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Fire lookout · Columbia County, Oregon

Clatskanie Mountain Lookout Site

Columbia Co., OR tower built 1954 for the Oregon Dept. of Forestry; moved to Magness Tree Farm in 1984, then restored and climbable on tours at Hopkins Demonstration Forest.

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at Hopkins Forest

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. Dismantled in 1984 and moved to Magness Tree Farm; later relocated to Hopkins Demonstration Forest, where it stands restored. Sources give 60 ft or 65 ft.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. The tower stands at Hopkins Demonstration Forest outside Oregon City. Climbs happen on scheduled public tours and open houses; the sources describe no year-round schedule for climbs. Mt Hood Territory says the forest itself is open seven days a week.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Climbing is offered on forest tour days. Check Hopkins Demonstration Forest's schedule before going.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Moved
Type
Cab on a towerSteel Aermotor tower with 7x7 steel cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Steel
Built
1954
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
2,000 ft (610 m)
Agency
Oregon Department of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Columbia County, Oregon
Coordinates
46.06608, −123.28252
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-clatskanie-mountain

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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at its recorded height.

Downloads about 3.9 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. 1954 BuiltSteel Aermotor tower and cab built at the site (FFLOS); the Weebly history gives a 60-foot tower with 7x7 cab.Sources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  2. 1954 Replaced by a new structureBuilt as a replacement for the Benson Lookout; total cost when completed $2,325.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1955 Altered1955 annual report, quoted on Weebly: porch added to the living quarters, kitchen built-ins installed and the interior painted.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1955 and 1984
  5. 1984 MovedDismantled in January and moved to Magness Tree Farm to be reassembled as an education and historic display. Farm's town given as Woodburn, Wilsonville or Sherwood depending on source.Sources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1984 and 2010
  7. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered on the Former Fire Lookout Sites register as US 679, OR 111 on September 23, 2010.Source: firetower.org
  8. 2020 RestoredNewsletter says restoration at Hopkins took nearly 10 years and the climb up the tower was completed in summer 2020.Source: demonstrationforest.org
  9. 2021 EventTower opened to the public for climbs on Saturday, July 3, with almost 100 visitors. Year taken from the newsletter's Summer 2021 title, which is inferred.Source: demonstrationforest.org
  10. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to Hopkins Forest.Source: FFLA
  11. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. When it came down is not recorded.

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 Clatskanie Mountain lookout stood in Columbia County, Oregon, and the Oregon Department of Forestry administered it.1 In 1954 a steel Aermotor tower with its cab went up on the site.1,2 The tower was 60 feet tall with a 7-by-7 steel cab, and it replaced the older Benson Lookout.3 Some sources give a height of 65 feet instead.4,5 When it was finished, the tower had cost $2,325.3

The sources we read do not name anyone who staffed the tower or any fire it watched. A 1955 annual report, quoted on the Weebly history, describes a porch and kitchen fittings added to the living quarters.3

In January 1984 the tower was taken down and moved to Magness Tree Farm, where it was to be rebuilt for teaching and as a historic display.3 The sources disagree about where the farm was. The Former Fire Lookout Sites register and Firelookout both say near Woodburn,1,2 the Weebly history says near Wilsonville,3 and a 2021 Hopkins newsletter says Sherwood.4

The tower then went to Hopkins Demonstration Forest, a 140-acre working forest just outside Oregon City.4,5 The newsletter says restoration there took nearly ten years.4

Today the tower stands at Hopkins. A 2025 article from Mt Hood Territory calls it a highlight of the forest, says it has been restored to historic standards, and says visitors can climb it for views.5 The newsletter said the forest hoped to open the tower regularly, and it listed public tours and open houses that included a tower visit.4 Mt Hood Territory says the forest is open seven days a week, but the sources do not describe a year-round schedule for tower climbs, so check the forest's tour dates before you go.4,5

  1. Clatskanie Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/clatskanie-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Clatskanie Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/clatskaniemtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Clatskanie Mountain, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/clatskanie-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Hopkins Demonstration Forest newsletter, Summer 2021, OSU Extension Service, Clackamas County, https://demonstrationforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GH-Note-Final-Summer-2021.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Hopkins Demonstration Forest, Mt Hood Territory, https://www.mthoodterritory.com/farms-wineries/hopkins-demonstration-forest (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Clatskanie Mountain Lookout Site
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, 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: 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
  5. 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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