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Fire lookout · Lake County, Oregon

Dog Mountain Lookout

Dog Mountain, Lake County, Oregon: 1926 cupola and 1947 cabin replaced by a 1997 two-story live-in cab; drive-up with no gate; staffing reports conflict.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Drive-up forest road with no gate; a June 2022 visitor drove to the summit. The cab is in active service and was locked on that visit, so entry should not be expected.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Gravel route via Dog Lake Lane and NF-406, about 5.5 miles from the NF-085 junction to the summit; a 2022 trip report calls the road exposed and narrow. Check with the Lakeview Ranger District before a visit.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingtwo-story live-in cab built 1997 (about 15 by 15 feet); earlier L-4 cabin of 1947The designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,890 ft (2,100 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Fremont-Winema National Forest (Lakeview Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Lake County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.11840, −120.71807
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-dog-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.

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History

Then and now

  1. 1918 StaffedBertha Covert staffed the lookout during the manpower shortage of World War ISource: nhlr.org
  2. 1926 BuiltStandard D-6 cupola lookout house constructedSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1934 Event16 by 18 foot wood-frame garage built by members of the nearby CCC campSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1947 BuiltCabin at a cost of $2,700; register says L-4 cabin, Forest Lookouts says 14 by 14 Aladdin-style houseSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1956 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Ray Van Meter of Malin on duty for the Forest ServiceSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1960 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Ray Van Meter spent the summer on the lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1960 and 1995
  8. 1995 Condition assessmentFY95 Forest Service fire facility proposal to replace the 1947 lookout, described as structurally unsoundSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1997 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  10. 1997 Removed1947 cabin gone; only concrete and tie-down bolts remainSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1997 Replaced by a new structureNew two-story lookout house built beside the 1947 cabin; net contract $82,213.92; lookout duties moved to Drakes Peak during constructionSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 1, 2003 as US 475, OR 71Source: nhlr.org
  13. 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.

Dog Mountain stands in Lake County, Oregon, in what the register calls the Fremont National Forest.1 The same forest appears in a 2022 trip report as the Fremont-Winema National Forest.2

The first lookout here was an alidade in the teens, and a D-6 cupola house followed in 1926.1,3 Members of a nearby CCC camp built a wood-frame garage in 1934.3 The 1947 cabin is described two ways. The register calls it an L-4 cabin costing $2,700, while Forest Lookouts describes a 14-by-14 Aladdin-style house for the same price.1,3

In 1918 Bertha Covert staffed the lookout, one of many women who took such jobs during the manpower shortage of World War I.1 Forest Lookouts reports that a couple from Malin were on duty there in 1956 and spent the summer there again in 1960.3

A 1995 fire facility proposal called the 1947 house structurally unsound, with numerous code violations.3 A new two-story house went up beside it in 1997.1,3 The old cabin is gone, and only its concrete slab and tie-down bolts are left.3 The net contract, including modifications, came to $82,213.92, and lookout duties moved to Drakes Peak while the work went on.3

The register says the present cab is still in active service.1 Rex's page says it is staffed every summer, but a visitor in June 2022 reported that it seemed still locked up for the season.4,2 That same visitor found the road runs all the way to the summit and that there is no gate.2

Sources also disagree on the size and elevation. Forest Lookouts says the cab measures 15 feet 4 inches on each side, while the register gives 15 by 15 feet.3,1 The register gives the elevation as 6,890 feet, and Rex's page gives 6,936.1,4

Before a visit, check with the Lakeview Ranger District, which the register names as the cooperator.1

  1. Dog Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/dog-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Dog Mountain L.O. (Fremont NF), The Roaming Civic, https://theroamingcivic.com/2022/06/27/dog-mountain-lookout-fremont/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Dog Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts (oregonlookouts.weebly.com), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/dog-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Dog Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Rex's Forest Fire Lookout Page (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/or/dogmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Dog Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Dog Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Dog Mtn. cupola cabin
Dog Mtn. cupola cabinPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum and Howard Verschoor, via firelookout.com · source
Dog Mtn. L.O.
Dog Mtn. L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum and Howard Verschoor, 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.

    • NHLR: 1997
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1947
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1997

    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, 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: what it is built of, design, staffing, 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. 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. 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
  6. 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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