FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Wallowa County, Oregon

Long Ridge Lookout

Also known as Long Ridge (moved here from Tiptop in 2016)

Built 1959-60 on Tiptop Mountain, moved in 2016 to private land in Wallowa County; registered 2022; private, no public access, listed unmanned.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. On private property with no public access, per a fire lookout listing.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerSteel tower from Tiptop Mountain with an L-4 style wooden cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Steel
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,876 ft (1,486 m)
Agency
Private landowner
Land
Private land
Location
Wallowa County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.67197, −116.90509
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-long-ridge

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. 1960 BuiltConstructed in 1959 and 1960 on Tiptop Mountain; NHLR build field gives 1960Sources: nhlr.org, cherylhill.net
  2. No record between 1960 and 2016
  3. 2016 AlteredNew L-4 cab built in Maryland to Ray Kresek's plans put on the towerSource: firelookout.org
  4. 2016 MovedMoved to private land in Wallowa County as Long RidgeSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.org, cherylhill.net
  5. 2016 RemovedState removed the Tiptop Mountain tower at the request of landowner Hancock Forest Management; abandoned and vandalizedSource: cherylhill.net
  6. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 4, 2022 as US 1629, OR 148Source: nhlr.org
  7. 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.

Long Ridge Lookout started out on Tiptop Mountain in northeast Oregon.1 The National Historic Lookout Register says it was constructed there in 1959 and 1960, and it gives 1960 as the build year.2 The steel tower carried an L-4 style wooden cab.3

In spring 2016, a Lookout Network report, as quoted on a lookout history site, said the state was having to remove the Tiptop tower at the request of its landowner, Hancock Forest Management.1 The tower, not far off Interstate 84, had been heavily vandalized.1 The same report said a Fire Lookout Association member had acquired the tower from the Oregon Department of Forestry and planned to move it to a family ranch on the Imnaha River.1

A 2016 annual report from the Forest Fire Lookout Association's Oregon chapter says the Tiptop tower was moved, that a new L-4 cab built in Maryland to plans from Ray Kresek went on it, and that Long Ridge is on private land and will be staffed for fire.4 The Oregon directory of standing lookouts says the Long Ridge lookout was moved there from Tiptop in 2016.5 None of the sources says outright that the Imnaha ranch is the Long Ridge site.

The Register accepted the tower on July 4, 2022, as US 1629, OR 148, and places it on private land in Wallowa County.2 It lists the landowner as administrator, with the Oregon Department of Forestry as a cooperator.2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Oregon list still shows it as standing.6

A fire lookout listing for the tower says the site is on private property with no public access.3 The directory counts 156 standing lookouts in Oregon as of July 2026, and it lists Long Ridge as unmanned.5 The sources describe no rental, no visitor route and no permission for the public. Treat the tower as closed to visitors, and do not try to reach it or climb it.

  1. Tiptop Mountain, Every Lookout in Oregon (cherylhill.net), https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/2016/06/09/tiptop-mountain/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Long Ridge Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/long-ridge-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Long Ridge Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/longridge.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association Oregon Chapter annual report 2016, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-or-2016.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Oregon's Standing Lookouts, Every Lookout in Oregon (cherylhill.net), https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/oregons-standing-lookouts/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Oregon Fire Lookout Towers, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/or/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Long Ridge Lookout - 2016
Long Ridge Lookout - 2016 (2016)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Long Ridge in 2016
Long Ridge in 2016 (2016)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source

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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: 1960
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 2016
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1960

    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, 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, ownership, 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. 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
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, agency, access, 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.