FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Hood River County, Oregon

Rimrock North Lookout Site

Gone: an L-4 cab built in 1934 and abandoned in 1941. A hiking guide describes footings at a Rim Rock site; not confirmed as this register entry.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab abandoned in 1941 and is gone. No source describes the register's point today.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
A hiking guide lists a 7.9-mile Surveyors Ridge hike that reaches its Rim Rock site; the guide does not confirm it is this register entry.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,100 ft (1,250 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Hood River County, Oregon
Coordinates
45.48501, −121.52656 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-rimrock-north

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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.5 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. 1934 BuiltL-4 cab built on the siteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  2. 1941 AbandonedRegister's 'Removed' field reads 'abandoned 1941'Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonhikers.org
  3. 1941 Removed'Removed' field on FFLOS detail page: "abandoned 1941".Source: FFLOS register entry
  4. No record between 1941 and 2019
  5. 2019 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 18, 2019Source: firetower.org
  6. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Rimrock North is a former lookout site on the Mount Hood National Forest in Hood River County, Oregon, at about 4,100 feet.1,2 The register says an L-4 cab went up on the site in 1934, and firelookout.com gives the same year.1,2

Both sources date the cab's abandonment to 1941 and say it no longer exists.1,2 The register files that under "Removed," with the note "abandoned 1941."1 The U.S. Forest Service is the administering agency, and the site was added to the register on September 18, 2019.1

No source I read describes the register's point as it looks now.1,3 A hiking guide to a Rim Rock Fire Lookout Site on Surveyor's Ridge describes a makeshift path that climbs a rock outcrop to what remains of the lookout's concrete footings.3 The guide does not say whether it means this register entry. Its map point lies close to the register's point, while a firelookout.org list places Rimrock North farther north.3,1,4 A 7.9-mile Surveyors Ridge hike reaches that site, the guide says.3

  1. Rimrock North Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/rimrock-north-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Rimrock North Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/rimrocknorth.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Rim Rock Fire Lookout Site, Oregon Hikers Field Guide, https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Rim_Rock_Fire_Lookout_Site (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Oregon lookout list, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/or/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Rimrock North Lookout Site
Photo: Ron Kemnow, 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.

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 location by 2.2 km (1.4 mi).

    • FFLOS: 45.48501, −121.52656
    • FFLA: 45.50509, −121.52508
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 45.50509, −121.52508

    They share a register number.

    The map uses the position from FFLOS.

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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, 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.