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Fire lookout · Shasta County, California

Knob Peak Lookout

A 1934 enclosed timber tower on Shasta-Trinity NF land, still standing; the register records 2019 registration, but no staffing history was found.

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
Trail
Reached by the Knob Peak Lookout Road and Cow Gulch Road. A hiker's track says the road is rough but needs no four-wheel drive. The same hiker did not walk up from the gate, and the sources read do not say where the walk starts. The trail passes through or next to fenced private property near the peak.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Enclosed towerEnclosed timber tower, 13 feet, built to California Region 5 Plan BC-301The design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,829 ft (1,472 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Shasta County, California
Coordinates
40.39977, −122.95637
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-knob-peak

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 3.3 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 BuiltEnclosed timber tower to California Region 5 Plan BC-301; the register gives 1934, and newspaper notes show the lookout finished that AugustSources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 EventCCC crews working on the road to the lookout in June 1934Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1934 and 2009
  4. 2009 AlteredNew paint and protective shutters; the register says 'recently' and a photo caption dates the work to 2009Source: nhlr.org
  5. 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered October 26, 2019, nominated by Brad EellsSource: nhlr.org
  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.

Knob Peak Lookout is a 13-foot enclosed timber tower on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Shasta County, California, at about 4,829 feet.1 The register says it was built to California Region 5 Plan BC-301.1

The register dates the tower to 1934.1 Two notes from that summer, quoted on a California lookout history site, show Civilian Conservation Corps crews working on the road to the top in June, and a carpenter foreman finishing the lookout in August.2 The pages I read do not say why the peak was chosen.1,2

The sources give no staffing history. None names a lookout who worked the tower, and none names a fire seen from it.1,2

According to the register, the tower was recently repainted and fitted with protective shutters, and a photo captioned 2009 shows it already painted and shuttered.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists it as an enclosed tower that is still standing.3 The National Historic Lookout Register added it on October 26, 2019, on a nomination by Brad Eells.1

Access runs along the Knob Peak Lookout Road and Cow Gulch Road.4 A hiker's track on Gaia GPS calls the road rough but says a four-wheel-drive vehicle is not needed, and notes that the route runs through or beside fenced private land close to the top. That hiker did not walk up from the gate, and the sources I read do not say where the walk starts.4

The forest rents out several of its lookouts, and a travel article about them names three rentable lookouts without mentioning Knob Peak.5 The sources do not say whether the cab itself can be entered. Check with the Shasta-Trinity office before planning a visit, and stay on public land near the peak.

  1. Knob Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/knob-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Knob Peak, California Forest Lookouts (history notes), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/knob-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. California Lookouts (Shasta County list), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/ca/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Knob Peak Lookout Road and Cow Gulch Road, Gaia GPS, https://www.gaiagps.com/hike/13898/knob-peak-lookout-road-and-cow-gulch-road/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. You Can Rent this Fire Lookout Tower in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest for $75 a Night, Active NorCal, https://www.activenorcal.com/you-can-rent-this-fire-lookout-tower-in-the-shasta-trinity-national-forest-for-75-a-night/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Knob Peak Lookout with new paint and shutters - 2009
Knob Peak Lookout with new paint and shutters - 2009 (2009)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2005
2005 (2005)Photo: www.peakbagging.com, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Knob Peak Lookout
Photo: Harrison Gutch Ranger Station, 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. 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
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, 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.