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Fire lookout · Yakima County, Washington

American Ridge (Goat Peak) Lookout Site

Also known as American Ridge

Yakima County lookout built in 1933 with an L-4 cab; removed or destroyed in 1968 (sources differ). The Goat Peak trail still has views; no source describes the site now.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Lookout gone. Register says removed in 1968; firelookout.com and Willhite say destroyed; a 1971 USGS party reported the house destroyed by fire

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. Hiking trail in the William O. Douglas Wilderness; the guide mentions a Northwest Forest Pass and a permit filled out at the trailhead

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
About 18 miles round trip from Hells Crossing, east of Chinook Pass (Visit Rainier)

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab, with a storage shed 20 feet belowThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,473 ft (1,973 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Yakima County, Washington
Coordinates
46.93956, −121.26502
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-american-ridge-goat-peak

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 4.1 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 BuiltL-4 cab; storage shed 20 feet below (Willhite)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. No record between 1933 and 1955
  3. 1955 StaffedWilliam George, 18, of Selah, on the lookout; ill with appendicitis; Navy helicopter took him off the peak in August 1955Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1968 Destroyedfirelookout.com and Willhite say destroyed in 1968Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1968 RemovedRegister and Forest Lookouts give removal in 1968Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1971 BurnedA 1971 USGS party reported the lookout house destroyed by fire; the date of the fire is not givenSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. No record between 1971 and 2012
  8. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered July 19, 2012 as US 1354, WA 254Source: firetower.org
  9. 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.

American Ridge, also called Goat Peak, is a former lookout site in Yakima County, Washington.1,2 A lookout with an L-4 cab went up here in 1933, and a storage shed stood 20 feet below it.1,3,4

Sources differ on the forest. One names the Snoqualmie National Forest, while another gives the Wenatchee National Forest and says it was originally the Snoqualmie.3,2

In 1955 William George, 18, of Selah, was stationed at the lookout.2,4 He radioed the district ranger at Naches that he was unwell, and a Yakima doctor diagnosed appendicitis.2,4 A Forest Service patrolman was sent up with a pack train, but after a doctor warned that a horseback trip could be risky for George, the district ranger asked the Navy for help.2,4 A Navy helicopter from Whidbey Island flew him out. Its pilot kept the wheels on rocks beside the building, with the rear wheels over a 1,000-foot drop.2,4

The Register says the cab was removed in 1968.1 Firelookout.com says it was destroyed that year.3 Forest Lookouts also gives 1968 as the removal year.2 Willhite adds that a USGS party in 1971 reported the lookout house had been destroyed by fire.4 The sources do not agree on how the lookout ended.1,3,2,4

Visit Rainier says the lookout was dismantled in the 1960s, though the views remain from high points along the trail.5 The hike to the peak starts at Hells Crossing, east of Chinook Pass, and runs about 18 miles round trip.5 The trail crosses the William O. Douglas Wilderness, and the guide mentions a Northwest Forest Pass and a permit filled out at the trailhead.5 We found no source that describes what, if anything, is left on the peak today.

  1. American Ridge (Goat Peak) Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/american-ridge-goat-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. American Ridge, Forest Lookouts (Washington), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/american-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. American Ridge (Goat Peak) Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/americanridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Goat Peak - American Ridge Lookout, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/hiking/bumping_lake/goat_peak/american_ridge_230.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Goat Peak Trail, Visit Rainier, https://visitrainier.com/goat-peak-trail/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

American Ridge Lookout
American Ridge LookoutPhoto: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (N)
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (SE)
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (SW)
American Ridge Lookout panoramic 7-22-1934 (SW) (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: 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, status, agency, access, staffing, 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

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