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Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

Dirtyface Ridge Lookout Site

Wenatchee NF summit above Lake Wenatchee: a 1914 camp, a 1920 cupola, disputed 1933 and 1957 cabs; cab burned in 1975. WTA says the trail was closed in July 2026.

Closed

The site is closed to visitors. WTA's trail note dated July 30, 2026 says the trail is closed until further notice because of the Little Giant Fire. No later notice was found.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. The R-6 cab was burned on the summit in 1975 after it could not be lifted off for removal. A hiker's account describes cement foundation blocks at the site.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Closed. See the warning at the top of this page.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trail from the Lake Wenatchee Ranger Station trailhead, about four miles with 4,000 feet of gain per WTA (the Willhite guide gives 4.5 miles to the old site). Closed per the July 2026 WTA note. No tower remains to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabD-6 cupola cabin and platform (1920); L-4 cab (1933, FireLookout.com doubts it was built); R-6 flat cab (1957)The designs: L-4, R-6, D-6
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1920
Height
20 ft (6.1 m)
Elevation
5,989 ft (1,825 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
47.85576, −120.79935
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-dirtyface-ridge

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. 1914 EventCamp set up on the summit as a heliograph lookoutSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1915 EventTelephone line and trail built up the mountain to the lookout stationSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1916 StaffedHarry T. Gisborne, a student from an eastern forestry schoolSource: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1920 BuiltD-6 cupola cabin and a platform installedSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1921 StaffedBen S. Maxwell listed as lookoutSource: firelookout.com
  6. 1923 StaffedGladys West acted as relief lookoutSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1924 StaffedLawrence Cunningham was lookout on the peakSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1929 EventLightning struck the station; flag pole shattered and some connections on a signal set burned. Sources differ on early 1929 versus a storm reported November 1929.Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  9. 1933 BuiltL-4 cab replaced the cupola per FFLOS and Willhite; FireLookout.com says photo evidence suggests it was not builtSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1933 StaffedPat Douglas, Dirtyface Peak lookoutSources: firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1934 StaffedBud Ault was lookoutSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 1935 StaffedMr. Ault employed as lookout; Mrs. Ault stayed at the peak part of the summerSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. No record between 1935 and 1957
  14. 1957 Replaced by a new structureR-6 flat cab replaced the L-4Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  15. No record between 1957 and 1975
  16. 1975 DestroyedPlanned helicopter move to Alpine Lookout in June 1975 failed; the cab was burned to the ground on the summit. The guide reports a sixty-two-year lookout journal burned with it.Sources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  17. No record between 1975 and 2012
  18. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered August 22, 2012 as US 1397, WA 297Source: firetower.org
  19. 2026 ClosedWTA trail note dated July 30, 2026: trail closed until further notice because of the Little Giant FireSource: wta.org
  20. 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.

Dirtyface Ridge is the site of a former fire lookout in the Wenatchee National Forest, in Chelan County, Washington, about two miles north of Lake Wenatchee.1,2 A camp was set up on the summit in 1914 as a heliograph lookout, and in the summer of 1915 crews were building a telephone line and a trail up the mountain.3,4 A D-6 cupola cabin and a platform went up in 1920.1,4

Sources do not agree on the cab that came next. The Former Fire Lookout Sites register and the Willhite guide both say an L-4 cab replaced the cupola in 1933.1,4 FireLookout.com says photo evidence suggests that cab was never built.2 All three put an R-6 flat cab in place in 1957.1,2,4

Several seasonal lookouts are named. Harry T. Gisborne, a student from an eastern forestry school, held the post in 1916.4 Ben S. Maxwell is listed for 1921, and Gladys West acted as relief lookout in 1923.2,3 Lawrence Cunningham was on the peak in 1924, and Pat Douglas in 1933.3,2 Bud Ault worked the station in 1934 and again in 1935.3

Lightning hit the station in 1929. Ranger Kellicut's account says the flag pole was shattered and some connections on a signal set in the tower were badly burned.3,4 The sources differ on the timing. The Willhite guide says early 1929, while the Weebly page dates the report to November 1929 and describes a storm early in that season.4,3

Plans called for the R-6 cab to be flown by helicopter to nearby Alpine Lookout in June 1975. Because it could not be lifted off the summit, it was burned to the ground.4,1 The guide adds that a sixty-two-year lookout journal burned too.4

No lookout stands on the summit now. A hiker's account describes cement foundation blocks where the lookout stood, and says the abandoned site is used for weather monitoring.1,5 The route is about four miles with 4,000 feet of gain, according to WTA, and starts at a trailhead next to the Lake Wenatchee Ranger Station. The Willhite guide puts the old site about 4.5 miles up the trail.6,4 WTA's trail note, dated July 30, 2026, says the trail is closed until further notice because of the Little Giant Fire. That is the latest notice we found, so visitors should not expect access for now.6

  1. Dirtyface Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/dirtyface-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Dirtyface Ridge Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/dirtyface.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Dirty Face Ridge, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/dirty-face-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Dirty Face Peak - Lake Wenatchee Hikes, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_climbing/dirtyface_peak/lake_wenatchee_hikes_071.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Dirty Face Peak Lookout, Must Hike Must Eat, https://musthikemusteat.com/hwy-2/dirtyface-peak-and-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. Dirty Face Lookout and Peak, Washington Trails Association, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/dirtyface-lookout-site (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Dirtyface Ridge Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1920
1920 (1920)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, 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, staffing, 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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