FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Wheeler County, Oregon

South Baldy Lookout

Oregon Department of Forestry lookout in Wheeler County: fire watch since at least 1936, current tower built 1958-59. Listed as standing; no public access reported.

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. Firelookout.com says there is no public access. The register names the Oregon Department of Forestry as administrator; the sources read do not say whether visitors may reach the tower.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower14x14 L-4 cab on a 40-foot open timber towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,894 ft (1,797 m)
Agency
Oregon Department of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Wheeler County, Oregon
Coordinates
44.65667, −119.97140
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-south-baldy

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 3.5 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. 1936 EventFirelookout.com lists a 50-foot wooden tower in 1936; the register and the 1958 report describe a 40-foot towerSource: firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1936 and 1956
  3. 1956 Condition assessmentDistrict report: the present house was pulled apart by the wind; a new lookout is neededSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1958 BuiltRegister gives construction as 1958-59 for a 14x14 L-4 cab on a 40-foot open timber towerSource: nhlr.org
  5. 1958 Replaced by a new structureNew tower and cabin started in October 1958 to replace the wind-damaged house; work halted in November with about half doneSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1959 Event1959 report: work resumed in April and the structure was in use by the fire season, with minor completion work over the summer; firelookout.com's 1959 entry describes a 54-foot wooden ODF towerSources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  7. 1964 StaffedRegister: staffed to at least 1964; Oregon Lookouts notes eleven first discoveries that seasonSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1964 and 2022
  9. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 5, 2022 as US 1640, OR 158Source: nhlr.org
  10. 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.

South Baldy is a fire lookout in Wheeler County, Oregon, administered by the Oregon Department of Forestry.1 Fire detection at the site goes back to at least 1936. That August a radio set was installed on Baldy Mountain near Waterman, where Earl Huff, the forest guard, could broadcast fire details to any part of four national forests within a few minutes.1,2

By 1956 the lookout house had been pulled apart by wind, and the district's annual report said a new lookout was needed.2 The current tower was constructed in 1958 and 1959.1 A 1958 report describes a 40-foot tower with a 14-by-14 cab that was about 40 percent done that season, with about half the job finished by November 1.2 The 1959 report says work resumed in April, and the structure was in use by the fire season.2 Sources disagree on the height. Firelookout.com lists a 50-foot wooden tower in 1936 and a 54-foot wooden ODF tower in 1959.3

The register says the site was staffed to at least 1964.1 The Oregon Lookouts page's 1964 entry counts eleven first discoveries and calls the season busy.2

The register listed the lookout in July 2022 as US 1640, OR 158, and a lookout list shows it as standing.1,4 Firelookout.com says it is still there and adds, "No public access."3 The register names the Oregon Department of Forestry as administrator, but the sources do not say whether the public may reach the tower.1 Among the sources read, only firelookout.com states that there is no public access.3 Check with the Oregon Department of Forestry before planning a visit, and do not try to climb the tower.

  1. South Baldy Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/south-baldy-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. South Baldy - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts (Oregon pages), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/south-baldy.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. South Baldy Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/southbaldy.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Forest Lookouts list, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/or/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

South Baldy Lookout - 2013
South Baldy Lookout - 2013 (2013)Photo: Glenn Miller, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
South Baldy Lookout - 1959
South Baldy Lookout - 1959 (1959)Photo: Oregon State Archive, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
South Baldy L.O.
South Baldy L.OPhoto: Oregon Dept. of Forestry and Glenn Miller, via firelookout.com · source
South Baldy in 2013
South Baldy in 2013 (2013)Photo: Oregon Dept. of Forestry and Glenn Miller, 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.

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: 1958
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1936
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1959

    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, 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, 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: 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, height, 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.