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Fire lookout · Deschutes County, Oregon

East Butte Lookout

East Butte: Deschutes NF L-4 lookout; 1932 original on a 30-ft tower, 1995-96 replacement on a 20-ft tower; active, staffed in summer; gated road access.

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. Gated road at NF-750 with about 1.7 miles of road walking to the summit; the nearby OHV trail system closes June 1 to October 1. A 2023 trip report says visitors are not invited up to the cab; its writers had read this was because of heavy traffic from people and ATVs. That is one visitor's account, not an official access rule.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Park at the gate on NF-750 and walk about 1.7 miles of road to the summit, or take the ATV trail. The OHV trail up the butte is closed June 1 to October 1.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 gable-roof cab on a wooden towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1932
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
6,371 ft (1,942 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Deschutes National Forest, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Deschutes County, Oregon
Coordinates
43.66688, −120.99593
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-east-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.

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. 1930 EventEmergency lookout stationed on the butte in AugustSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1932 BuiltFirst lookout, an L-4 on a 30-foot wooden tower; firelookout.com says fire detection began that year and a 1992 Bulletin item says it was built in 1932Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1933 BuiltLocal history site describes a 14x14 gable-roof lookout cabin constructed on a 30-foot round timber towerSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1934 BuiltStandard plan T-1E wood-frame garage built at the lookout siteSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1934 and 1959
  6. 1959 FireLookout Sylvia Andrews relayed messages to and from the Aspen Flat fire and received a $100 awardSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1959 and 1990
  8. 1990 Condition assessmentInspection found the tower and cab had deteriorated and posed safety risksSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1992 EventForest Service asked for comments on a plan to replace the tower and cabin, or to restore and relocate the existing structureSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1995 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  11. 1995 RemovedLookout duties moved to Fox Butte; in the spring the old tower was cut down and the cabin burnedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 1995 Replaced by a new structureNew L-4 gable-roof cab on a 20-foot wooden tower, which the NHLR dates to 1995Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. 1996 BuiltWeebly history says the new tower was finished and duties were returned from Fox Butte; conflicts with the NHLR 1995 build yearSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  14. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register on March 1, 2003Source: nhlr.org
  15. No record between 2003 and 2021
  16. 2021 StaffedCheryl Hill visit on June 11, 2021 found the tower staffedSource: cherylhill.net
  17. 2023 EventTrip report on May 14, 2023 lists the lookout as active and currently standingSource: theroamingcivic.com
  18. 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.

East Butte rises in the Deschutes National Forest, about 31 miles southeast of Bend, Oregon.1,2 The first lookout there was an L-4 cabin on a 30-foot wooden tower.1,3

Sources give slightly different dates for that first structure. A 1992 newspaper item, quoted by a local history site, says the lookout was built in 1932, and the firelookout site says fire detection began there that year.2,3 A 1933 entry on the same history site describes a 14-by-14 gable-roof cabin on a 30-foot round timber tower.2

Early on, an emergency lookout was stationed on the butte in August 1930.2 A standard garage went up on the site in 1934.2

In 1959 the lookout, Sylvia Andrews, relayed messages to and from the Aspen Flat fire and kept firefighters informed as the fire front changed. She received a $100 award for that work.2

By 1990 an inspection found the tower and cab had deteriorated and posed safety risks.2 In 1995 the lookout duties went to Fox Butte, the old tower was cut down in the spring, and the cabin burned.2 The Forest Service rebuilt the lookout as an L-4 gable-roof cab on a 20-foot wooden tower, which the National Historic Lookout Register dates to 1995.1 The Forest Lookouts history says the new tower was finished in 1996, when duties came back to the site.2

The Register listed the site on March 1, 2003.1 A 2021 visit found the tower staffed, but nobody came out.4 A 2023 trip report calls the lookout active and standing.5 Its writers had read that visitors are not invited up to the cab, because of heavy traffic from people and ATVs.5

Getting there takes some planning. Visitors park at a gated junction with NF-750, then walk about 1.7 miles of road to the summit.4,5 The butte lies inside the East Fork Rock OHV Trail System, and one account says the OHV trail up the butte is closed from June 1 to October 1.4

The sources also disagree on details. The Register gives 6,371 feet, while the firelookout site gives 6,400.1,3 The Register places the lookout in Deschutes County, while the firelookout site says Lake County.1,3

  1. East Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/east-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. East Butte - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/east-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. East Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/eastbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. East Butte – Every Lookout in Oregon, Cheryl Hill, https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/2021/06/15/east-butte/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. East Butte L.O., The Roaming Civic, https://theroamingcivic.com/2023/05/14/east-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

East Butte Lookout
East Butte LookoutPhoto: David Art, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
East Butte in 1933
East Butte in 1933 (1933)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
East Butte L.O.
East Butte L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, 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.

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: design, height, 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, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.