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Fire lookout · Skamania County, Washington

Flattop Mountain Lookout

1946 two-story prototype lookout cab on Flattop Mountain, Gifford Pinchot National Forest; dismantled and moved to a center near Entiat, Washington; the summit holds no lookout cab now.

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at CBFIC

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. The 2005 sources say the FFLA dismantled the cab and relocated it to the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center near Entiat; the center describes its current structure as a replica of the top story, built partly from the lookout's old wood.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. Drive-up on forest roads. Rocky road; good tires are advised. No lookout cab remains on the summit.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Summit reached by forest roads; use FR 8821 for access. The last mile is rocky.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Moved sources disagree
Type
Two-story buildingTwo-story prototype cab with slanted windows and curved hip roof (1946)The design: R-6
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1946
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,366 ft (1,331 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Skamania County, Washington
Coordinates
46.02773, −121.61225
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-flattop-mountain

View from the cab

What you see from the 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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.6 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 MovedEarlier frame house moved from the east end to the west end of the summit (sources differ on its first year, 1921 or 1922)Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1938 StaffedMyron Halse stationed at the lookoutSource: willhiteweb.com
  3. 1946 BuiltTwo-story prototype cab built for the Forest Service by a Portland, Oregon companySources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1960 AbandonedSite abandoned; the cabin on the west side was destroyedSources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. No record between 1960 and 1996
  6. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 25, 1996 as US 188, WA 23Source: nhlr.org
  7. 2005 RemovedFFLA dismantled the east-side cab and relocated it to the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center in EntiatSources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 2005 and 2025
  9. 2025 Removed'Removed' field on FFLOS detail page: "by 2025".Source: FFLOS register entry
  10. 2026 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered January 2, 2026 as US 171, WA 507Source: firetower.org
  11. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to CBFIC.Source: FFLA
  12. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from.

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.

The Flattop Mountain lookout stood in Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest, with a view of Mount Adams.1 The cab that stood on the summit was built in 1946.2,3 The Forest Service had it built that year by a company in Portland, Oregon.3 It was a two-story prototype with slanted windows and a curved hip roof.1,2 It was intended as the model for the next generation of lookouts in the region, but the plainer R-6 flat cab became the standard instead.1,2

The sources disagree on the cab's size. The register gives 12 by 12 feet, while firelookout.com and WillhiteWeb give 14 by 14 feet.1,2,4

The summit had an earlier frame house, put up on the east end about 1921 or 1922 and moved to the west end in 1930. The two histories give different first years.2,4 In 1938 Myron Halse was stationed at the lookout.4 The site was abandoned in 1960.2,4

A May 2005 visit report in the register says the building "has been completely neglected for several years."1 The register also says the lookout nearly came down to clear room for a microwave tower.1 The landowner, the state DNR, made repeated threats to tear it down until 2005.2,4 In 2005 the Forest Fire Lookout Association dismantled the east-side cab and moved it to the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center in Entiat.2,4

The Former Fire Lookout Sites register gives a later date. It says the tower was disassembled by 2025.5 The two histories above put the dismantling in 2005, so the sources disagree.2,4

The cab was moved to the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center, about a mile north of Entiat on the west side of US Highway 97.2,4,3 The center says its structure is a replica of the top story, built partly from the lookout's old wood, especially for the roof and window frame supports.3

The summit itself no longer holds the lookout cab.2,4 WillhiteWeb's "Location Today" note describes communications towers on the east side and trees on the west.4 The summit is reached by forest roads.4 The same site's access notes say to use FR 8821, give a rocky road where good tires are best, and warn that the last mile is rocky.4

  1. Flattop Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/flattop-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Flattop Lookout, firelookout.com, https://firelookout.com/wa/flattop.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/washington/columbia_breaks_fire/interpretive_center_178.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Flattop Mountain Lookout, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/flat_top_lookout/gifford_pinchot_263.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Flattop Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/flattop-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Flattop Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Flattop Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Flattop Mountain Lookout
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Flattop Mountain Lookout
Photo: 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 whether it still stands.

    • Firefinder research: Moved
    • NHLR: Standing
    • FFLOS: Gone

    Research (2026-10-09) gives relocated where the source records give standing. The page shows the researched status; please tell us if it is wrong.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, what it is built of, status, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, 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
  3. 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.