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Fire lookout · Jefferson County, Oregon

Black Butte Lookout (Deschutes NF)

Also known as Black Butte

Black Butte has held lookouts since 1910-11; a 1922 D-6 cupola still stands, the 1934 tower fell, and a 65-ft tower from 1995 was staffed in fire season as of 2019.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. Summit is a public hike on Deschutes National Forest land. The 65-ft tower is a staffed lookout; no source found says visitors may enter or climb it.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
A road reaches most of the way up; the last two miles are on foot (2016 blog)
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower65-ft treated timber tower with 10x10-ft cab (1995), beside the 1922 D-6 cupolaThe designs: D-6, L-4
Built of
Wood
Height
65 ft (19.8 m)
Elevation
6,360 ft (1,939 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Jefferson County, Oregon
Coordinates
44.39984, −121.63651
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-black-butte-deschutes-nf

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 3.6 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. 1910 BuiltFirelookout.com dates the first tree crow's nest tower and tent to 1910; Forest Lookouts says the first lookout was established in 1911Sources: firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1922 BuiltOriginal D-6 cupola lookout; firelookout.com says about 1923 and a 2016 blog says 1923Sources: nhlr.org, nuggetnews.com, firelookout.com
  3. 1934 BuiltTaller wooden tower built for better visibility; 82 or 83 ft; cab 7x7 or 8x8 ft depending on sourceSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1934 and 1980
  5. 1980 BuiltLog ground quarters cabin built; the NHLR says 1980, Forest Lookouts says 1979Sources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1990 Event1934 tower condemned after winter damage; the lookout duties went back to the cupolaSources: nuggetnews.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1994 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 10, 1994 per the NHLR recordSource: nhlr.org
  8. 1994 EventForest Service accepted a bid to build a 65-ft wood tower, lookout cab and communication buildingSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1995 Replaced by a new structure65-ft tower flown in sections by a Sikorsky Skycrane and assembled at the summit in May 1995Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com, nuggetnews.com
  10. 2001 Destroyed1934 tower collapsed under snow in December 2001 per Forest Lookouts and firelookout.com; the NHLR says the winter of 2002Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com, nhlr.org
  11. 2014 AbandonedGround quarters cabin condemnedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 2016 BurnedCondemned ground quarters cabin burned by the Forest Service in November 2016Sources: cherylhill.net, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. 2019 RestoredVolunteers restored the 1922 cupola; Friends of the Metolius raised the money; the article is dated September 2019Source: nuggetnews.com
  14. 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.

Black Butte sits in the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest, and people have watched for fires from its summit for more than a century.1,2 Sources differ on whether the first lookout went up in 1910 or 1911.3,2 A D-6 cupola cabin was built in 1922, though one site dates it to about 1923.1,4,3

In 1934 a taller wooden tower was added for better visibility.1 Newspapers reported 83 feet when the tower opened in August 1934, though earlier announcements said 85 and 87 feet. The NHLR gives 82 feet.2,1 Sources also disagree on the cab, which the NHLR gives as 7 by 7 feet and another site as 8 by 8 feet.1,3

The 1934 tower was condemned in 1990 after winter damage.4,2 It came down under heavy snow, but the date is disputed. Two sites say December 2001, and the NHLR says the winter of 2002.3,2,1

A 65-foot tower replaced it in 1995.4,2 Newspaper coverage quoted on a lookout history site describes a 1994 contract for a 65-foot wood tower and cab, and a May 1995 lift in sections by a Sikorsky Skycrane.2 A 2016 blog gives the tower's height as 35 feet, which conflicts with the other sources.5

A November 2016 newspaper item, quoted by the same history site, says lookouts staff the tower every summer and now sleep and cook in a yurt at its base.2 The log quarters cabin, built in 1979 or 1980, was condemned in 2014 and burned in November 2016.1,2,5

Volunteers have been restoring the cupola in recent years.4 A 2019 Nugget story describes new flooring, shingles, siding and footings, with money raised by the Friends of the Metolius.4

As of the 2019 Nugget story, the 65-foot tower was still a staffed lookout.4 A 2016 blog says a road reaches most of the way up, and the last two miles are on foot.5 We found no source saying visitors may enter or climb the staffed tower, so check with the Sisters Ranger District before you go.

  1. Black Butte Lookout (Deschutes NF), National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/black-butte-lookout-deschutes-nf/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Black Butte, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/black-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Black Butte (Deschutes N.F.) Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://firelookout.com/or/blackbuttedes.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Volunteers restore century-old lookout, The Nugget Newspaper, https://www.nuggetnews.com/story/2019/09/18/news/volunteers-restore-century-old-lookout/29890.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Black Butte, Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill), https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/2016/07/22/black-butte-2/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Black Butte Lookout - 2006
Black Butte Lookout - 2006 (2006)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Black Butte Lookout - 1972
Black Butte Lookout - 1972 (1972)Photo: Deschutes National Forest Archive, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
4 Generations atop Black Butte
4 Generations atop Black ButtePhoto: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Black Butte cupola cabin
Black Butte cupola cabinPhoto: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Black Butte L.O. 1934-2001
Black Butte L.O. 1934-2001 (1934)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Black Butte L.O.
Black Butte L.OPhoto: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · 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 the year it was built.

    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1934
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1995

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

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. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: design, height, dates, 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
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) 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
  6. 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
  7. 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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