{"id":2057,"date":"2026-04-25T15:20:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:09:47","slug":"big-rock-green-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/2026\/04\/25\/big-rock-green-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Rock \/ Green Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Type: 2-story L-4 lookout
\nStatus: Not staffed
\nElevation: 4,506 feet
\nVisited: April 25, 2026<\/p>\n

The Big Rock Lookout sits on Green Mountain so is often called the Green Mountain Lookout. It is located on timber land owned by Franklin-Clarkson. A sign on the gate says that non-motorized recreation access is allowed if the industrial fire precaution level<\/a> is at 1 or lower. Right now we’re not in fire season so I guess that counts as “or lower”.<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n

I parked at the gate on 424 and started hiking:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a gorgeous spring day that was just warm enough without being hot:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

I saw these two dark spots on the road ahead and as I approached I saw it was two snowshoe hares!<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The nearest one scampered off as I approached, but the other one took his sweet time departing the road, so I got a few good photos:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

I continued along the logging roads. Lots of clearcuts, of course:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

They’re hard to see, but there are two deer heading away from me in this shot. There were a total of four that I saw making their way through the clearcut:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The grassy rounded hump at left is Saddleblanket Mountain. The conical peak at right is Little Cowhorn Mountain:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Distant Bohemia Mountain with some snow on it, and conical Little Cowhorn Mountain<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Mt. June at center:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking back the way I’ve come, with Mt. Jefferson in the distance:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

My first view of the lookout:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Getting closer:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The last stretch of road to the top is quite steep:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

After 5.9 miles I reached the lookout:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The interior is empty except for an old table and chair:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Mt. Hood:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Mt. Jefferson to the northeast, with Bachelor Mountain and Olallie Butte at far left:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Mt. Washington to the east:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The twin summits of Tidbits Mountain:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

The Three Sisters:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Mt. Bachelor:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

A wider view to the east:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking south at Diamond Peak. All that burned forest is from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

View to the southwest with more burn area:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

View to the northwest with Marys Peak on the right:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

View to the north. The distant peaks right of center are Green Peter (which has a lookout that I visited<\/a> last year) and Bald Peter:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Then it was back down the road for the long trek to my car. You can see the burnt snags from the 2020 fire, and how close it got:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

This landmark to the east is called Two Girls<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Saw a few wildflowers on today’s trek:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Numerous patches of phlox on the summit:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn’t see a single patch of snow all day.<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Highway 20 head south on Canyon Creek Road \/ Road 2022 for 7 miles, then fork right onto Road 2026, keeping right to cross the bridge. Drive for 5 miles, then turn right onto Road 424. After 0.1 miles you’ll reach the edge of the Willamette National Forest and a closed locked gate. Park here without blocking the gate. My walking track from the gate to the lookout is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More information<\/strong>
\nForest Lookouts<\/a>
\nRex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page<\/a>
\nNational Historic Lookout Register<\/a>
\nPeakbagger<\/a><\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Established as a camp in 1916, this 2-story L-4 cab, built in 1950, was used for emergencies in the 1970’s.<\/p>\n

A road was built to the summit in 1949. In 1950 a 14×14 lookout on an enclosed 9 foot tower was built on Green Mountain at a cost or $2915. It was owned by the Santiam Lumber Company and operated by the Linn Fire Patrol.<\/p>\n

The Albany Democrat Herald reported on June 21, 1951 that the lookout burned down when sparks from the cabin’s cookstove started a fire.<\/p>\n

The lookout was reconstructed in 1951, although the construction could not start until late July due to deep snow that lingered from winter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The lookout came very close to being destroyed<\/a> in the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire, which burned trees on the slopes of the mountain, but it survived.<\/p>\n

By February 2024 the structure was in very poor shape:<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nMelinda Martin<\/p>\n

At some point in 2024 or 2025 the lookout was fixed up and remotely-monitored cameras were installed.<\/p>\n

1955 map:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n

1989 map:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n

1997 map:<\/p>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Type: 2-story L-4 lookout Status: Not staffed Elevation: 4,506 feet Visited: April 25, 2026 The Big Rock Lookout sits on<\/p>\n

Continue readingBig Rock \/ Green Mountain<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linn-forest-protective-association"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2057"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2070,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057\/revisions\/2070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/firelookouts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}