FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

Jack Ridge Lookout Site

1931 L-4 cab lookout in Wenatchee NF, Chelan County; removed or burned 1967 (sources differ); old footings reported in a July 2026 hike.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed or burned in 1967; footings reported in July 2026

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 by trail from Leavenworth (WillhiteWeb route; WTA trip report, July 2026); no source says it is closed

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
No tower or cab remains to climb; the Jack Ridge trail had blowdown in July 2026

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab on a 15-foot tower (WillhiteWeb)The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1931
Height
15 ft (4.6 m)
Elevation
6,280 ft (1,914 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
47.55533, −120.91846 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-jack-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 3.7 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. 1931 BuiltL-4 cab dated to 1931 by the Register and WillhiteWeb; WillhiteWeb says it stood on a 15-foot towerSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1932 EventWenatchee World, July 19, 1932: new lookout stations established on Lorraine Peak and Jack RidgeSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1932 StaffedE.S. Gaines named as lookout and patrolman in a July 1932 Leavenworth Echo itemSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1933 StaffedRichard Siders named as Jack Ridge lookout-fireman in a June 1933 Leavenworth Echo itemSources: firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1934 EventPanoramic photos taken August 14, 1934; Register credits National Archives Pacific Northwest RegionSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1934 and 1967
  7. 1967 RemovedRegister says removed; Fire Lookout says destroyed; WillhiteWeb says removed or burned, with evidence of a burn on the groundSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1967 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: October 21, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  10. 2026 EventJuly 2026 WTA trip report: old footings, melted glass and rusty nails at the top of the peakSource: wta.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.

Jack Ridge is a former fire lookout site in the Wenatchee National Forest, in Chelan County, Washington.1 It sits about 12 miles west of Leavenworth.2 The Forest Service administered the lookout.1

The Former Fire Lookout Sites Register dates the site's L-4 cab to 1931.1 WillhiteWeb says the cab stood on a 15-foot tower.3

A July 1932 Leavenworth Echo item, reprinted on Forest Lookouts, said E.S. Gaines was leaving to serve as lookout and patrolman at Jack Ridge.4 On July 19 that year a Wenatchee World item reported that stations on Lorraine Peak and Jack Ridge had been set up, filling out lookout coverage of the Icicle watershed.4 Those 1932 notices describe the station as newly set up, which sits uneasily with the 1931 date.1,3,4 In June 1933 the Echo named Richard Siders as the Jack Ridge lookout-fireman.4 Panorama photos were taken from the site on August 14, 1934.1,4

The sources disagree about how the cab ended. The Register says it was removed in 1967.1 Fire Lookout says it was destroyed that year.2 WillhiteWeb says it was removed or burned, and notes evidence of a burn on the ground.3

The most recent account I found is a Washington Trails Association trip report from July 2026. Its writers found old footings, melted glass and rusty nails at the top of the peak.5 The report says the trees have grown up, but the views still open out in most directions.5 WillhiteWeb's photo captions also list two footings and burned tower posts.3

The route is a hike. WillhiteWeb follows Icicle River Road out of Leavenworth to a signed Jack Creek trailhead, then describes a loop of about 13 miles that climbs the Jack Ridge trail to the knob where the lookout stood.3 The trip report calls the Jack Ridge trail the rougher of its two routes, with many blowdowns across the path.5

I found no source that says the site is closed. None describes a standing tower or cab, so there is nothing to climb.1,2,3,5

  1. Jack Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/jack-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Jack Ridge Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/jackridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Jack Ridge Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/jack_ridge_lookout/icicle_creek_045.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Jack Ridge, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/jack-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Trout Lake via Jack Trout Trailhead, Jack Ridge Fire Lookout, Washington Trails Association trip report, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report-2026-07-19.203657534330 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (N)
Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (SE)
Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (SW)
Jack Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-14-1934 (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.

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 the location by 2.0 km (1.2 mi).

    • FFLOS: 47.55533, −120.91846
    • FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites): 47.53817, −120.92676

    The map uses the position from FFLOS.

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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.