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Fire lookout · Pierce County, Washington

Colonnades Lookout Site

Also known as Collonnade

Mount Rainier NP ridge lookout built 1930 and abandoned by 1941; a new lookout went up 1,200 feet down the ridge in 1948; footings and remnants remain.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Abandoned by 1941 and gone per FFLOS and FireLookout.com. WillhiteWeb cites a 1949 trip report that suggests it still stood, and another source that says lightning destroyed it in the 1950s.

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. Reached on foot inside Mount Rainier National Park; WillhiteWeb describes the route along the ridge from Sunset Park

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Follow the ridge from Sunset Park. WillhiteWeb says parts of the old trail still exist and that footings, an outhouse hole and cans remain at the site.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerframe cab on a short tower, built 1930
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1930
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,176 ft (2,187 m)
Agency
National Park Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Pierce County, Washington
Coordinates
46.86505, −121.86666 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-colonnades

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 4.4 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. 1930 BuiltFrame cab on a short tower. FFLOS and FireLookout.com say 1930; WillhiteWeb says constructed 1929 and opened 1930Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1930 First staffedFrank Slagle had a Forest Service summer job at the Sunset lookout station, per a 1930 Chehalis Bee-Nugget item quoted by WillhiteWebSource: willhiteweb.com
  3. 1941 AbandonedAbandoned in 1941 (FFLOS) or by 1941 (FireLookout.com)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1948 EventA new lookout was placed 1,200 feet down the same ridge. WillhiteWeb does not say it replaced this cabSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1949 EventA 1949 Mountaineers trip report hints the structure was still standing, per WillhiteWebSource: willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1949 and 2020
  7. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 3, 2020, nominated by Tammy McLeodSource: firetower.org
  8. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Colonnades lookout sat in Mount Rainier National Park, in Pierce County, and the National Park Service administered it.1 A frame cab on a short tower went up in 1930, though WillhiteWeb says it was constructed in 1929 and opened in 1930.1,2,3 Some 1930 news articles hint that its first name was Sunset Lookout rather than Colonnade.3

WillhiteWeb describes the station as remote and prone to lightning, with heavy staff turnover.3 A June 1930 item from the Chehalis Bee-Nugget, which WillhiteWeb quotes, says Frank Slagle had a Forest Service summer job at the Sunset lookout station.3

The lookout was abandoned by 1941.1,2 WillhiteWeb cites a 1949 Mountaineers trip report that points to the cab still standing that year, and another source that suggests lightning destroyed it in the 1950s, so the accounts of its end do not agree.3 A new lookout went up in 1948, 1,200 feet down the ridge.3 WillhiteWeb says its view was nearly as good, with less chance of cloud cover.3

The register says the cab is gone.1 WillhiteWeb reports footings, an old outhouse hole ringed with wood boards, and cans in the rocks.3 The route runs along the ridge from Sunset Park, and parts of the old trail still exist, according to WillhiteWeb.3 The site lies inside the national park.1 No source we read describes the remains in more detail.

  1. Colonnades Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/colonnades-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Collonnade Fire Lookout Tower, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/collonnade.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Colonnade Lookout - Mt. Rainier National Park, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/colonnade_lookout/sunset_park_254.htm (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Colonnades Lookout 1930
Colonnades Lookout 1930 (1930)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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 location by 1.3 km (0.8 mi).

    • FFLOS: 46.86505, −121.86666
    • FFLA: 46.86088, −121.85047
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 46.86088, −121.85047

    They share a register number.

    The map uses the position from FFLOS.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. 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.