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Fire lookout · Thurston County, Washington

Capitol Peak Lookout Site

Thurston County, WA lookout towers from 1929 to 1967 or 1968 (sources differ); the summit now shows tower footings and communication towers.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Final tower removed in 1967 or 1968 (sources differ); a 2020 photo caption and a 1975 survey describe communication towers and footings on the summit, not a lookout

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. Willhite's 2020 photo note: a gate with a large parking area, and visitors walk the road to the summit view. No legal access rules are stated; verify before editing.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Short road walk from the gate to the summit, per Willhite

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerSuccessive towers: 1929 tripod on four topped trees with an 84 ft floor; 1935 100 ft timber ring tower with 8x8 cab; 1954 45 ft tower with L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1929
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
2,658 ft (810 m)
Agency
Washington State Division of Forestry/DNR
Land
State land
Location
Thurston County, Washington
Coordinates
46.97274, −123.13888
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-capitol-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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 3.8 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. 1929 BuiltTripod tower on four topped trees with an 84 ft floor; 114 ft per register, 119 ft to the lookout floor per Timberman account (a 1929 report on the Forest Lookouts page gives 119 ft total)Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1934 DestroyedRegister and firelookout.com say blew down; Willhite says an annual report suggests it was brought downSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1935 Built100 ft creosoted timber ring tower with 8x8 cabSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1942 RemovedRemoved by the U.S. Army to make room for a radar station (firelookout.com says destroyed)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1943 BuiltRegister says one source reports an 83 ft tower with 7x7 cab built in 1943Source: firetower.org
  6. 1946 Destroyed83 ft tower blew down (register); Forest Lookouts quotes a 1946 report saying it was demolished by windSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1946 Replaced by a new structureRegister says a 68 ft wooden tower replaced it; Forest Lookouts quotes a 1946 report of an 83 ft ring tower built to replace itSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1954 Replaced by a new structure45 ft wooden tower with L-4 cabSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  9. 1967 RemovedRemoved in the DNR's first round of phasing out lookouts; Willhite's photo captions say 1968Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1975 EventSurvey team noted several microwave and communication towers scattered around the summitSource: willhiteweb.com
  11. No record between 1975 and 2011
  12. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 27, 2011 as US 1160, WA 68; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  13. 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.

Capitol Peak is about 12 miles southwest of Olympia, in Thurston County.1 The Washington State Division of Forestry/DNR administered its lookout.2

The first tower went up in 1929. It was a tripod set on four topped trees, with a floor 84 feet above the ground.2,3,4 The register gives the tower's height as 114 feet, while a 1930 Timberman account, quoted by the Forest Lookouts page and by Willhite, gives 119 feet from the ground to the lookout floor, so the sources disagree.2,3,4 The Washington Forest Fire Association's 1934 report called the design temporary, and the register says the tower blew down that year.2,3 Willhite cites the same report as suggesting it was brought down in 1934.4

A 100-foot creosoted timber tower with an 8-by-8-foot cab followed in 1935.2,3

The register says the U.S. Army removed that tower in 1942 to make room for a radar station, while firelookout.com says it was destroyed.2,1 The record gets tangled after that. The register, citing one source, says an 83-foot tower built in 1943 blew down in 1946 and that a 68-foot wooden tower replaced it the same year.2 The Forest Lookouts page quotes a 1946 forestry report describing an 83-foot ring tower built to replace one demolished by wind.3

In 1954 a 45-foot wooden tower with an L-4 cab went up.2,1 The register says the last tower was removed in 1967 during the DNR's first round of phasing out lookouts, but Willhite's photo captions say the tower removal came in 1968.2,1,4

Willhite's page includes a photo note labeled 2020 that describes a gate up to the communication and lookout site, with a large parking area, where many visitors walk the road to the view, though Willhite adds "while it lasts."4 A photo caption there says two tower footings are still at the summit, and the caption gives no date.4 A 1975 survey team noted several microwave and communication towers around the top.4 Willhite lists the access as good gravel roads, but gives no rules for the gate.4

  1. Capitol Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/capitolpeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Capitol Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, Forest Fire Lookout Association, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/capitol-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Capitol Peak, Forest Lookouts (Washington), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/capitol-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Capitol Peak Lookout Site - Larch Mountain, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/capitol_peak/larch_mountain_420.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Capitol Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1935
1935 (1935)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, 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: height, ownership, 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. 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
  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.