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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Knowlton Knob Lookout

Okanogan County DNR lookout: 1934 ground cab, 1966 40-foot timber tower, out of service since 1997 (emergency status), repaired after the 2014 Carlton Complex fire.

Permission required

You need permission from the tribe or landowner before visiting. the summit is reached across private land; TrailChick says going up without landowner permission is trespassing

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Permission required. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
WillhiteWeb describes a drive-up gravel road from Brewster with a gate and No Trespass signs; TrailChick lists a 9.8-mile round trip and says the only public route ends before the summit
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower40-foot timber tower with 14 by 14 foot DNR flat-gable cab (1966); the 1934 L-4 ground cab preceded itThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
3,760 ft (1,146 m)
Agency
Washington Dept. of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.16400, −119.90030
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-knowlton-knob

View from the cab

What you see from the 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.

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. 1934 Builtground-mounted L-4 cab; NHLR credits the State Division of Forestry, WillhiteWeb and TrailChick the Forest ServiceSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com, trailchick.com
  2. 1936 StaffedLeslie Clapp was the lookout 1936 to 1940Sources: willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  3. 1947 StaffedEugene Lovejoy listed as lookoutSource: firelookout.com
  4. 1954 Eventsite sold to the State of WashingtonSources: willhiteweb.com, trailchick.com
  5. 1966 Built40-foot timber tower with 14 by 14 foot DNR cab; WillhiteWeb says 60 feetSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1966 and 1985
  7. 1985 Firewildfire near Indian Dan Creek moved toward Knowlton Knob; sources differ on whether the tower was overrunSources: willhiteweb.com, trailchick.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1997 Closedin service until 1997, then emergency statusSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  9. 1997 Last staffedDNR contractor staffed the tower until July 1997; TrailChick says staffing continued over the yearsSources: firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  10. 1999 Added to the National Historic Lookout Registerregistered November 21, 1999 as US 360, WA 41Source: nhlr.org
  11. No record between 1999 and 2014
  12. 2014 Burnedtoilet building burned (WillhiteWeb)Source: willhiteweb.com
  13. 2014 FireCarlton Complex Fire burned through two of the tower legs; the tower stayed upSources: willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  14. 2014 Restoredlegs repaired; FFLA report credits an unknown benefactor, TrailChick credits DNR crews and private landownersSources: willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  15. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The first lookout on Knowlton Knob was a ground-level L-4 cab from about 1934.1,2 NHLR credits the state's forestry division with it, while WillhiteWeb and TrailChick credit the Forest Service.1,2,3

Leslie Clapp was the lookout in the late 1930s and was still there in 1940.2,4,3 FireLookout.com also lists Eugene Lovejoy in 1947.4 Washington State took ownership of the site in 1954.2,3

In 1966 the state rebuilt the site with a timber tower and a DNR cab.1,2,4,3 NHLR and FireLookout.com give its height as 40 feet, while WillhiteWeb says 60.1,2,4

A contractor staffed the tower until July 1997, according to FireLookout.com.4 NHLR says the tower went to emergency status that year, and it was listed on the register in November 1999.1 TrailChick says the contractor has continued to staff the lookout over the years, in partnership with the DNR.3

A wildfire in 1985 moved toward Knowlton Knob near Indian Dan Creek.5 WillhiteWeb says it overran the tower, but TrailChick says the lookout was spared.2,3

In 2014 the Carlton Complex Fire burned through two of the tower's legs, but the tower stayed up.2,4,3,6 The fire also burned the toilet building.2 The FFLA report says an unknown benefactor repaired the legs quickly, while TrailChick credits DNR crews working with private landowners.3,6

WillhiteWeb reports only occasional use of the lookout today.2 WillhiteWeb describes gravel roads from Brewster, with a gate and No Trespass signs along the way.2 TrailChick says the public land ends before the lookout, so going up without landowner permission is trespassing.3 Ask the landowners for permission before you go.3

  1. Knowlton Knob Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/knowlton-knob-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Knowlton Knob Lookout, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/knowlton_knob/lookout_308.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Knowlton Knob, TrailChick, https://www.trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/knowlton-knob/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Knowlton Knob Fire Lookout Tower, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/knowlton.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Knowlton Knob, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/knowlton-knob.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Chapter report 2014, Forest Fire Lookout Association Washington chapter, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ewa-2014.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Knowlton Knob Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Knowlton Knob in 1952
Knowlton Knob in 1952 (1952)Photo: the Washington Digital Archives, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Knowlton Knob in 1954
Knowlton Knob in 1954 (1954)Photo: the Washington Digital Archives, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Knowlton Knob in 1954
Knowlton Knob in 1954 (1954)Photo: the Washington Digital Archives, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Knowlton Knob in 1954
Knowlton Knob in 1954 (1954)Photo: the Washington Digital Archives, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Knowlton Knob in 2000
Knowlton Knob in 2000 (2000)Photo: the Washington Digital Archives, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Knowlton Knob Lookout
Photo: TrailChick Washington lookout guide (trailchick.com) · 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. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.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: design, dates, photos, 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 Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. 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
  6. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: height, photos, links TrailChick (trailchick.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, coordinates, elevation, lookout type, years built). The guide's text is not reproduced; its card photos are listed with credit to TrailChick, for the project's photo mirroring. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  8. 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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