FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Wallowa County, Oregon

Hat Point Lookout

A 1948 82-ft L-6 timber lookout in Hells Canyon, replacing a 1916 pole tower; closed for safety since August 2024, no reopening found.

Closed

The site is closed to visitors. Closed August 2024 for safety (broken steps, railings). Public use of both observation decks closed. No reopening found in sources as of 2026-10-08.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Closed. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Release (Aug 20, 2024) said other public services would be maintained for the rest of the season and invited views from the picnic area and trail below the tower.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2005)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower82-ft treated timber tower with an L-6 7'x7' cab and catwalk, built 1948The design: L-6
Built of
Wood
Height
7 ft (2.1 m)
Elevation
6,960 ft (2,121 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Wallowa County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.43800, −116.66247
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-hat-point

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 3.7 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. 1916 Built60-ft pole tower with 7x7 cabSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1916 and 1948
  3. 1948 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  4. 1948 Replaced by a new structurePresent 82-ft treated timber tower with L-6 7x7 cab and catwalk replaced the pole towerSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1948 and 2004
  6. 2004 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered December 30, 2004; nominated by Ray KresekSource: nhlr.org
  7. No record between 2004 and 2024
  8. 2024 ClosedClosed for safety: broken steps and railings; public use of both observation decks closedSource: elkhornmediagroup.com
  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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Hat Point Lookout sits within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, part of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and is reached by Forest Service Road 4240.1,2 A 60-foot pole tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab went up in 1916.1,3 In 1948 it was replaced by an 82-foot treated timber tower, which has a 7-by-7-foot L-6 cab and a catwalk.1,3 The tower got a major restoration in the 1980s, when an observation deck was added at the 60-foot level.1

The firelookout.com page says the lookout is staffed every summer, and it lists known staff from 1935 through 1971.3 The register also marks the lookout as staffed.1 A visit report dated July 31, 2005, on the register page says a young woman and her puppy met the visitors at the top, and notes that only two people may be up there at a time.1

The register captions one photo "Battle Creek Fire when it reached Hat Point," but it gives no year. I could not confirm the fire's name or date from another source.1

The Forest Service announced a safety closure of the lookout on August 20, 2024.2 Broken steps, railings and other structural problems are behind the closure, which covers public use of both observation decks and administrative use of the cab for lookout work.2 The agency is developing a plan to fix the stairs, and it has not said how long the closure will last.2 I found no notice of a reopening since then.2

An Oregon Hikers field guide page says visitors may climb to the observation deck and gives the tower as 80 feet tall, where the register and firelookout.com say 82.1,3,4 The page was last modified on July 27, 2025, yet it still describes a climb that the Forest Service closed in 2024, so it may be out of date.2,4 The 2024 notice is the most recent official word on the deck, so treat climbing as closed for now.2

The release said other public services at the site would be maintained through the season, and it pointed visitors to views of the Snake River, Hells Canyon and the Seven Devils from the picnic area and the trail below the tower.2 Oregon Hikers adds that ordinary cars can use the access road after snowdrifts clear.4 Call the Wallowa Mountains front desk at 541-426-5546 before going.2 The newest official notice I found is dated August 2024, and the Oregon Hikers page was last edited in July 2025.2,4

  1. Hat Point Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/hat-point-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Temporary Closure of Hat Point Lookout in Hells Canyon, Forest Service release via Elkhorn Media Group, August 20, 2024, https://elkhornmediagroup.com/?p=185992 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Hat Point Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/hatpoint.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Hat Point, Oregon Hikers field guide, https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Hat_Point (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Hat Point Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Battle Creek Fire when it reached Hat Point
Battle Creek Fire when it reached Hat PointPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
"Wish We Could Help"
"Wish We Could Help"Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Aerial View the Day After Aerial View the Day After
Aerial View the Day After Aerial View the Day AfterPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout, 2009
(2009)Photo: Rod Bacon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Hat Point's 1st Tower
Hat Point's 1st TowerPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, Jerry Gildemeister collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Hat Point L.O.
Hat Point L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, Jerry Gildemeister collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Hat Point in 1968
Hat Point in 1968 (1968)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, Jerry Gildemeister collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Hat Point in 1981
Hat Point in 1981 (1981)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, Jerry Gildemeister collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Hat Point in 2002
Hat Point in 2002 (2002)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, Jerry Gildemeister collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Hat Point Lookout
Photo: Sims, Greg, creator, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · 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: 1948
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1916
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1948

    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, what it is built of, 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: height, 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. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: design, 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
  7. Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill) Gave us: register numbers, 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
  8. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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

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