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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Diamond Point Lookout Site

Okanogan Co., WA L-4 lookout cab built 1930 on Diamond Point at 7,916 ft; destroyed in 1952, with an outhouse seat and other debris still reported on site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Destroyed in 1952 per the register and FireLookout.com. WillhiteWeb's photo captions show an outhouse seat, a double chair, and nails, glass and hinges at the site. No source describes a standing structure.

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 long hike from the Billy Goat Trailhead at the end of Eightmile Creek Road. No closure is mentioned in the sources. Fire has reduced the final mile to a faint path.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
From Billy Goat Trailhead the route runs over Billy Goat Pass and Three Fools Pass, then a high pass burned in 2015, then cross-country up the ridge. Listed as 12 miles with 4,600+ feet of gain.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cab14-by-14-foot L-4 lookout cab; a Washington Lookouts page calls it an Aladdin lookout houseThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1930
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,916 ft (2,413 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.88270, −120.30690
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-diamond-point

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 4.1 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. 1930 Built14 by 14 foot L-4 lookout building, with materials packed over a 12-mile trail in December 1930. A Washington Lookouts page calls it an Aladdin lookout house.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1931 EventWashington Lookouts quotes a July 1931 Wenatchee Daily World item: three new lookouts went out, and R.G. Dykstra of Omak went to Diamond Peak. The page does not say whether this site is meant.Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1934 EventPanorama photos taken September 17, 1934; the register credits them to the National Archives Pacific Northwest Region.Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1946 EventWillhiteWeb photo captioned 'Diamond Point Lookout 1946'.Source: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1952 DestroyedCab destroyed in 1952 per the register, FireLookout.com and WillhiteWeb. The sources do not give a cause.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1952 and 2012
  7. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 11, 2012 as FFLOS US 1441.Source: firetower.org
  8. Date unknown StaffedHoward Culp is named as a lookout in an account from a lookout book, quoted by WillhiteWeb. No year is given.Source: willhiteweb.com
  9. 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.

Diamond Point rises in the Okanogan National Forest, 29 miles north-northwest of Winthrop, at 7,916 feet.1,2 In December 1930 materials for a 14 x 14 foot L-4 cab were carried in along a 12-mile trail.3,4 Most sources call it an L-4 cab, but a Washington Lookouts page calls it an Aladdin lookout house, and the sources do not reconcile the two names.1,2,3,4

A July 1931 Wenatchee newspaper item, quoted by Washington Lookouts, reported that three new lookouts had gone out the week before, and that R.G. Dykstra of Omak had gone to Diamond Peak.3 The page does not say whether that name refers to this site.3

Panorama photos were taken from the site on September 17, 1934.3 The register credits them to the National Archives Pacific Northwest Region.1,3

WillhiteWeb quotes a lookout book that tells of Howard Culp, a lookout here whose date is not given.4 He had grounded his telephone once a storm was closing in, then, after what seemed a safe interval, switched it back on, and a bolt struck.4 He regained consciousness about two hours later, as a trail crew came up.4 The Winthrop Ranger Station asked the crew to check on him after he went quiet.4

The register and FireLookout.com both say the cab was destroyed in 1952.1,2 A WillhiteWeb photo is captioned 1946, so the building stood at least that long.4

WillhiteWeb says trails still reach the site, though recent fires have cut the final mile to a faint path.4 Its photos show an outhouse seat, a double chair, and nails, glass and hinges, and several views are captioned 2016.4 No source describes a standing structure today.1,2,3,4

The route starts at Highway 20 west of Winthrop, up the West Chewuch River Road.4 The guide then follows Eightmile Creek Road to the Billy Goat Trailhead, and it says an ordinary car should manage that drive.4 From there the hike is listed at 12 miles with more than 4,600 feet of climbing, over several passes and then cross-country up the ridge.4 No source mentions a closure.1,2,3,4

  1. Diamond Point Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/diamond-point-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Diamond Point Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/diamondpoint.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Diamond Point, Forest Lookouts, Washington Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/diamond-point.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Diamond Point Lookout Site, Pasayten Wilderness, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/pasayten_wilderness/diamond_point_lookout/history_066.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Diamond Point Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (N)
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (SE)
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (SW)
Diamond Point Lookout panoramic 9-17-1934 (SW) (1934)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: 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

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