FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Lookout Mountain Lookout (Okanogan NF)

Also known as Lookout Mountain

A 1937 L-4 cab on a 25-ft timber tower at Lookout Mountain near Twisp, staffed until 1997, now on standby; trail access is public, tower climbing is unconfirmed.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. The trail and summit are reached from a no-fee trailhead at the end of Alder Creek Road. No source found says whether the tower itself may be climbed; ask the Methow Valley Ranger District first.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
About 2.6 miles round trip, climbing about 1,000 feet to the ridge, from the trailhead at the end of Alder Creek Road.
Staffing
Staffed only in emergencies (as of 2022)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cab, 14 x 14 ft with catwalk, on a 25 ft timber towerThe designs: L-4, Cupola house
Built of
Wood
Also served as
Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
Height
25 ft (7.6 m)
Elevation
5,403 ft (1,647 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (Methow Valley Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.31330, −120.18620
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-lookout-mountain-okanogan-nf

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 3.8 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. 1911 First staffedSummit used for fire detection since at least 1911; guard Hart stationed there in August 1911Sources: nhlr.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1916 EventCamp established on the mountainSource: nhlr.org
  3. 1922 Built1922 account describes a standard lookout tower built on top of a log cabin; this conflicts with the 1931 log cupola dateSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1928 EventNewspaper item says a new 14 x 14 ft house would be built that fall; the building it means is unclearSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1931 BuiltLog cupola built, per the National Historic Lookout RegisterSource: nhlr.org
  6. 1936 StaffedColin 'Scotty' Gillies moved to the station; he held the post until 1955Sources: firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1937 BuiltPresent 14 x 14 ft L-4 cab on a 25 ft timber tower constructedSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  8. 1943 EventAircraft Warning Service site, active March 12 to July 1, 1943 (Seattle Filter Center)Sources: nhlr.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1943 and 1997
  10. 1997 Last staffedLast year the lookout was staffed every seasonSources: firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  11. 1998 EventPlaced in standby status by the Okanogan National ForestSource: nhlr.org
  12. 2000 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 8, 2000 as US 363, WA 44Source: nhlr.org
  13. No record between 2000 and 2021
  14. 2021 EventButler Memorial Fund grant for materials and supplies for a badly needed paint job on the lookout, in the Methow Valley.Source: firelookout.org
  15. 2021 RestoredPainted by the Methow Valley group using Butler Memorial Fund materials.Source: firelookout.org
  16. 2022 RestoredCabin repainted in a volunteer project; the register dates it to June 2022, while a TrailChick account describes August painting workSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  17. 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.

Lookout Mountain rises about four miles southwest of Twisp in the Okanogan National Forest, near the head of Alder Creek.1,2 The summit has been used for fire watch since at least 1911, when a guard was posted there.3,2 A camp was set up on the mountain in 1916.3 Sources disagree on the structures that followed. A 1922 account describes a standard tower built on top of a log cabin, while the National Historic Lookout Register says a log cupola went up in 1931.2,3 A 1928 newspaper item also announced a new 14-by-14-foot house, and it is not clear which building that refers to.2 The present 14-by-14-foot L-4 cab on a timber tower was built in 1937.3,1,4

The lookout was staffed through the summers for decades.1,4 Colin "Scotty" Gillies held the post from 1936 to 1955, and a 1956 paper said the station was better known as "Scotty's Lookout" than by its given name.1,2 One source says the lookout averaged more than a dozen first reports of fire each season.1 In August 1925, a report from Beals at Lookout Mountain placed a fire between the forks of Buttermilk. A trail crew reached it about an hour and a quarter later and found an eight-acre blaze.2

The summit also had a wartime job, as a station of the Aircraft Warning Service.3 The Forest Lookouts site gives March 12 to July 1, 1943, as its active dates for that work, under the Seattle Filter Center.2

The lookout was staffed every season until 1997.4 The register says it was placed in standby status in 1998, and since then it has stayed on call whenever fire danger runs high.3,4 Volunteers repainted the cabin in a project with the Methow Valley Ranger District.3,4 The register dates that work to June 2022, but a TrailChick account headed June 2022 describes a painting effort in late August, so the exact timing is unclear.3,4

The trailhead is at the end of Alder Creek Road, which you reach by driving about half a mile west from Twisp on County Road 9114, turning onto Alder Creek Road, and following it about 4.2 miles to its end.5 Visitors need neither a fee nor a pass at the trailhead.5 The Forest Service describes a trail that climbs about 1,000 feet to the ridge, and WTA lists the round trip at 2.6 miles.6,7 The register lists the U.S. Forest Service as administrator, and it was registered on November 8, 2000, as US 363, WA 44.3 I did not find a source that says whether the tower itself can be climbed. Ask the Methow Valley Ranger District before you climb it, and keep to the trail and the public parts of the site.

  1. Lookout Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/lomtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Lookout Mountain, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/lookout-mountain6.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Lookout Mountain Lookout (Okanogan NF), National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/lookout-mountain-lookout-okanogan-nf/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Repainting Lookout Mountain, TrailChick, https://www.trailchick.com/repainting-lookout-mountain/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Lookout Mountain Trailhead, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/recreation/lookout-mountain-trailhead (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Lookout Mountain Trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/recreation/trails/lookout-mountain-trail (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  7. Lookout Mountain Lookout - Methow, Washington Trails Association, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/lookout-mountain-lookout-okanogan (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Lookout Mountain Lookout - During a 2022 cabin repaint
Lookout Mountain Lookout - During a 2022 cabin repaint (2022)Photo: Christine Estrada, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Volunteer painting crew
Volunteer painting crewPhoto: Christine Estrada, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Cabin Interior - 2022
Cabin Interior - 2022 (2022)Photo: Christine Estrada, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout Mtn. in 1993
Lookout Mtn. in 1993 (1993)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Lookout Mountain Lookout (Okanogan NF)
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.

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 year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1937
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1931
    • TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts: 1937

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, wartime use, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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, 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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height 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
  7. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: 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
  8. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages Gave us: links FFLA chapters and Friends groups (each link names the group) · Links to the groups' own pages; facts only from the California-South chapter's tower table (register page, operator, condition). No text or photos reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, 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.