Type: D-6 cupola (1923) and 35′ tower (1995)
Status: Cupola is abandoned; Tower is staffed
Elevation: 6,436 feet
Visited: June 4, 2023
After visiting Green Ridge yesterday, I camped in the area and got a very early start to hike up Black Butte. I haven’t done this hike since my last visit in 2016. (You can read about the hike itself on my adventure blog.)
The tower is staffed in summer, but I couldn’t tell if anyone was up there this morning:
There’s new signage since my last visit:
In 2019 Friends of the Metolius did some restoration work on the old 1923 cupola lookout, so it’s looking pretty good:
The old condemned cabin on the summit was burned down by the Forest Service just a few months after my 2016 visit, and in its place is a nice viewing platform was built:
There is a bit of evidence of the old cabin:
Views are great from the platform. Broken Top:
Three Sisters:
Black Crater:
Belknap Crater and Mt. Washington:
Three Fingered Jack:
Mt. Jefferson:
Mt. Hood:
There’s an old toilet up here, but I didn’t use it:
