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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Midnight Mountain Lookout Site

Okanogan NF summit site of an L-4 lookout cab built in 1931 and removed or destroyed in 1952; no source describes a standing lookout today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed or destroyed in 1952 (sources differ on which); no source describes a standing lookout today

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Willhite describes a 5.2-mile one-way route from the Twisp River road with about 4,400 feet of gain; no source says whether the site is open to visitors

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 lookout cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1931
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,481 ft (2,280 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.42720, −120.43155
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-midnight-mountain

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 3.9 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 built (Firetower.org, FireLookout.com, Willhite); Willhite notes a camp probably stood there beforeSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1932 EventWenatchee World reports 11 large sending and receiving sets being installed at Okanogan and the Midnight Mountain stationSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1932 StaffedGrover Brown named as the lookout in 1932 (Willhite)Source: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1933 StaffedColin "Scotty" Gillies listed as known lookout personnel for 1933-1935 (FireLookout.com)Source: firelookout.com
  5. 1934 EventPanoramic photos taken from the roof (Willhite); Forest Lookouts gives May 26, 1936 for panorama photosSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1934 and 1952
  7. 1952 RemovedFiretower.org and Willhite say removed; FireLookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1952 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 18, 2012 as US 1454, WA 354; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  10. 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.

Midnight Mountain sits in the Okanogan National Forest, about 15 miles west-northwest of Twisp, Washington.1,2 An L-4 lookout cab went up on the summit in 1931.1,2,3 Willhite's notes add that a camp probably stood on the spot before that.3

A 1931 map on Willhite's site labels the place a guard station, and a 1938 map calls it a lookout.3 In July 1932 the Wenatchee World reported that 11 large sending and receiving sets were being installed at Okanogan and at the Midnight Mountain lookout station.4

Willhite names Grover Brown as the lookout in 1932.3 FireLookout.com lists Colin "Scotty" Gillies among its known lookout personnel for 1933 to 1935.2

Panoramic photos were taken from the roof, but the sources disagree on the year.3,4 Willhite gives 1934, while Forest Lookouts gives May 26, 1936.3,4

A 1950 Coast and Geodetic Survey description called the building a standard Forest Service structure and placed the survey point at the roof's apex.4

The cab's end is recorded two ways.1,2,3 Firetower.org and Willhite say it was removed in 1952.1,3 FireLookout.com says it was destroyed that year.2 The sources agree on the year but not on how the cab ended.1,2,3

Today, no source describes a lookout standing on the summit. Willhite's photo captions include an undated line, "Pole still sticking up," and the 1950 station mark, according to USGS notes he cites, is no longer there.3 No source says whether the site is open to visitors.

Willhite's hiking notes describe a route of 5.2 miles one way from the Twisp River road, with about 4,400 feet of climb.3 He also reports that the Forest Service has ripped up an old ridge road and formally retired it.3

  1. Midnight Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/midnight-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Midnight Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/midnightmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Midnight Mountain Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/midnight_mountain_lookout/twisp_river_115.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Midnight Mountain, Forest Lookouts (Washington), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/midnight-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Midnight Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: 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, 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.