep a wall and ceiling from collapsing. The opposite wall is starting to buckle out, though, which you can see in the outside photo with the shutter on the ground. There are still tools and supplies for more repair work, but after that initial work the Forest Service asked them to stop. Because this is in the wilderness I think it’s highly unlikely that this building will be allowed to be saved. What a shame.
There’s a logbook on the old firefinder stand and I was amazed how many entries there already were for this summer.
What a great spot with great views!
More Information
More information
Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
National Historic Lookout Register
Peakbagger
Panorama Photos
History
An L-4 ground cabin lookout was constructed on Olallie Mountain in 1931.
Panorama photos were taken in May 1934:
The Three Sisters Wilderness was designated in 1964. It’s unclear when the lookout stopped being regularly staffed, but it may have been around this time.
Around 2007 the non-profit Sand Mountain Society had approval to replace the roof. $1500 worth of new cedar shingles and tools were hauled to the site. Unfortunately, that permission was revoked when Wilderness Watch sued the Forest Service because of the way they repaired they repaired the Green Mountain Lookout in Washington’s Glacier Peak Wilderness. (Power tools cannot be used in wilderness, but the Forest Service had used a helicopter and other machinery to remove the lookout from its summit, repair it, and bring it back.)
Around 2010 the Sand Mountain Society built a temporary 2×4 framed wall inside the west wall to keep the lookout from collapsing.
In 2014 the Green Mountain situation was resolved in the Forest Service’s favor, but work did not proceed at Olallie Mountain.
The lookout was threatened by a 2017 wildfire that burned right up to its doorstep, but miraculously it did not burn.
In June 2020 hikers reported that the lookout had burned down, destroying not just the structure but the shingles and tools that been brought up 13 years earlier. Zach Urness wrote this article for the Statesman Journal with more info. Don Allen with the Sand Mountain Society wrote: “Hundreds of hours were invested in just preserving the opportunity to rehabilitate this great, high integrity building. The lookout itself seemed to have a will to live, just surviving the Olallie Trail Fire of 2017, which burned just about to the foundation of the lookout and stopped, if in reverence for the venerable old building, one of the first of its kind, and one of the very last.”
In May 2023 I had the following email exchange with the front desk of the McKenzie River Ranger District.
Me: “In July 2020 Zach Urness wrote about the loss of the Olallie Mountain lookout, and at that time the Forest Service said that the cause was unclear. What did your investigation ultimately reveal about the cause of the fire?”
MRRD: “I believe the best contact for additional information about the Olallie Mountain Lookout would be the Sisters Ranger District. The contact for their office is 541-549-7700.”
Me: “Thanks for the info, I’ll do that. However, just to clarify, Olallie Mountain is located in the Willamette National Forest, not the Deschutes. Are you referring me to the Sisters RD because the fire investigator came from there?”
MRRD: “This is where I got my information on that particular lookout.” And they provided this screenshot from the 2020 article with some text highlighted:
I was taken aback. Based on the text they highlighted in the screenshot, it seems as though they thought the Sisters Ranger District is responsible for the entire Three Sisters Wilderness, which is not the case. Also, they did not have (or were not willing to look for) the information on their own lookout, but instead were relying strictly on information from a newspaper journalist, who in turn was getting his info from the Forest Service. Besides, I had already mentioned that I knew about that article. I made it clear I was looking for additional information that had been gathered since Zach wrote it. I concluded that the McKenzie River Ranger District was not going to be helpful and ended the email exchange.
Although the Forest Service never released a report and never made a public statement about the cause of the fire, they seemed inclined to fault lightning as the cause and call it good. Visitors had been using the shingles for campfire firewood, so the more likely explanation is that someone didn’t properly extinguish their campfire.