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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Buck Mountain Lookout

Current 1961 Washington DNR live-in cab, replacing a 1934 L-4 pole tower; damaged in the 2015 Okanogan Complex fire and repaired; kept for emergency use.

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. The road is on state land and is rough. The DNR cab is kept for emergency use and the catwalk is usually locked.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Rough road; high clearance and four-wheel drive recommended. TrailChick lists a 3.9-mile round trip.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2018)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower14 by 14 foot flat-gable Washington DNR live-in cab on a 20-foot timber tower (current structure)The design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
6,007 ft (1,831 m)
Agency
Washington Dept. of Natural Resources
Land
State land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.43660, −119.82270
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-buck-mountain

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 4.0 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. 1919 BuiltCrow's nest and log cabin developed by the state. Will Hite and TrailChick give about 1911 for the first lookout.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  2. 1920 First staffedFred Cole assigned to staff the cabin for the 1920 fire seasonSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1934 Built20-foot pole tower with L-4 cab; TrailChick says it replaced the crow's nest and cabinSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1942 StaffedAircraft Warning Service station, active March 12, 1942 to July 1, 1943Sources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1942 and 1960
  6. 1960 RebuiltWill Hite says rebuilt by the DNR onto a 40-foot tower. The Register and TrailChick give 1961 and a 20-foot timber tower.Source: willhiteweb.com
  7. 1961 Replaced by a new structurePresent 14 by 14 foot DNR live-in cab on a 20-foot timber towerSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  8. 1961 Last staffedLast entry in firelookout.com's list of personnel (Sandra Mosby, 1960-1961)Source: firelookout.com
  9. No record between 1961 and 1999
  10. 1999 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register on November 20, 1999 as US 362, WA 43Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  11. No record between 1999 and 2015
  12. 2015 Burned2015 Okanogan Complex fire (Beaver Lake fire per TrailChick) scorched the legs and burned several tower members. Accounts differ on how severe the damage was.Sources: willhiteweb.com, trailchick.com, firelookout.org
  13. 2015 FireSeveral tower members were burned in the 2015 fire season; the lookout is near Loup Loup.Source: firelookout.org
  14. 2016 RestoredFEMA Public Assistance grant credited with repairs, after a contractor stabilized the towerSource: willhiteweb.com
  15. 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.

Buck Mountain sits in Okanogan County, Washington, about 13 miles west of Omak.1,2 The sources differ on when the summit first held a lookout. The Register and firelookout.com date a crow's nest and log cabin there to 1919, a site the state developed.1,2 Will Hite's page says the first lookout started around 1911, and TrailChick gives 1911 as the site's establishment year.3,4

In 1934 the crow's nest and cabin were removed and a 20-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab went up in their place.4 The present structure dates from 1961.1,2,4 It is a 14-by-14-foot flat-gable live-in cab for the Department of Natural Resources, set on a 20-foot timber tower.1,4 Will Hite says the Department rebuilt the lookout in 1960 onto a 40-foot tower, which does not match the 20 feet the Register gives.1,3 The Forest Lookouts page quotes a Department report saying its own carpentry crew finished nine lookouts in two years, one of them at Buck Mountain.5

The first named keeper was Fred Cole, assigned for the 1920 fire season.2,3,5 Firelookout.com lists other staff from 1947 onward, ending with Sandra Mosby in 1960 and 1961.2 The Forest Lookouts page gives March 1942 to July 1943 as the active dates, and Will Hite says the summit was used by the Aircraft Warning Service in 1942.5,3 Will Hite notes that the tower has not been staffed for decades.3

The 2015 Okanogan Complex fire burned over the summit.3,4 TrailChick, which calls it the Beaver Lake fire, says the flames scorched the legs but crews saved the structure.4 Will Hite describes a blast of heat that ignited the connecting wood at the bolts on one leg, and says that leg was burned nearly through.3 The Eastern Washington chapter's 2015 report says several tower members burned.6 Will Hite credits a 2016 FEMA Public Assistance grant with the repairs, after a contractor stabilized the tower for the winter.3

The Register's June 2018 visit report records the tower as unstaffed, with new boards that were still unpainted and paint that was chipping.1 The Department keeps the cab for emergency use.1 TrailChick says it is sometimes still used after major lightning storms.4 The road up is on state land and is rough.3 Will Hite recommends high clearance and four-wheel drive.3 TrailChick says the catwalk is usually locked and gives the round trip as 3.9 miles.4 We found no rental listing, and the sources do not say whether the public may enter the cab. Check with the Department before any visit, and respect the locked catwalk.

  1. Buck Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/buck-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Buck Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Fire Lookout (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/wa/buck.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Buck Mountain Lookout, Will Hite (willhiteweb.com), http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/buck_mountain/lookout_311.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Buck Mountain, TrailChick (trailchick.com), https://www.trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/buck-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Buck Mountain, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/buck-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Eastern Washington 2015 Chapter Report, Forest Fire Lookout Association, Eastern Washington Chapter, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ewa-2015.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Buck Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
June 2018 photo
June 2018 photo (2018)Photo: Nathan Rawson, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Buck Mtn. in 1923
Buck Mtn. in 1923 (1923)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Buck Mtn. in 1923
Buck Mtn. in 1923 (1923)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Buck Mtn. in 1942
Buck Mtn. in 1942 (1942)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Buck Mtn. in 1942
Buck Mtn. in 1942 (1942)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Buck Mtn. L-4 Tower
Buck Mtn. L-4 TowerPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Buck Mtn. DNR Tower
Buck Mtn. DNR TowerPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service and Rex Kamstra collection, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Buck Mountain Lookout
Photo: TrailChick Washington lookout guide (trailchick.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.

    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1934
    • TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts: 1961

    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: design, height, dates, 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 Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. 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
  6. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: ownership, photos, links TrailChick (trailchick.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, coordinates, elevation, lookout type, years built). The guide's text is not reproduced; its card photos are listed with credit to TrailChick, for the project's photo mirroring. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. WillhiteWeb.com: Washington Fire Lookouts Gave us: links WillhiteWeb.com · No licence stated; names and page links only (the site's photos and text are not reproduced). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  8. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.