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Fire lookout · Wasco County, Oregon

Fivemile Butte Lookout

A 1920s pole lookout on Mt. Hood was rebuilt twice after snow damage, and the 1957 R-6 tower that resulted is now a year-round Forest Service rental.

Visit & stay

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

Season
Year-round
Getting there
During winter driving conditions, from early fall to late spring, the lookout can only be accessed by skiing, snowmobiling or snowshoeing up to 3 miles one way from a parking area at the Billy Bob Sno-Park.

Overview Fivemile Butte Lookout is available for reservation year-round. It provides stellar mountain views and access to a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, including hiking, mountain biking and wildlife viewing. During the winter months, the lookout is popular among hunters and winter sports enthusiasts. During winter driving conditions, from early fall to late spring, the lookout can only be accessed by skiing, snowmobiling or snowshoeing up to 3 miles one way from a parking area at the Billy Bob Sno-Park. In the summer guests can drive directly to the lookout. A Northwest Forest Pass is required for the parking area at Billy Bob Sno-park, annual or day passes can be purchased in person at the Hood River Ranger Station or online at https://www.discovernw.org/annual-northwest-forest-pass. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Recreation In the summer months, visitors enjoy hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking in the area, as well as the gorgeous views from the lookout. The lookout is near Eightmile Creek and Eightmile Trail, which travels through and around a riparian area, old growth pine forests and meadows dotted with wildflowers. The area is popular among winter sports enthusiasts as well, as the location provides access to numerous cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling trails. It is a shared winter recreation area and lookout guests should expect other winter sports enthusiasts in the area. 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 a vault toilet 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 sleeping bags/bedding, a flashlight or lantern for emergencies, first aid kit, washcloths and towels, dish soap and garbage bags. This is a "Pack it in, Pack it out" facility; guests will need to carry out all trash and clean the facility prior to leaving. Natural Features The lookout was originally a small cab on a 30-foot tower, established in the 1920s. In 1932, a standard lookout tower was built to replace the earlier lookout, but was destroyed by heavy snow in 1942. A non-typical lookout structure was rebuilt at the site in 1957. The tower sits on Fivemile Butte, at an elevation of 4,627 feet. It is surrounded by ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and western hemlock forests. Numerous creeks run through the area. A variety of wildlife, including wild turkeys, grouse and blue jays, as well as deer, elk, coyotes, cougars and bears, frequent 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. Drive-up access in summer; winter access is up to 3 miles by ski/snowshoe/snowmobile from Billy Bob Sno-Park, requiring a Northwest Forest Pass.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Available year-round as a Forest Service rental; no drinking water on site.
Staffing
Unknown (as of 2026-10-04)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerR-6The designs: R-6, L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1920
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
4,627 ft (1,410 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Wasco County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.41005, −121.46869
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-fivemile-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. 1920 BuiltFirst lookout: a small cab on a pole tower, established in the 1920s.Sources: nhlr.org, recreation.gov
  2. 1932 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab erected on a 30-foot pole tower.Sources: nhlr.org, recreation.gov
  3. 1942 DestroyedThe 1932 tower collapsed under heavy snow.Sources: nhlr.org, recreation.gov
  4. No record between 1942 and 1957
  5. 1957 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  6. 1957 RebuiltPresent 30-foot treated-timber tower with R-6 flat cab built.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, recreation.gov
  7. No record between 1957 and 2011
  8. 2011 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterListed on the National Historic Lookout Register September 4, 2011.Source: nhlr.org
  9. 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.

Fivemile Butte has had a fire lookout since the 1920s, when the Forest Service put up a small cab on a pole tower. That first structure was replaced in 1932 by a more standard L-4 cab on a 30-foot pole tower, but heavy snow collapsed it just a decade later, in 1942.1,2 The Forest Service rebuilt again in 1957, this time with a non-typical structure: a 30-foot treated-timber tower topped with an R-6 flat cab, which is the building still standing on the butte today.1,2,3

The lookout sits at 4,627 feet in forest dominated by ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and western hemlock, part of the Mt. Hood National Forest's Barlow and Hood River Ranger Districts.3 It was entered on the National Historic Lookout Register on September 4, 2011.1

Like several of Mt. Hood's historic lookouts, Fivemile Butte has been kept alive by turning it over to overnight renters rather than letting it sit empty between fire seasons, and it's now available year-round through the Forest Service's recreation rental program.3 Access changes with the seasons: in summer, visitors can drive straight to the tower, but once winter conditions arrive — anywhere from early fall to late spring — the road closes and the only way in is up to 3 miles on skis, snowshoes or a snowmobile from the Billy Bob Sno-Park, which requires a Northwest Forest Pass.3 There's no drinking water on site, so guests need to bring their own.3 The surrounding area is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and winter sports enthusiasts, and wildlife in the vicinity ranges from wild turkeys and grouse to deer, elk, coyotes, cougars and the occasional bear.3

  1. Fivemile Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/fivemile-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Fivemile Butte Fire Lookout Tower, Fire Lookout, https://www.firelookout.com/or/fivemile.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Fivemile Butte Lookout, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234248 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of Fivemile Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Fivemile Butte in 1956
Fivemile Butte in 1956 (1956)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, via firelookout.com · source
Fivemile Butte in 1957
Fivemile Butte in 1957 (1957)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, via firelookout.com · source
Fivemile Butte in 1963
Fivemile Butte in 1963 (1963)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, via firelookout.com · source
Fivemile Butte in 1994
Fivemile Butte in 1994 (1994)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, via firelookout.com · source
Fivemile Butte L.O.
Fivemile Butte L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, via firelookout.com · source
Fivemile Butte in 2011
Fivemile Butte in 2011 (2011)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the U.S. Forest Service, Irene Kim, and the Howard Verschoor collection, 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, what it is built of, 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: 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
  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: 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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