FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Snohomish County, Washington

Circle Peak Lookout Site

Snohomish County, WA lookout site: camp 1929, 12x12 cab 1930, Andy Holland 1931; cab removed or burned 1967; no source describes the summit today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed or burned in 1967; no source describes what remains on the summit

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; most of the final forest road was closed for many years and reopened in 2020 per WillhiteWeb; conditions may change year to year

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
About 2 miles each way with roughly 2,000 feet of gain; the final traverse to the high point includes an exposed stretch over cliffs (WillhiteWeb)

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cab12'x12' frame cab built 1930 after a 1929 tent camp (firelookout.com instead says gable-roofed L-4 cab)The design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1930
Height
12 ft (3.7 m)
Elevation
5,983 ft (1,824 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Snohomish County, Washington
Coordinates
48.22046, −121.32251
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-circle-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 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. 1929 EventTent camp set up on the site before the cab was builtSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1930 Built12'x12' frame cab per the register and Forest Lookouts; firelookout.com says gable-roofed L-4 cab; WillhiteWeb says a frame cab was built and rock blasted awaySources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1931 StaffedAndy Holland named as lookout, described as the first person to occupy the new lookoutSource: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1935 EventPanorama photographs taken from the cab roof in September 1935Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. No record between 1935 and 1961
  6. 1961 StaffedHarry Gladsjo working in the lookout, per a July 1961 Arlington Times item and WillhiteWebSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1967 DestroyedRegister says removed in 1967; firelookout.com and Forest Lookouts say destroyed; WillhiteWeb says burned in 1967Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1967 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered March 25, 2012 as FFLOS US 1233; nominated by Ray KresekSource: 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.

Circle Peak Lookout sat on a summit in Snohomish County, Washington, inside the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.1 firelookout.com places it about 13 miles east of Darrington.2 The summit was rocky enough that a pile of rock had to be blasted away before a building could go up, according to WillhiteWeb.3

The site began as a camp. Sources agree that a camp was set up in 1929.1,2,4,3 The register says a 12-by-12-foot frame cab replaced it in 1930,1 and Forest Lookouts gives the same size and year.4 firelookout.com instead calls the 1930 cab a gable-roofed L-4 cab, so the sources differ on the design.2 WillhiteWeb ties the blasting to the 1930 build,3 but Forest Lookouts quotes a June 1932 item, from Six Twenty-Six, about the rock being shot away.4 The dates do not line up, and the sources do not explain why.

WillhiteWeb names Andy Holland as the lookout in 1931 and calls him the first person to occupy the new lookout.3 Panorama photographs were taken from the cab roof in September 1935.4,3 Harry Gladsjo was working in the lookout in 1961, according to a July 1961 Arlington Times item quoted by Forest Lookouts.4,3

Sources agree the lookout was gone by 1967.1,2,4,3 The register says it was removed that year,1 while firelookout.com and Forest Lookouts say it was destroyed, and WillhiteWeb says it burned.2,4,3

No source describes what remains on the summit today. Forest Lookouts quotes a 1950 Coast and Geodetic Survey description of a wooden survey building about 12 feet tall at the station.4 That description predates the 1967 loss, and it does not say whether the building was the lookout.

According to WillhiteWeb, most of the final road to the trailhead was closed for many years before it reopened in 2020, and conditions could change from year to year.3 The hike is about 2 miles each way with roughly 2,000 feet of climb.3 The final traverse to the high point includes an exposed stretch over cliffs.3 We found no closure notice for the trail, but no source confirms the site's public status today.

  1. Circle Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/circle-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Circle Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/circlepeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Circle Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/circle_peak_lookout/indigo_lake_052.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Circle Peak, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/circle-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Circle Peak Lookout 1947
Circle Peak Lookout 1947 (1947)Photo: Chad Kinzel collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (SE)
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (SE)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (SW)
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (SW)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (N)
Circle Peak Lookout panoramic 9-18-35 (N)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: height, 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.