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Fire lookout · Clackamas County, Oregon

Aschoff Butte Lookout Site

Clackamas County site: a Forest Service crow's nest and tent about 1925, a timber tower by about 1935 (110 or 82 ft, sources differ), gone by 1960.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower gone by 1960 per both sources; no source describes remains at the site

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerTree crow's nest and tent (c.1925), then a treated timber tower by c.1935; 110 ft per FFLOS, 82 ft L-6 per firelookout.comThe design: L-6 sources disagree
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1925
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,803 ft (1,159 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Mount Hood National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Clackamas County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.42151, −121.99286
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-aschoff-butte

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 4.0 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. 1925 BuiltCrow's nest and tent constructed by the Forest Service (firelookout.com lists a crow's nest and camp)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  2. 1934 EventPanorama photos entry dated June 20, 1934, per the Oregon Lookouts pageSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1935 Replaced by a new structureReplaced by a treated timber tower: 110 ft per FFLOS, 82 ft L-6 per firelookout.comSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1935 and 1960
  5. 1960 RemovedTower gone by 1960; neither source says how it came downSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1960 and 2010
  7. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered with the Former Fire Lookout Sites register August 16, 2010 (US 562, OR 3)Source: firetower.org
  8. 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.

Aschoff Butte is a former lookout site in Clackamas County, Oregon, in the Mount Hood National Forest, about 15 miles west-northwest of Mount Hood.1,2,3

According to the Former Fire Lookout Sites register, the Forest Service put up a tree crow's nest and a tent here around 1925.1 Firelookout.com lists a crow's nest and camp for the same period.2

By about 1935 both sources describe a treated timber tower, but they disagree on its height.1,2 The register gives 110 feet, while firelookout.com gives 82 feet and calls it an L-6 tower.1,2 The Oregon Lookouts page also lists a "Panorama photos" entry dated June 20, 1934, about a year before the tower's date.3

Both sources say the tower was gone by 1960.1,2

Today the sources do not describe what, if anything, remains on the butte, such as footings or a foundation, and they do not say whether the site is open to visitors.1,2 Anyone planning a trip should check access with the Mount Hood National Forest first.

  1. Aschoff Butte Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/aschoff-butte-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Aschoff Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/aschoffbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Aschoff Butte - Forest Lookouts, Oregon Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/aschoff-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Aschoff Butte Lookout 1925 - 1935
Aschoff Butte Lookout 1925 - 1935 (1925)Photo: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Aschoff Butte Lookout panoramic 6-20-1934
Aschoff Butte Lookout panoramic 6-20-1934 (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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.

Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on what kind of structure it is.

    • FFLA: Cab on a tower
    • FFLOS: Lookout tree

    Sources disagree on whether a tower or building stood here, or only a camp or lookout tree.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: 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
  4. 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
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.