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Fire lookout · Marion County, Oregon

Dome Rock Lookout Site - WNF

Also known as Dome Rock

Willamette NF lookout cabin on Dome Rock, built 1928 and replaced 1948; sources date its removal to 1951 or 1965; remains reported in an undated guide and a Forest Service trail leads to the site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cabin gone by 1951 per FFLOS and firelookout.com, or removed about 1965 per the Forest Lookouts Oregon page; Oregon Hikers (undated guide) reports remains of the old lookout there

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Dome Rock Trail #3381 is a Forest Service trail that leads to the former lookout site; the trail page reports wildfire impacts and no closure

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trailhead off French Creek Road (Forest Road 2223), reached by driving west from Detroit across the Breitenbush Bridge and seven miles past the Forest Road 2207 junction; Forest Service warns of Beachie Creek and Lionshead fire impacts

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cab14x14-foot Supervisor Hall frame cabin (ground-level lookout house, no tower)The design: D-5 (4-AR)
Built of
Wood
Built
1928
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,859 ft (1,481 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Willamette National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Marion County, Oregon
Coordinates
44.75275, −122.20851
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-dome-rock-lookout-site-wnf

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 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. 1928 BuiltStandard lookout house built on Dome Rock; FFLOS gives 1928 for the 14x14 Supervisor Hall cabinSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1929 First staffedOtis Dike took up his work at the station in July 1929Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1932 StaffedDome Rock manned in July 1932 with Battle Axe Mountain and Crescent MountainSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1935 StaffedPaul Ratzeburg called back to duty as lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1944 Last staffedJimmy Poole stationed there in summer 1944 until a knee injury sent him home; last staffing in the sources readSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1947 EventCoast and Geodetic Survey station description describes a low, one-story building with a pointed roofSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1948 Replaced by a new structureOregon Hikers says the lookout was replaced in 1948Source: oregonhikers.org
  8. 1951 RemovedFFLOS and firelookout.com say the cabin was gone by 1951; this may refer to the original 1928 cabin, see resolved_conflictsSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  9. 1965 DestroyedOregon Hikers says the 1948 structure was destroyed in 1965Source: oregonhikers.org
  10. 1965 RemovedForest Lookouts Oregon page says the lookout was removed c.1965Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. No record between 1965 and 2000
  12. 2000 EventRegister photos dated September 19, 2000 show tie-ins, a cable, an anchor, concrete foundation pieces and a 1920s date etched into a stepSource: firetower.org
  13. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered August 18, 2010; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  14. 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.

Dome Rock is a rounded rock formation in the Willamette National Forest, about 3 miles northwest of Detroit.1,2,3 The forest's 1928 improvements included a standard lookout house on the summit, a 14-by-14-foot Supervisor Hall frame cabin.1,4 A 1929 newspaper said the house sat on a huge rock, with a 200-foot drop on one side.4

Otis Dike took up the post in July 1929.4 In July 1932, Dome Rock was one of three lookouts manned that Saturday in the Santiam forest.4 Paul Ratzeburg was called back to duty there in 1935, and Jimmy Poole spent part of the summer of 1944 on the lookout before a knee injury sent him home.4

Sources disagree on when the cabin came down. The Former Fire Lookout Sites register and firelookout.com both say it was gone by 1951.1,2 The Forest Lookouts Oregon page says it was removed around 1965.4 Oregon Hikers says a lookout built in 1928 was replaced in 1948, and that the replacement was destroyed in 1965.3 A 1947 survey description of the summit, written before that replacement, still describes a low, single-story building with a peaked roof.4 The 1951 date could refer to the original 1928 cabin if Oregon Hikers is right, but no source says so.1,3

The undated Oregon Hikers guide says the remains of the old lookout are there.3 Photos in the register, taken on September 19, 2000, show tie-ins, a cable and an anchor, concrete foundation pieces, and a 1920s date etched into a step.1

The Forest Service lists Dome Rock Trail #3381 as a former lookout site with views of Detroit Reservoir and the Cascades.5 To reach the trailhead, head west from Detroit across the Breitenbush Bridge, turn onto French Creek Road (Forest Road 2223), and drive seven miles past the Forest Road 2207 junction.5 The Forest Service says the Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires affected the trail, so check current conditions before you go.5

  1. Dome Rock Lookout Site - WNF, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/dome-rock-lookout-site-wnf/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Dome Rock Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/domerock.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Dome Rock, Oregon Hikers field guide, https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Dome_Rock (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Dome Rock, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/dome-rock.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Dome Rock Trail #3381, Willamette National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/willamette/recreation/trails/dome-rock-trail-3381 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Dome Rock Lookout 1920 - 1948
Dome Rock Lookout 1920 - 1948 (1920)Photo: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tie-in 9/19/2000
Tie-in 9/19/2000 (2000)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Cable 9/19/2000
Cable 9/19/2000 (2000)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Anchor 9/19/2000
Anchor 9/19/2000 (2000)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1920s date etched into a step (9/19/2000)
1920s date etched into a step (9/19/2000) (2000)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Leftover concrete foundation pieces 9-19-2000
Leftover concrete foundation pieces 9-19-2000 (2000)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Dome Rock Lookout site 2000
Dome Rock Lookout site 2000 (2000)Photo: Irene Potter, 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.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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, 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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