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Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

Carne Mountain Lookout Site

Ground lookout in the Wenatchee National Forest: a log cabin about 1915, an L-5 cab from the 1930s, gone by the 1960s. Only remnants remain on the lower summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed or destroyed in the 1960s; only remnants remain on the lower summit.

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
Phelps Creek trailhead via FR 6211; about 4 miles with a 3,600-foot climb.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 cab, after an earlier log cabinThe design: L-5
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1915
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,991 ft (2,131 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.08840, −120.80300
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-carne-mountain

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 4.2 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. 1915 BuiltFirst structure, a log cabin, built about 1915 (register)Source: firetower.org
  2. 1915 First staffedA lookout started observing from the mountain around 1915, with a log cabin (Willhite)Source: willhiteweb.com
  3. No record between 1915 and 1934
  4. 1934 BuiltL-5 cab placed shortly after 1934 (Willhite). The register says it replaced the log cabin in the 1930s. The year is approximate.Sources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1934 EventPanoramic photographs taken August 20, 1934; Willhite says no structure stood on the summit thenSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1934 and 1960
  7. 1960 RemovedCab removed (register) or destroyed (Firelookout, Willhite) in the 1960s. Sources give only the decade, so the year 1960 stands for the decade and is not a known date.Sources: firelookout.com, firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1960 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered August 21, 2012 as US 1390, WA 290Source: firetower.org
  10. 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.

Carne Mountain's lookout stood in the Wenatchee National Forest in Chelan County, Washington, about 18 miles north of Lake Wenatchee.1 The U.S. Forest Service administers the site.2

The first structure was a log cabin, built about 1915.2 Willhite says a lookout started watching from the mountain around that time. He suggests the cabin probably stood in the meadows below, with the lookout working from the point by day.3 His photos include one captioned 1944.3 The register says an L-5 cab replaced the log cabin in the 1930s.2 Willhite says no structures stood on the summit when panoramic photographs were taken on August 20, 1934, and that the cab went up soon after.4,3

The sources differ on the exact spot.2,3 Willhite says the observation point was point 6,991, just south of the summit, and that a 1949 USGS map labels the lookout at the 7,085-foot summit instead.3 The register gives the site's elevation as 6,991 feet.2

Three sources place the end of the cab in the 1960s, but they describe it differently.1,2,3 The register says it was removed.2 Firelookout and Willhite say it was destroyed.1,3 The Forest Lookouts listing marks it simply as removed.4

Willhite says remnants such as rusty nails, glass and a foundation can be found on the lower summit.3 The hike to the high peak starts at the Phelps Creek trailhead.3 He gives the hike as 4 miles with a 3,600-foot climb, and describes the access road as rough gravel but accessible by all.3 The sources do not describe a closure, but they do not give current conditions, so check before you go.3

  1. Carne Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/carnemtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Carne Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/carne-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Carne Mountain Trail, Willhite Web, http://www.willhiteweb.com/hiking/entiat_mountains/carne_mountain_trail_131.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Carne Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/carne-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Carne Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: 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. 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, 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.