FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Siskiyou County, California

Collins Creek Baldy Lookout

1934 Plan BC-301 cabin on a 20-foot enclosed timber tower in Klamath NF, Siskiyou County; NHLR-registered 2020; 2024 Forest Service camera project.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Enclosed towerCalifornia Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on a 20-foot enclosed timber towerThe design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
5,494 ft (1,675 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Klamath National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Siskiyou County, California
Coordinates
41.77522, −122.95158
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-collins-creek-baldy

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.5 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1934 BuiltNHLR gives construction for the Klamath NF in 1934; forest chronology, as cited by the weebly page, says construction was completed by a CCC crewSources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1934 and 2014
  3. 2014 FirePhoto credit only: Happy Camp Complex fire as seen from the lookout, Sept. 5, 2014; no damage or staffing information in the sourceSource: nhlr.org
  4. 2020 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 15, 2020 as US 1417, CA 223; nominated by Brad EellsSource: nhlr.org
  5. 2024 EventForest Service project decision signed 11/05/2024 covering two wildfire cameras and a solar panel array adjacent to the tower; installation not confirmed by the sourcesSource: fs.usda.gov
  6. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Collins Creek Baldy is a lookout in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, California, at 5,494 feet (1,675 meters).1

The Register says the forest had it constructed in 1934.1 The Register names the design as Plan BC-301, a cabin type from California Region 5, mounted on a timber tower that is 20 feet tall and enclosed.1 A California lookout website that cites the forest's own chronological history says a CCC crew completed the construction that year.2

The sources I could read do not say who staffed the lookout or for how long. The Register's photo credits include a September 5, 2014, shot taken from the lookout that shows the Happy Camp Complex blaze.1

The Register accepted the lookout on April 15, 2020, as US 1417, CA 223, with Brad Eells as nominator.1

A Forest Service project decision signed November 5, 2024, calls the tower a Forest Service lookout and covers installing two wildfire cameras and a solar panel array next to it.3 The sources do not confirm whether that work is finished.

The sources do not say whether the public can drive to the site or climb the tower. Ask the Klamath National Forest before you plan a visit, and stay off any tower that is closed or marked private.

  1. Collins Creek Baldy Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/collins-creek-baldy-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Collins Baldy, Forest Lookouts (californialookouts.weebly.com), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/collins-baldy.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Collins Baldy Wildfire Cameras, U.S. Forest Service, Klamath National Forest project 66866, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/projects/66866 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Collins Creek Baldy Lookout - 2008
Collins Creek Baldy Lookout - 2008 (2008)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Collins Creek Baldy Lookout
Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Collins Creek Baldy Lookout
Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1952
1952 (1952)Photo: Klamath National Forest, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
The Happy Camp Complex fire, as seen from the Collins Creek Baldy Lookout in the Klamath National Forest, Sept. 5, 2014
The Happy Camp Complex fire, as seen from the Collins Creek Baldy Lookout in the Klamath National Forest, Sept. 5, 2014 (2014)Photo: Joshua Veal/USFS, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.