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Fire lookout · Skagit County, Washington

Frailey Mountain Lookout Site

Also known as Frailey Mountain/Cavanaugh

Skagit County tower framed and erected in 1946 for the state Forestry Division, removed in 1970; the summit is now a fenced communication site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed in 1970; a large communication tower and a fenced area now stand on the site (Willhite)

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Route runs on DNR land past a gate; the summit is a fenced communication site, and no source says whether the public may enter the fenced area

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Willhite: walk or bike the road 2.7 miles to its end, then an ATV track through a clear-cut to the communication tower. A January 2026 visitor's blog describes a road walk with a short climb to the old lookout site.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower40-foot ring-connected treated timber tower with L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1946
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
2,666 ft (813 m)
Agency
Washington Division of Forestry/DNR
Land
State land
Location
Skagit County, Washington
Coordinates
48.30225, −121.99661
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-frailey-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. 1946 BuiltBuilt 1946 as a 40-foot treated timber tower with L-4 cab (FFLOS, firelookout.com); the 1946 annual report of the Forestry Division, as quoted by Forest Lookouts and Willhite, says it was framed in the shop and erected on the mountainSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1960 StaffedJune 9, 1960 Arlington Times item says Helen Fosnaugh took up a post in the tower on 'Mt. Fairley' with the U.S. Forest Service; it conflicts with the state credit and the peak spelling differsSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1970 RemovedRemoved in 1970 (FFLOS, firelookout.com, Willhite)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1970 and 2012
  5. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered March 26, 2012 as US 1242, WA 142; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  6. 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.

Frailey Mountain rises about 10 miles northeast of Arlington, in Skagit County.1,2 In a 1946 annual report, the state Forestry Division described a 40-foot tower that was framed in its shop and then erected on the mountain.3,4 The tower was made of treated timber and had an L-4 cab.1,2

A June 1960 item from the Arlington Times, reprinted on the Forest Lookouts page, names Helen Fosnaugh as staffing a tower on "Mt. Fairley" for the U.S. Forest Service.3 That disagrees with the state credit given elsewhere, and the item spells the peak differently, so the sources do not settle who staffed this tower.1,3

Willhite says Frailey came close to being an AWS post, but road trouble and the war's end meant it was never needed.4 It was taken down in 1970.1,2,4

Today the lookout site is occupied by a communication tower inside a fence.4 Willhite looked for the old tower and found no sign of it.4 A visitor's blog from January 2026 describes a road walk from Deer Creek Road at Lake Cavanaugh that includes a brief climb to the former lookout site, with views that include the North Fork Stillaguamish river valley.5 Willhite lists DNR as the landowner along the whole route. He describes a gate with room to park on either side of the road, then a walk or bike ride of 2.7 miles to the road's end and an ATV track up through a clear-cut.4 No source we read says whether the public may enter the fenced compound on the summit.4

  1. Frailey Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/frailey-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Frailey Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/frailey.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Frailey Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/frailey-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Frailey Mountain Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/frailey_mountain/lake_cavanaugh_194.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Frailey Mountain, Lucas Mountain Knowledge, https://www.lucasmountainknowledge.com/post/frailey-mountain (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Frailey Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: 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, 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, ownership, 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, height, 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.