Type: R-6 ground cabin
Status: Staffed in summer
Elevation: 7,234 feet
Visited: July 4, 2024
During a trip to south central Oregon I visited Morgan Butte on a very hot day.
I hiked up here from the north via the Fremont National Recreation Trail. You can read about the hike itself here.
The man staffing the lookout was outside staining the shutters and we chatted a bit. He said this was his fourth season at this lookout. He was up here in 2020 and had to evacuate when the Brattain Fire broke out.
Looking north at Brattain Butte:
Looking northeast:
Looking east:
Looking south at Round Mountain
Looking west with distant Mt. Shasta on the left and burned-over Gearhart Mountain just right of center:
Looking northwest:
After my hike I drove up Road 020 to the gate. Just before this spot is a short connector trail on the right that connects with the main trail. One could hike up the road to the lookout, and back down the trail (or vice versa):
More Information
Forest Lookouts
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
National Historic Lookout Register
Peakbagger
History
Morgan Butte did not become a lookout site until 1958 when the Round Pass lookout cabin was moved here. (The lookout had actually been located on 7,462′ Round Mountain, as lookouts always are, so it’s unclear why the lookout was named for the pass below the summit).
That lookout was replaced with an R-6 ground cabin in 1964, pictured below in 2005. It still stands and is staffed every summer.
Ron Kemnow