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Fire lookout · Los Angeles County, California

Sunset Peak Lookout Site

A 20-foot steel fire tower on Sunset Peak in the Angeles National Forest, built in 1927 and taken down in 1974-75; only footings and a foundation remain.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower and cab removed in 1974-75 and reportedly taken to the Ontario air tanker base; footings and a house foundation remain.

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. Reached on foot by a fire road and trail from Cow Canyon Saddle on Glendora Ridge Road; check Angeles National Forest for closures before going.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trailhead at Cow Canyon Saddle; parking is roadside only; HikingGuy lists the hike at 7.5 miles.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower20-ft steel tower with a cab (sources differ: L-4 or BC-301 per the register; 14 by 14 ft wood cab per Angeles Adventures)The designs: L-4, BC-301
Built of
Steel
Built
1927
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
5,796 ft (1,767 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates
34.21665, −117.68931
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-sunset-peak

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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 3.0 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. 1915 EventMarch 1915 newspaper: a 50-foot steel tower planned for the crest; not the 20-foot tower later builtSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1927 BuiltLookout built on Sunset Peak to replace the Old Baldy (Lookout Mountain) station; 20-foot steel towerSources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com, angelesadventures.com
  3. 1928 DestroyedLightning and then fire destroyed the cabin; the steel tower survived and the lookout was quickly rebuiltSources: californialookouts.weebly.com, angelesadventures.com
  4. 1928 First staffedCharles E. Horn and his wife stationed at the lookout; a 1928 item says Horn had been there two yearsSources: angelesadventures.com, californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1933 EventWinter motorway built; July 1933 item says an automobile was used that summer in place of the pack trains (Angeles Adventures dates the first motor supply run to 1932)Sources: californialookouts.weebly.com, angelesadventures.com
  6. 1938 FireSan Antonio Fire threatened the lookout from both sides; lookout Sherman Foster stayed at his post and warned the WPA camp foremanSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1938 and 1960
  8. 1960 Staffed1960s photo caption: F.A. Vickery was possibly the last lookout (year approximate)Source: angelesadventures.com
  9. 1974 ClosedDeactivated because smog pollution obstructed visibilitySource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1974 RemovedCab and tower reportedly disassembled and transported to the Ontario Air Tanker Base in 1974 or 75Source: firetower.org
  11. 1975 DestroyedAngeles Adventures gives the span as 1927-1975 and lists the structure as demolishedSource: angelesadventures.com
  12. No record between 1975 and 2018
  13. 2018 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: July 30, 2018Source: FFLOS register entry
  14. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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.

The Sunset Peak lookout stood in the Angeles National Forest, in the San Gabriel Mountains.1 It is gone now.1 The register dates the tower to 1927 and says it replaced an earlier site on Lookout Mountain, across the saddle to the north.1 A 1927 newspaper item, quoted by Forest Lookouts, said the Old Baldy station would be replaced by a new 20-foot steel tower on Sunset Peak.2 Angeles Adventures instead says the older Old Baldy tower was moved to the summit that year.3 A March 1915 newspaper item had described a 50-foot tower for the crest, which does not match the 20 feet the register gives for the tower built.2,1

The register thinks the cab was an L-4 or BC-301 type on that tower. Angeles Adventures describes a 14-by-14-foot cab instead.1,3 Charles E. Horn and his wife were stationed there in 1928.3 In October that year lightning struck the cabin.2 The Horns judged there was no point in staying, and that Friday night a second strike set off a fire that destroyed the cabin.2 Angeles Adventures says the steel tower survived and the lookout was quickly rebuilt.3

A July 1933 item quoted by Forest Lookouts said an automobile had taken over from the pack trains that had long carried supplies up, and that a winter motorway had made the trip more convenient.2 Angeles Adventures dates the first motor supply run to 1932, when Glendora Ridge Road had just been finished.3

In December 1938 a fire threatened the lookout from both sides.2 Sherman Foster, the lookout on duty, stayed at his post. He got a message through to the foreman of a nearby WPA camp, who moved all the men out without trouble.2

The lookout was deactivated in 1974 because smog blocked the view.2 The register says the cab and tower were reportedly taken apart and sent to the Ontario air tanker base in 1974 or 1975, and that their final disposition is unknown.1 Angeles Adventures gives the span as 1927 to 1975 and lists the structure as demolished.3

According to the register, only the tower footings and a house foundation are left.1 The register also says a suspected cistern is covered by corrugated sheeting.1 The usual route starts at Cow Canyon Saddle, along Glendora Ridge Road, and HikingGuy lists the hike at 7.5 miles.4 The same guide advises checking with the Angeles National Forest about closures before setting out.4

  1. Sunset Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/sunset-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Sunset Peak, Forest Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/sunset-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Sunset Peak Lookout, Angeles Adventures, https://angelesadventures.com/sunset-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Sunset Peak Trail, HikingGuy, https://hikingguy.com/hikes/sunset-peak-trail/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

July 1940 photo
July 1940 photo (1940)Photo: National Archives, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013 photo of site
2013 photo of site (2013)Photo: Michael Guerin, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013 photo of cabin foundation
2013 photo of cabin foundation (2013)Photo: Michael Guerin, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013 photo of cistern roofing
2013 photo of cistern roofing (2013)Photo: Michael Guerin, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013 photo of tower footing
2013 photo of tower footing (2013)Photo: Michael Guerin, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1963 photo
1963 photo (1963)Photo: Gordon Rowley, Angeles National Forest, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1940
1940 (1940)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1927 - First year of operation
1927 - First year of operation (1927)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Circa 1975 - Just prior to dismantling for transport to the Ontario Tanker Base
Circa 1975 - Just prior to dismantling for transport to the Ontario Tanker Base (1975)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sunset Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Cab removed for relocation - Circa 1975
Cab removed for relocation - Circa 1975 (1975)Photo: 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) 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, 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

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