FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Wasco County, Oregon

Clear Lake Butte Lookout

Also known as Clear Lake Cabin Lookout

A 1932 wooden tower on Mt. Hood was replaced by the current 41-foot R-6 cab in the early 1960s and is still staffed each summer and rented out the rest of the year.

Visit & stay

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

Fee
The lookout is available during winter months, from Nov. 1 to May 31. The maximum length stay is seven consecutive nights. Fees are used for the maintenance and preservation of the lookout.
Getting there
From December 1st through April 30th, and during winter driving conditions, the lookout can only be accessed by skiing, snowmobiling or snowshoeing 3.5 miles one way from a parking area at Skyline Sno-park.

Overview Clear Lake Cabin Lookout is situated on the southern slope of Mt. Hood, providing spectacular panorama views of snow-covered treetops, alpine lakes and rugged Cascade peaks. It also provides access to a variety of recreational opportunities, including fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing, as well as winter sports. From December 1st through April 30th, and during winter driving conditions, the lookout can only be accessed by skiing, snowmobiling or snowshoeing 3.5 miles one way from a parking area at Skyline Sno-park. Winter driving conditions can occur in early fall and persist late into the spring. An ODOT Sno-Park permit is required to park at Skyline Sno-park and the trek takes about three to four hours. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Recreation The surrounding area is popular among winter sports enthusiasts, as it offers access to miles of great cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. A ski tour is available around the spring-fed Little Crater Lake. Fishing is available in the various mountain lakes and streams, however, many may be frozen. Facilities The cabin is atop a 40-foot tower and is surrounded by a wooden catwalk. The 14-by-14 room is furnished with a small bed, a wood stove for heating and a table and chairs. It has a propane cook stove and solar-powered lights. There is no water on-site. An outhouse with vault toilets is located on the ground, as well as a shed stocked with firewood. A rope and pulley system is available to transport gear, as well as firewood, up and down the tower with ease. Guests will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, as well as their own bedding, food and clothing, towels, toilet paper, among other necessities. Garbage bags are also not supplied and guests will need to carry out all trash and clean the facility prior to leaving. Natural Features The tower sits on Clear Lake Butte, a 4,454-foot gently sloped hillside covered with fir trees, on the south side of Mt. Hood. Of the nine peaks in Oregon's Cascade Mountain Range, Mt. Hood stands the tallest, at 11,239 feet. It is thickly forested and capped with glaciers and snow. The lookout tower is perched on the mountainside, near the northwest corner of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. It is one of three Forest Service watchtowers on Mt. Hood and it is still used to spot fires during summertime each year. Originally 100 feet tall when it was built in 1932, the tower was replaced with the current 40-foot building in 1962. It overlooks Clear Lake and Timothy Lake in the distance. A variety of wildlife make its home in the area. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (541) 352-6002.

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. Road access in summer; from 12/1-4/30 reachable only by a 3.5-mile ski/snowshoe/snowmobile trek from Skyline Sno-Park.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Winter access requires a 3.5-mile trek from Skyline Sno-Park; no drinking water on site.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2026-10-04)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerR-6The design: R-6
Built of
Wood
Height
41 ft (12.5 m)
Elevation
4,427 ft (1,349 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Wasco County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.15631, −121.71842
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-clear-lake-butte

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. 1932 BuiltOriginal 100-110 foot wooden tower erected.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1932 and 1962
  3. 1962 Replaced by a new structureFirelookout.com and Recreation.gov both give 1962 as the year the current 41-foot R-6 tower replaced the original; NHLR gives 1964 (see resolved_conflicts).Sources: firelookout.com, recreation.gov
  4. No record between 1962 and 1993
  5. 1993 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterListed on the National Historic Lookout Register August 1, 1993.Source: nhlr.org
  6. 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.

Clear Lake Butte has carried a fire lookout since 1932, when the U.S. Forest Service put up a roughly 100-to-110-foot wooden tower on the southern slope of Mt. Hood, near the edge of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.1,2 That original tower didn't last as the permanent structure: sources disagree on whether it was replaced in 1962 or 1964, but either way it was swapped for the squat, 40-to-41-foot treated-timber tower with an R-6 flat-top cab that still stands on the site today.1,2,3

The lookout is one of three Forest Service fire towers on Mt. Hood, and it has stayed in active use for its original purpose: it's staffed by a fire lookout every summer.2,3 It was added to the National Historic Lookout Register on August 1, 1993.1

Outside of fire season, the Forest Service rents the cabin out to overnight guests through its recreation rental program.2,3 Getting there depends heavily on the season. In summer, visitors can drive up Forest Service roads off Highway 26. But from December 1 through April 30 — and whenever winter conditions set in early or linger late — the access road closes, and the only way in is a 3.5-mile trek from the Skyline Sno-Park on skis, snowshoes, or a snowmobile, a trip that takes three to four hours each way and requires an Oregon Sno-Park permit.3 There's no drinking water at the tower, so guests need to pack in their own.3 From the catwalk, renters and summer lookouts alike look out over Clear Lake and Timothy Lake and the surrounding Cascade peaks.3

  1. Clear Lake Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/clear-lake-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Clear Lake Butte Fire Lookout Tower, Fire Lookout, https://www.firelookout.com/or/clearlake.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Clear Lake Cabin Lookout, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234247 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Clear Lake Butte Lookout - 2010
Clear Lake Butte Lookout - 2010 (2010)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Clear Lake Butte L.O.
Clear Lake Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source
Clear Lake Butte L.O.
Clear Lake Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source
Clear Lake Butte in 1935
Clear Lake Butte in 1935 (1935)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source
Clear Lake Butte in 1963
Clear Lake Butte in 1963 (1963)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source
Clear Lake Butte L.O.
Clear Lake Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source
Clear Lake Butte in 2005
Clear Lake Butte in 2005 (2005)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Howard Verschoor collection, and Dominic Luebbers, via firelookout.com · source

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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: 1932
    • recreation.gov: 1932
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1962

    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, 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, staffing, 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
  6. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  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, height, status, agency, access, staffing, 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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