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Fire lookout · Kittitas County, Washington

Davis Peak Lookout Site

Also known as Powderhorn/Davis Peak

Kittitas County lookout built 1934 as an L-4 cab on the ground, staffed to 1965 and removed or destroyed in 1968; only rock remnants of the site are described, on a hiking trail.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed or destroyed in 1968; sources describe only rock remnants at the site

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 by a hiking trail from the Paris Creek/Davis Peak Trailhead off the Salmon la Sac road; the sources read describe no closure

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Hike of 5.5 miles with 3,900 feet of gain from the trailhead (Willhite)

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab on the groundThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,426 ft (1,959 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Kittitas County, Washington
Coordinates
47.44785, −121.07863
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-davis-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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.9 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. 1933 StaffedAaron Jurgens listed as known lookout personnel; the date comes a year before the 1934 cab and the page gives no contextSource: firelookout.com
  2. 1934 BuiltL-4 cab on the ground; panoramic photos taken from the roof that yearSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1944 StaffedMarge Lumsden occupied the lookoutSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1944 and 1964
  5. 1964 StaffedMarianna Kearney listed as known lookout personnelSource: firelookout.com
  6. 1965 Last staffedLumsden's last season per Willhite; she was landed by helicopter in deep snowSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. 1968 RemovedRemoved or destroyed; the register and SummitPost say removed, the Fire Lookout Association says destroyed, Willhite says destroyed or removedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1968 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered August 22, 2012 as US 1396, WA 296Source: 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.

Davis Peak lies in Kittitas County near Roslyn, on Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest land managed by the Forest Service.1 The lookout on the peak was built in 1934 as an L-4 cab set on the ground, and panoramic photographs were taken from its roof that first year.1,2

Marge Lumsden, a schoolteacher and fourth-generation resident of the Roslyn area, occupied the lookout in 1944.1,2 The register says she put in 16 years as a fire lookout on Davis in total.1 Willhite says her last season was 1965, when so much snow fell that she had to be landed on the peak by helicopter.2 The Fire Lookout Association's page lists Aaron Jurgens in 1933 and Marianna Kearney in 1964 as known personnel, with no context for either name.3 The 1933 entry comes a year before the 1934 cab.1,3

The lookout came down in 1968.1,3,2,4 The register and SummitPost say it was removed, the Fire Lookout Association says it was destroyed, and Willhite says it was destroyed or removed that year.1,3,2,4

SummitPost says the lookout no longer stands, and that what remains is "a semi structure that is like a large rock windbreak."4 Willhite calls the spot "the remnants of a former lookout site."2 No source we read describes the site in more detail.

Directions start in Roslyn, on the Salmon la Sac Road (State Route 903), and end at the Paris Creek/Davis Peak Trailhead.2 Willhite calls the trail long, steep and dry, and describes the hike as 5.5 miles with 3,900 feet of gain.2

One web page carries the Davis Peak name but describes Powderhorn, a different lookout about nine miles northeast of Woodland.5 Keep the two apart.

  1. Davis Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/davis-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Davis Peak - Salmon La Sac Hiking Trails, WillhiteWeb, http://www.willhiteweb.com/hiking/cle_elum/davis_peak/trail_202.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Davis Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/davispeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Davis Peak, SummitPost, https://www.summitpost.org/davis-peak/315322 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Powderhorn Lookout - Davis Peak Lookout, WillhiteWeb, http://willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/powderhorn_lookout/davis_peak_274.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Davis Peak Lookout
Davis Peak LookoutPhoto: Eric Willhite Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout 1958
Davis Peak Lookout 1958 (1958)Photo: Eric Willhite collection - Marge Lumsden photo, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout site
Davis Peak Lookout sitePhoto: Eric Willhite collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (N)
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (SE)
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (SW)
Davis Peak Lookout panoramic 8-20-1934 (SW) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Davis Peak Lookout - Jim Johnson & Adrian Jenkins
Davis Peak Lookout - Jim Johnson & Adrian JenkinsPhoto: Eric Willhite Collection, 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. 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
  5. 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.