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Fire lookout · Jackson County, Oregon

Acorn Woman Peak Lookout

Also known as Squaw Peak, Acorn Woman Peak (formerly called Squaw Peak), Acorn Woman (Squaw) Peak Lookout

Restored 1943 L-4 groundhouse in the Rogue River National Forest, formerly Squaw Peak Lookout, now a seasonal recreation rental.

Visit & stay

You can rent this lookout for overnight stays through recreation.gov.

Season
fishing year-round

Overview Acorn Woman Peak Lookout was constructed in 1942. It is an L-4 style cabin, and is on the National Historic Site Registry. The lookout is surrounded by glass windows on all sides, providing visitors with an unparalleled view of the steep drop-offs and breath-taking views of the rugged Siskiyou Mountains. This historic lookout is available for rent during the snow-free season with a maximum length of stay being 5 consecutive nights. Guests must bring most of their own amenities. Recreation The lookout is also a prime spot for nature and scenic photography due to the stunning vistas provided. For visitors interested in astronomy, stargazing is a popular activity on clear nights. Facilities The 14 x 14 foot one room cabin is designed to house only one or two people, and offers a primitive camping experience. The room is equipped with a small wooden table, and the center of the building has a working Osborne Firefinder on its work table. Broom, mop, and fire extinguisher are on site, as well as a small storage box with toilet paper, forest and ranger district maps and information about the lookout and its surroundings. A primitive vault toilet is located near the lookout. No water is available on site, so guests must pack in water for drinking, cooking and washing. Guests must also provide their own camp stove, light source, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, towels, dish soap, matches, cooking gear, and garbage bags. Natural Features From the lookout, guests are treated to expansive views of the Red Buttes Wilderness area, Acorn Woman Lake and the Little Applegate Valley. To the north are far views of the Rogue Valley and Mt. McLaughlin and to the east is Wagner Butte and Dutchman Peak. On a clear day, visitors can see the rim of Crater Lake, Mt. Bailey and Mt. Thielsen. Clear nights provide guests with a dazzling display of stars and planets. Nearby Attractions The United States Congress designated the Red Buttes Wilderness in 1984 and it now includes a total of 19,940 acres. Management of the Red Buttes Wilderness, located on the California/Oregon border, is shared by the Klamath National Forest and the Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest. The majority of the Wilderness lies within the boundaries of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Several lakes are accessible in the forest. Acorn Woman Peak looks south to Acorn Woman Lakes, a semi-primitive developed recreation area that accepts camping reservations from May through September. Applegate Lake is a large reservoir with boat ramps, campgrounds, viewpoints and a developed recreation area named Hart Tish. Both lakes are open for fishing year-round.

Book on recreation.gov

Rental details from recreation.gov, checked 19 Oct 2026. Rules, fees and seasons change, so confirm on the booking page before you go. Data source: ridb.recreation.gov

Access

Open to the public. Gated combination-lock access road, steep and winding; combination provided with reservation.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Access road may not suit passenger vehicles or large trucks; firepit on site, no firewood provided.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabL-4The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1943
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,914 ft (1,498 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Rogue River National Forest / Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Jackson County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.06958, −123.01143
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-acorn-woman-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.

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

History

Then and now

  1. 1943 BuiltNHLR and firelookout.com date construction to 1943; Recreation.gov instead gives 1942.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, recreation.gov
  2. No record between 1943 and 1966
  3. 1966 Last staffedLast year staffed full-time; afterward used for emergencies and early-season coverage of Dutchman Peak.Source: firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1966 and 2000
  5. 2000 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesListed as Squaw Peak Lookout under the US Forest Service Historic Structures on the Rogue River National Forest multiple listing; the NPGallery asset record gives a Date Published of 12/29/2000 (no separate listing date field rendered), so the year is corrected from the earlier placeholder of 2003.Source: npgallery.nps.gov
  6. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterDate registered per NHLR detail page: March 31, 2003Source: NHLR register entry
  7. No record between 2003 and 2021
  8. 2021 EventRenamed from Squaw Peak Lookout to Acorn Woman Peak Lookout approximately five years before a September 2026 NHLR site update.Source: nhlr.org
  9. 2026 RestoredNHLR description states the lookout has been restored and is open to visitors.Source: nhlr.org
  10. 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Acorn Woman Peak Lookout sits in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon's Rogue River National Forest, near the California border. It's a classic L-4 groundhouse with a catwalk, built in 1943 according to the National Historic Lookout Register, though the Recreation.gov listing gives 1942 — the two sources disagree by a year.1,2 For decades it was known as Squaw Peak Lookout; the Register notes the name was changed to Acorn Woman Peak roughly five years before an update posted in September 2026.1

The lookout's job was tied to its taller neighbor, Dutchman Peak. Early in the fire season, before snow cleared from Dutchman Peak's lookout, Squaw Peak served as the active station; it was staffed full-time through 1966, after which it continued to be used for emergencies and for that early-season gap.3 The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Squaw Peak Lookout," as part of a Forest Service multiple-listing covering historic structures on the Rogue River National Forest.4

The lookout has since been restored and is open to visitors.1 It's glassed in on all sides, giving an unobstructed view of the steep drop-offs and ridgelines of the Siskiyou range.2 Today it's part of the Forest Service's recreation rental program, bookable through Recreation.gov during the snow-free season, with stays capped at five consecutive nights.2 The access road is steep and winding, may not suit passenger cars or large trucks, and is gated with a combination lock whose code comes with the reservation confirmation.2 Guests should watch for rattlesnakes, ticks, and poison oak in the area, and bring most of their own supplies.2

  1. Acorn Woman Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/acorn-woman-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Acorn Woman Peak Lookout campground listing, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/251546 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Squaw Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/squawpeakr.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  4. Squaw Peak Lookout, National Register Information System, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/00000512 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of Acorn Woman Peak Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Acorn Woman Peak Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Squaw Peak in 1943
Squaw Peak in 1943 (1943)Photo: the Dave Bula collection and Howard Verschoor, via firelookout.com · source
Squaw Peak L.O.
Squaw Peak L.OPhoto: the Dave Bula collection and Howard Verschoor, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Acorn Woman Peak Lookout
Photo: NoeHill, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, 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. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Gave us: ownership, access, rental details, links Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association: lookout rentals Gave us: rental details, links Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals list (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only (state, name, booking link, manager, closure note), no prose copied. The FFLA says it is not involved in managing any rental program. · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  5. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: what it is built of, design, photos, links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  8. Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill) Gave us: links Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill, cherylhill.net) · No licence stated; facts only (name, agency, elevation, year built, design and height, status word, links). Posts' narrative and photos are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. 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

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