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Fire lookout · Grays Harbor County, Washington

Higley Peak Lookout Site

Grays Harbor Co., WA: 1934 cab, WWII Aircraft Warning Service station, 1957 timber tower; tower removed 1972-73 (sources differ); cab footings remain below summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed in 1972 or 1973 (sources differ). The register says one removal attempt ended with it sinking in Lake Quinault; WillhiteWeb gives a second account. Cabin footings reportedly remain on the hillside below the summit.

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. Olympic National Forest land reached by gravel road and a trail from a trailhead, per WillhiteWeb's trip report. No closure is mentioned in the sources read.

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Gravel roads to a trailhead, then about half a mile to the summit with a 272-foot gain (WillhiteWeb). Part of the drive runs along the boundary with Quinault Tribe land.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower14x14-foot cab (1934); a 40-foot treated timber R-6 tower (1957, per register and Firelookout.com); an 8x16-foot AWS cabin added 1944The design: R-6
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
3,025 ft (922 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Grays Harbor County, Washington
Coordinates
47.51037, −123.88735
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-higley-peak

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 4.0 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 Built14x14-foot cab: register and Firelookout.com give 1934; WillhiteWeb says 1932 or 1934Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1935 EventPanoramic photos taken from the cab roof on June 15, 1935 by George ClisbySources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 First staffedOlympia Filter Center activated the site on March 10, 1942 as Aircraft Warning Service station Baker 7-3Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1944 Altered8x16-foot cabin added for year-round living, per the May 1, 1944 AWS station report as quoted by Forest LookoutsSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1944 StaffedAWS observers occupied the siteSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1957 Replaced by a new structure40-foot treated timber R-6 tower replaced the cab per the register and Firelookout.com. WillhiteWeb gives 1964 for a rebuilt wooden tower.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1964 RebuiltWillhiteWeb: lookout rebuilt on a wooden tower. Conflicts with the 1957 date.Source: willhiteweb.com
  8. 1972 RemovedRegister and Firelookout.com: gone by 1972Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  9. 1973 RemovedWillhiteWeb: no longer needed and removed by helicopter in 1973Source: willhiteweb.com
  10. No record between 1973 and 2002
  11. 2002 RemovedRadio reflector equipment on the summit removedSource: willhiteweb.com
  12. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered January 13, 2012 as US 1185, WA 86; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  13. 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.

Higley Peak sits near Lake Quinault, about two miles north of the lake, in Grays Harbor County, Washington.1,2 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register gives its elevation as 3,025 feet, or 922 meters, and lists the Olympic National Forest as its location.1 The peak takes its name from Alfred Higley, who arrived in the area with his son and then settled at Lake Quinault.3

The register dates a 14-by-14-foot cabin on the summit to 1934.1,3 WillhiteWeb says a cab of that size was there in 1932 or 1934.3 George Clisby took panoramic photos from its roof in 1935.3,4

During WWII, the Aircraft Warning Service made use of the summit.3 The Olympia Filter Center activated it as station "Baker 7-3" on March 10, 1942.4 In 1944 observers moved in and added an 8-by-16-foot cabin for year-round living.3,4 When the service ended, the Forest Service retained the site for its original uses.4

The sources disagree about the tower. The register and Firelookout.com say a 40-foot treated timber tower replaced the cab in 1957.1,2 WillhiteWeb dates a rebuild on a wooden tower to 1964, and notes that another source gives 1957 for the 40-foot tower.3

The register and Firelookout.com say the tower was gone by 1972. An attempt to remove it by helicopter, they say, ended with it falling into Lake Quinault and sinking.1,2 WillhiteWeb says it was removed by helicopter in 1973.3 It gives two accounts of what happened next: one says the tower and cab fell into Lake Quinault and sank, and the other says the cab and tower found use at the Snohomish County Airport.3 After removal the summit carried a radio reflector, and that equipment was taken off in 2002.3

Today WillhiteWeb says the cabin's footings still hint at its spot on the hillside just below the summit.3 The summit no longer has its views.3 The trail to the top is about half a mile, with an elevation gain of 272 feet.3 Part of the drive runs along the boundary with Quinault Tribe land.3

  1. Higley Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/higley-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Higley Peak Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/higleypeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Higley Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/higley_peak/lake_quinault_258.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Higley Peak, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/higley-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Higley Peak Lookout 1940
Higley Peak Lookout 1940 (1940)Photo: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Higley Peak Lookout Site
Higley Peak Lookout SitePhoto: Eric Willhite, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (North)
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (North)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (Southeast)
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (Southeast)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (Southwest)
Higley Peak Lookout panoramic 6-15-35 (Southwest)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, 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

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