FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Snohomish County, Washington

Glacier Ridge Lookout Site

L-4 cab on a 40-foot tower built 1936 in Snohomish County; abandoned 1957 and now gone; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Abandoned in 1957. The register says it is now gone and the Washington lookouts index marks it removed. No removal date found.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Willhite has not visited the site yet. The only trail detail is a 1942 account of switchbacks, including one at Mile 13. No current route is described in the sources read.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cab on a 40-foot towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1936
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,160 ft (1,573 m)
Agency
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Snohomish County, Washington
Coordinates
48.12973, −121.17797
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-glacier-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 4.3 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. 1935 EventPanoramic photos taken August 12, 1935 from 26 feet up on what looks like an unfinished timber towerSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1936 Built40-foot tower with L-4 cab built in 1936 per the register, firelookout.com and WillhiteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1942 StaffedArt Ryals sent to relieve Jim Tucker at the lookout, per an account Willhite relaysSource: willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1942 and 1957
  5. 1957 AbandonedAbandoned 1957 per the register, firelookout.com and WillhiteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1957 and 2020
  7. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 2, 2020 on the Former Fire Lookout Sites registerSource: firetower.org
  8. Date unknown RemovedMarked removed on the Washington lookouts index and described as now gone by the register; no removal year givenSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.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.

Glacier Ridge is a former lookout on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Snohomish County, about 3 miles northwest of Glacier Peak.1,2

Panorama photos dated August 12, 1935 were taken from 26 feet up a structure that seems to be an unfinished tower built of timber.3,4

The finished lookout, a 40-foot tower with an L-4 cab, was built in 1936.1,2,4 The National Historic Lookout Register describes an L-4 as a 14-by-14-foot frame cab that could be mounted on a tall tower.5

In 1942, Art Ryals was sent to the lookout to relieve Jim Tucker, according to an account on Willhite's site.4 The same account places a switchback at Mile 13 on the trail up to the lookout.4

The lookout was abandoned in 1957.1,2,4 The register says it is now gone, and the Washington lookouts index marks it removed.1,3

Willhite's page lists the site as not yet visited, and it does not describe remains or access today.4

  1. Glacier Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/glacier-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Glacier Ridge Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/glacierridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Glacier Ridge, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/glacier-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Glacier Creek Ridge Lookout, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/glacier_creek_ridge_lookout/wilderness_068.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Definitions, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/definitions/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (N)
Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (N) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (SE)
Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (SE) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (SW)
Glacier Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-12-1935 (SW) (1935)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, 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, height, status, agency, 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.