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Fire lookout · Trinity County, California

Hammerhorn Mountain Lookout Site

Hammerhorn Mountain ground cabin in Mendocino NF; news reports date it to late 1921 (register Built field says 1924). Gone, removal unknown; few remnants on summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removal date unknown; a June 2026 trip report found only a few remnants on the summit

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. On Mendocino National Forest land and reached on foot; no closure or permit requirement found in the sources read

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Reached on foot; a June 2026 trip report describes a little old trail and a short scramble, about 10 feet with hand and foot holds, up the summit block.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabCalifornia Region 5 Plan 4A ground cabinThe design: Plan 4-A
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1921
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,547 ft (2,300 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Mendocino National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Trinity County, California
Coordinates
40.00164, −122.95050
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-hammerhorn-mountain

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.4 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. 1921 BuiltLate 1921 per news reports, likely opened for the 1922 season; the register's Built field gives 1924 insteadSources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1924 Built'Built' field on FFLOS detail pageSource: FFLOS register entry
  3. 1930 AlteredConstruction of a 1,200-gallon water tank at the lookout, reported December 3, 1930Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1930 StaffedC.M. Bucknell left in July 1930 to pass the summer at the lookout stationSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1932 StaffedForest Service summer appointments announced April 15, 1932 list C.M. Bucknell at Hammerhorn lookoutSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1946 StaffedMrs. Williams was at the lookout in September 1946 when a patrol flight dropped mail nearbySource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1948 Condition assessmentA 1948 photo shows the lookout in rough condition; removal date is unknownSource: firetower.org
  8. No record between 1948 and 2020
  9. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 24, 2020 as FFLOS US 2048, CA 154; nominated by Brad EellsSource: firetower.org
  10. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. When it came down is not recorded.

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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Hammerhorn Mountain rises to about 2,300 metres in the Mendocino National Forest, in Trinity County.1 Sources disagree on when its lookout went up.1,2 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register says news reports place construction in late 1921, with the cabin probably in service for the 1922 fire season, and it calls the building a California Region 5 Plan 4A ground cabin.1 A November 1921 item in a Mariposa paper backs the early date. It says a deputy forest supervisor had been overseeing the building of the lookout house at Hammerhorn mountain.2 The register's own "Built" field, though, reads 1924.1

The station had seasonal lookouts.2 In July 1930 C.M. Bucknell left to spend the summer there, and in December 1930 a 1,200-gallon water tank was being built at the lookout.2 The Forest Service named him again for the 1932 season.2 In September 1946 a patrol flight dropped mail at the station, but strong winds and high flying speed sent the parcels down in rough country about a quarter mile from the lookout.2 Mrs. Williams, who was there, had trouble finding them.2

The register gives no removal date.1 A 1948 photo shows the cabin in rough condition.1

Today the summit is a small graveled flat.3 A June 2026 hiking trip report found only a few remnants of the lookout, plus old nails gathered at one rock.3 The site lies on national forest land, and a 1942 survey description places the summit in the Middle Eel Primitive Area.1,2 Visitors reach it on foot, and the last stretch is a short scramble, about 10 feet, with plenty of hand and foot holds.3

  1. Hammerhorn Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/hammerhorn-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Hammerhorn Mountain, Forest Lookouts (californialookouts.weebly.com), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/hammerhorn-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Last Camp: Hammerhorn Mountain, Valhikes (trip report), https://valhikes.blogspot.com/2026/06/last-camp-hammerhorn-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Hammerhorn Mountain Lookout - 1948
Hammerhorn Mountain Lookout - 1948 (1948)Photo: Upper Lake Ranger District Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) 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
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, visiting details, 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.