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Fire lookout · Pierce County, Washington

Glacier View Lookout Site

Glacier View lookout (L-4 cab) stood on the ridge west of Mount Rainier from about 1934 until its removal in 1960; the summit lies in the Glacier View Wilderness.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed in 1960; no source describes what remains on the site.

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 on foot inside the Glacier View Wilderness; sources disagree on whether Forest Road 59 is open.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
WillhiteWeb lists the hike as 3 miles; the route starts from Forest Road 59 off State Route 706, a few miles past Ashford.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
5,464 ft (1,665 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Pierce County, Washington
Coordinates
46.81875, −121.95228
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-glacier-view

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 4.2 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. 1934 BuiltL-4 cab, built about 1934Sources: firetower.org, seattletimes.com
  2. 1934 EventPanoramic photos taken at the lookout on July 23, 1934Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 First staffedActivated July 4, 1942, listed with the Seattle Filter CenterSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1943 Last staffedDeactivated October 16, 1943Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1943 and 1960
  6. 1960 RemovedL-4 cab removedSources: firetower.org, seattletimes.com
  7. No record between 1960 and 1984
  8. 1984 EventGlacier View Wilderness designated by CongressSource: nwhiker.org
  9. No record between 1984 and 2012
  10. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterFFLOS US 1276, registered May 26, 2012Source: firetower.org
  11. 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 View is a high point on a long ridge that runs parallel to the western boundary of Mount Rainier National Park.1,2 A fire lookout went up there about 1934.3 Its cab was an L-4, a design the National Historic Lookout Register describes as a 14-by-14-foot frame cab that could sit atop a tall tower.3,4 Robert Cooper took panoramic photos there on July 23, 1934.5

A Washington lookouts listing shows the lookout activated on July 4, 1942, and deactivated on October 16, 1943, with the Seattle Filter Center.5 The cab was removed in 1960.3 The Seattle Times gives the run as 1934 to 1960.6

Today the former lookout site is on the summit of Glacier View, in the northwest corner of the Glacier View Wilderness.1,2 Congress designated that wilderness in 1984.1

From State Route 706, you look for Forest Road 59 a few miles past Ashford.2 The Seattle Times says the dirt road is rough, especially early on, though a regular passenger car can make it.6 WillhiteWeb says the road is closed because of washouts.2 The two accounts disagree, so check current road conditions with the Forest Service before you go.6,2

WillhiteWeb says Glacier View has the best viewpoint on its ridge, and that you can reach its unblocked view without bushwhacking.2

No source I found describes what, if anything, remains of the cab or its footings at the site today.

  1. Glacier View Wilderness Area, nwhiker.org, http://nwhiker.org/CDgifford/wilderness-glacierview.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Glacier View Wilderness, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/mount_rainier_national_park/glacier_view/wilderness_058.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Glacier View Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, firetower.org, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/glacier-view-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Definitions, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/definitions/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Glacierview, Forest Lookouts, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/glacierview.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. For a new spin on Mount Rainier and sweeping views, give fire lookouts a try, The Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/for-a-new-spin-on-mount-rainier-and-sweeping-views-give-fire-lookouts-a-try/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Glacier View Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (N)
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (SE)
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (SW)
Glacier View Lookout panoramic 7-23-1934 (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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