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Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

Cougar Mountain Lookout Site

1921 lookout camp, 1930 log cabin, 1937 L-4 cab destroyed in 1969. A WillhiteWeb photo caption mentions a footing; a trail closure notice dated 7.30.26 is posted.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. The L-4 cab was destroyed in 1969; a WillhiteWeb photo caption mentions a footing under the ground. No source describes the site now.

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. Hikers can reach the mountain on Wenatchee National Forest trails. Passenger cars cannot reach the Cougar Ridge trailhead. WTA posted a closure notice dated 7.30.26 because of the Little Giant Fire.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Roughly 5 miles one way from Maverick Saddle per WillhiteWeb; WTA lists a 10-mile round trip. Check for closures before going.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabLog cabin with a roof platform (1930), replaced by an L-4 cab (1937); a 1950 USGS description gives a 14-foot-square wooden building on the groundThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1930
Height
14 ft (4.3 m)
Elevation
6,701 ft (2,043 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Wenatchee National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
47.89130, −120.58082
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-cougar-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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.1 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. 1921 EventSite started as a lookout campSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1930 BuiltLog cabin with a roof platformSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  3. 1933 StaffedArnold Hagen listed as lookout personnelSource: firelookout.com
  4. 1934 EventPanoramic images taken from the roof of the cabSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1937 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab replaced the log cabinSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  6. 1950 Condition assessmentUSGS describes a 14-foot-square wooden building on the ground with a V-type roof about 12 feet above the groundSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. No record between 1950 and 1969
  8. 1969 DestroyedL-4 cab destroyed (WillhiteWeb and Fire Lookout). The Former Fire Lookout Sites page says removedSources: willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  9. No record between 1969 and 2012
  10. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: August 22, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  11. 2026 ClosedTrail closure notice dated 7.30.26, closed until further notice because of the Little Giant Fire (trail, not the lookout site)Source: wta.org
  12. 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.

Cougar Mountain, in the Wenatchee National Forest about 10 miles northeast of Lake Wenatchee, began as a lookout camp in 1921.1,2,3 A log cabin with a platform on its roof went up in 1930.1,3 The Wenatchee Daily World reported that year that a lookout cabin was planned for the mountain, southeast of Mad Lake.2

In 1937 an L-4 cab replaced the log cabin.1,2,3 The Fire Lookout page names Arnold Hagen as a lookout in 1933.3 Panoramic photos were shot from the cab's roof in 1934.2

A 1950 USGS description gave a 14-foot-square building set directly on the ground, its roof about 12 feet up.2

WillhiteWeb and the Fire Lookout page say the L-4 cab was destroyed in 1969. The Former Fire Lookout Sites register says it was removed that year.1,2,3

A WillhiteWeb photo caption reads "Footing under the ground." The caption is undated, and no source describes what is at the site now.2

The Forest Service says the Cougar Ridge Trail begins 10 miles behind a gated road. Hikers, mountain bikers, motorcyclists and riders with stock may use that road, but cars cannot reach the trailhead.4 WillhiteWeb suggests parking at Maverick Saddle and hiking the Mad River route, which it puts at roughly five miles one way.2 A Washington Trails Association notice dated July 30, 2026 says the Cougar Mountain (Entiat) trail is closed, with no reopening date, because of the Little Giant Fire.5 Check for current closures before you go.

  1. Cougar Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/cougar-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Cougar Mountain Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/cougar_mountain_lookout/mad_river_090.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Cougar Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, Fire Lookout, http://www.firelookout.com/wa/cougarmtn174.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Cougar Ridge Trail #1418, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/recreation/trails/cougar-ridge-trail (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Cougar Mountain (Entiat), Washington Trails Association, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/cougar-mountain (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Cougar Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1934
1934 (1934)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, 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.