Type: 20′ L-4 tower
Status: Staffed
Elevation: 6,086′
Visited: June 12, 2021
There used to be four lookouts in Oregon’s Maury Mountains, but the only one still standing is Tower Point. From Road 16 I turned onto 1750 for 2.2 miles (a bit rough, but very doable in the Outback) until reaching a cattle guard at a junction. Unfortunately there was a gate across this cattle guard and it proved very difficult to fasten back together:
From there I turned right onto 1760 and drove one mile to the summit (this road was also a bit rough but nothing the Outback couldn’t handle). I was surprised that this road had no gate installed on it to keep out the vandals. The tower was unstaffed when I arrived:
The shutters were up and there was a trailer with a generator in it that had been inspected last month so my guess is that this will be staffed soon:
The outhouse looks a little worse for wear:
I have no idea what this toppled building used to be:
Almost all of the chainlink fence around this spot had fallen or been removed:
Old weather vane:
Propane tank:
I climbed up the steps as far as I could to get a better view, but the catwalk hatch was latched shut:
The Cascade volcanoes were barely visible through the clouds:
Looking down on Juniper Hills Preserve where I had hiked earlier in the day:
I was pleasantly surprised by all the wildflowers blooming up here:
I had not yet found a campsite for the night so I decided to camp out here on the summit:
In the morning I got a good look at the lookout on private land on Shotgun Creek Ranch:
Pilot Butte is very prominent to the northwest:
At center is Drake Butte, a former lookout site:
I could just make out the lookout on Gerow Butte. It’s on private property so the public can’t visit:
One last look before driving down
More information
Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
A quick note: before heading home I visited nearby Arrowwood Point, a former lookout site southeast of Tower Point. I walked the last 0.4 miles of road to the top:
This is what the summit looks like now:
There is a fallen tree with a ladder on it:
