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Fire lookout · Union County, Oregon

Mule Peak Lookout

Standing D-5 ground cabin in Oregon's Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, used for fire watch since 1916, re-roofed in 2021 and staffed in season.

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. Reached on foot by trail; the cab was locked up when a visitor arrived in September 2025. No source says whether visitors may enter the cab.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Backpacking route from the Buck Creek trailhead to a ridge trail that leads to the lookout, per a September 2025 trip report.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabD-5 wooden ground cabinThe design: D-5 (4-AR)
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1924
Height
Unknown
Elevation
8,395 ft (2,559 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Union County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.13044, −117.50290
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-mule-peak

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. 1916 First staffedSelected as a fire detection site and staffed, with heliograph signaling, per NHLR. A 1916 newspaper item quoted by Oregon Lookouts places the heliograph on Granite Butte.Sources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1924 BuiltCurrent D-5 cab may date to as early as 1924 (NHLR); Oregon Lookouts states a ground cabin was constructed that year; firelookout.com gives 1924 with a question mark.Sources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  3. 1926 FireFire on Buck Creek reported from the Mule Peak lookout station; no serious damage at the time.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1926 and 1980
  5. 1980 StaffedJudy Wing named as lookout personnel for several years in the 1980s (firelookout.com).Source: firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1980 and 2005
  7. 2005 FireTwo employees evacuated by helicopter as flames threatened; firefighters wrapped the building in fire-resistant material; an aircraft dropped retardant.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 2007 FireA Forest Service worker was evacuated from the lookout by helicopter during a fast-moving wildfire, as quoted from the Baker City Herald.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 2021 AlteredNew cedar shake roof and paint.Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 5, 2022 as US 1636, OR 154.Source: nhlr.org
  11. 2025 StaffedAttendant on site for a few days early in the season; the lookout was locked up when the trip report writers arrived.Source: theroamingcivic.com
  12. 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.

Mule Peak Lookout stands in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, about 18 miles east-southeast of Union, Oregon.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register says the peak was picked for fire detection in 1916, when it was staffed and used heliograph signals.1 A lookout history page that quotes a 1916 newspaper item places the heliograph on Granite Butte instead, so the early set-up is not fully settled.3

The current cab is a D-5 wooden ground house. The register says it may date to as early as 1924, and the Oregon Lookouts history states that a ground cabin was built that year.1,3 Firelookout.com gives the same design and the year 1924, with a question mark.2

Staffing has been seasonal. Firelookout.com says the cab was occasionally staffed in summer and names a lookout, Judy Wing, who worked there for several years in the 1980s.2 A September 2025 trip report says the writers found the lookout shut for the season when they arrived, and that an attendant who had been on site only a few days that season was closing it up for winter. The writer heard that the lookout is still actively staffed, not just in emergencies.4 Cheryl Hill's standing-lookouts list marks the lookout as unmanned, which conflicts with that report.5

The lookout has been close to fire more than once. A report from July 1926 says a fire on Buck Creek was reported from the lookout station, with no serious damage yet.3 In July 2005 two employees were flown out by helicopter as flames threatened, firefighters protected the building with a fire-resistant covering as a precaution, and an aircraft dropped retardant to protect it.3 In July 2007 a Forest Service worker was flown out by helicopter from the historic lookout during a fast-moving wildfire.3

The cab is still standing. The register notes that the cab received a cedar shake roof and was repainted in 2021, and the lookout was registered on July 5, 2022, as US 1636.1 Published elevations disagree: the register gives 8,395 feet, the trip report 8,554 feet, and firelookout.com 8,679 feet.1,2,4

Today visitors reach Mule Peak on foot. The 2025 trip report describes a backpacking route that starts at the Buck Creek trailhead, where a Forest Service campground sits, and it warns that the road in has hazards.4 None of the sources consulted says whether visitors may enter the cab, so treat the inside as off-limits unless the Forest Service says otherwise.

  1. Mule Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/mule-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Mule Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/mulepeak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Mule Peak, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/mule-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Mule Peak L.O., The Roaming Civic, https://theroamingcivic.com/2025/09/22/mule-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Oregon's Standing Lookouts, Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill), https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/oregons-standing-lookouts/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Mule Peak Lookout - 2013
Mule Peak Lookout - 2013 (2013)Photo: Caleb Morris, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Mule Peak Lookout - 1988
Mule Peak Lookout - 1988 (1988)Photo: Rod Jones, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Mule Peak Lookout - 2021 after re-roof and paint
Mule Peak Lookout - 2021 after re-roof and paint (2021)Photo: Cedar Country Lumber, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Mule Peak in 1926
Mule Peak in 1926 (1926)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 1936
Mule Peak in 1936 (1936)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 1960
Mule Peak in 1960 (1960)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 1963
Mule Peak in 1963 (1963)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 1968
Mule Peak in 1968 (1968)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 1988
Mule Peak in 1988 (1988)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Mule Peak in 2017
Mule Peak in 2017 (2017)Photo: the Jerry Gildemeister collection, Rod Jones, and Rex Kamstra, 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, 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: 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) 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: 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
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.