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Fire lookout · Yuba County, California

Pike County Peak Lookout

Yuba County lookout: a 1913 tree platform, then a 1961 cab and tower from Lexington Hill moved here in 1983; listed as standing, and detecting fires in 2019 per NHLR.

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
Cab on a towerNational Plan CL-100 cab (13x13 cabin) on a 20-foot steel tower, moved here from Lexington HillThe design: CL-100
Built of
Steel
Built
1913
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
3,443 ft (1,049 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Plumas National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Yuba County, California
Coordinates
39.47483, −121.20233
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-pike-county-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. 1913 BuiltPlatform built around a large pine, nearly 80 feet up, because no funds were available for a towerSources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1913 First staffedWatchman spent the summer in the tree station; fires reported by telephone to the main office at Nevada CitySource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1921 FireLookout from the Pike County station first discovered a fire in CamptonvilleSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1923 BuiltPermanent structure completed by 1923Source: nhlr.org
  5. 1923 FireFire near Forbestown reported from the lookout in August; destruction limited to one acreSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1923 StaffedJoseph Shaffer opened the station on May 14Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1928 StaffedMrs. J. W. Vance served as lookout with her four-year-old son as companionSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1932 StaffedNight shift placed on the lookout after fires were found to be set at nightSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1932 and 1961
  10. 1961 Replaced by a new structureOn Lexington Hill, the 1933 structure's tower was replaced by a CL-100 cab on a 20-foot steel tower; this unit was later moved to Pike County PeakSource: firetower.org
  11. No record between 1961 and 1983
  12. 1983 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  13. 1983 MovedCab and 20-foot steel tower dismantled on Lexington Hill and re-erected on Pike County PeakSources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com, firetower.org
  14. No record between 1983 and 2019
  15. 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered October 30, 2019 as US 1374, CA 197; nominated by Brad EellsSource: nhlr.org
  16. 2019 EventRegister says the lookout was actively detecting fires in 2019Source: nhlr.org
  17. 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.

Pike County Peak lies in Yuba County, California, in the Plumas National Forest.1 Its 1913 station had no tower at all.2 A 1913 newspaper report says that, with no money for a tower, Forest Service officials built a platform around a large pine on the crest, between 75 and 80 feet up, and reached it by a ladder against the trunk.2 The Register puts a permanent structure on the peak by 1923.1

A watchman spent the 1913 summer in the tree and phoned fires in to the service's main office at Nevada City.2 In 1921 a lookout from the Pike County station was first to spot a fire in Camptonville.2 Joseph Shaffer began staffing the lookout on May 14, 1923, and that August a fire near Forbestown was reported from it and held to one acre.2 In 1928 Mrs. J. W. Vance was the only woman staffing a fire lookout in the Plumas National Forest, and her four-year-old son kept her company that summer.2 After it became clear in 1932 that fires were being set at night, the lookout got a night shift.2

The cab and tower now on the peak came from Lexington Hill.1 A 1933 structure there gave way in 1961 to a CL-100 cab on a 20-foot steel tower.3 The Register says that cab and tower were taken down and set up again on Pike County Peak in 1983.1,2,3 It was registered on October 30, 2019, and the Register says the lookout was actively detecting fires that year.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.4

Today the sources read do not say whether the public can visit or climb it. Peakbagging.com says the lookout is usually staffed in fire season, but that note comes from a 2006 photo.5 Check with the Plumas National Forest before any trip.

  1. Pike County Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/pike-county-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Pike County Peak, Forest Lookouts (californialookouts.weebly.com), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/pike-county-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Lexington Hill Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/lexington-hill-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. California Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/ca/ca-co/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Pike County Peak Lookout, California, Peakbagging (peakbagging.com), http://www.peakbagging.com/CALookoutPhotos/PikeCountyPeak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Pike County Peak Lookout - 2009
Pike County Peak Lookout - 2009 (2009)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2006
2006 (2006)Photo: Fred Johnson, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Circa 1913
Circa 1913 (1913)Photo: USFS Image - Mark Swift Collection, 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: height, 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, 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.