FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Crook County, Oregon

Lutsey Point Lookout Site

Crook County, OR site: 40-ft wooden tower with L-4 cab built 1934-35, removed 1955; four concrete footings remain on the summit, per a May 2026 hiker.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed in 1955; four concrete footings remain on the summit, per a May 2026 hiker

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. Reached on foot up Road 200 from Road 4225. A May 2026 hiker mentions no gate or permit and calls the road a closed route.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Park beside Road 4225 and walk about 1.8 miles up Road 200 (an abandoned road) to the summit; cut trees were left across the road and a logging operation was active about a third of a mile up

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower40-foot wooden tower with an L-4 hip-roof cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1935
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,501 ft (1,677 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Ochoco National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Crook County, Oregon
Coordinates
44.25739, −120.26050
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-lutsey-point

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 its recorded height.

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. 1933 EventCentral Oregonian, August 1933: Alvin Grimes to be employed, with men from the Maury CCC camp, to build a tower and a lookout houseSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 EventForest Lookouts says the 40-foot tower with L-4 hip-roof cab was completed in 1934; the register's panorama photo is dated 10-15-1934 (conflicts with the 1935 build date)Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firetower.org
  3. 1935 BuiltRegister, firelookout.com and the May 2026 blog give 1935 as the build yearSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, cherylhill.net
  4. No record between 1935 and 1955
  5. 1955 RemovedRegister and blog say removed in 1955; firelookout.com says destroyed in 1955Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, cherylhill.net
  6. No record between 1955 and 2011
  7. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered June 24, 2011; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  8. 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.

Lutsey Point is a former lookout site on the Ochoco National Forest in Crook County, Oregon, about 31 miles east of Prineville.1,2

An August 1933 Central Oregonian item reported plans to hire Alvin Grimes, with crews from the Maury CCC camp, to build a tower and a dwelling for the lookout.3 Forest Lookouts says work was finished in 1934 on a 40-foot tower topped by an L-4 hip-roof cab, and the register's panorama photo is dated October 15, 1934.3,1 The register, firelookout.com and a 2026 blog give 1935 as the build year, so the sources disagree.1,2,4

The tower was removed in 1955.1,4 Firelookout.com uses the word destroyed for the same year.2

A May 2026 hiker's blog found four concrete footings from the old lookout on the broad summit. The northwest footing had been pulled out at some point.4 The writer found the summit a calm, remote place that is pleasant to visit.4

The writer parked beside Road 4225 and walked about 1.8 miles up Road 200, an abandoned road, to reach the summit.4 Cut trees had been left across the road, and a logging operation was active about a third of a mile up.4 The writer describes the route as closed, so check with the Ochoco National Forest before you go.4

  1. Lutsey Point Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/lutsey-point-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Lutsey Point Lookout, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/lutseypoint.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Lutsey Point, Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/lutsey-point.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Lutsey Point, Just Peachy (blog), http://cherylhill.net/blog/2026/05/22/lutsey-point/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Lutsey Point Lookout 1935
Lutsey Point Lookout 1935 (1935)Photo: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lutsey Point Lookout panoramic 10-15-1934
Lutsey Point Lookout panoramic 10-15-1934 (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, 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: design, height, 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, 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.