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Fire lookout · Lewis County, Washington

Newaukum Lookout Site

Lewis County, WA L-4 cab built on a summit above Newaukum Lake in 1934; removed or destroyed in the 1960s (sources disagree); a road still reaches the summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed or destroyed in the 1960s; sources disagree on which

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?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Gravel road still reaches the summit, rough and overgrown in places, with a rough last half mile (WillhiteWeb page with a photo labeled 2015)

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab; FireLookout's page is titled as a cabinThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,244 ft (989 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lewis County, Washington
Coordinates
46.66184, −122.46864 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-newaukum

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 4.2 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 BuiltL-4 cab built in 1934 (FFLOS, FireLookout, WillhiteWeb)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1934 EventPanorama photos taken July 30, 1934; FFLOS photo captions credit the National Archives, Pacific Northwest RegionSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1934 and 1960
  4. 1960 DestroyedFireLookout says destroyed in the 1960s and WillhiteWeb repeats earlier researchers' record of destruction in the 1960s; decade only, coded as 1960Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1960 RemovedFFLOS says removed in the 1960s; the source gives the decade only, so the year is coded as 1960. Washington Lookouts lists only RemovedSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1960 and 2012
  7. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered June 18, 2012 as US 1288, WA 188Source: firetower.org
  8. 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.

Newaukum Lookout stood on an unnamed summit high above Newaukum Lake, in Lewis County, Washington.1,2 Three sources place it in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.1,3,2 Washington Lookouts instead lists the Snoqualmie National Forest.4

The cab was built in 1934 as an L-4 cab.1,3 FireLookout's page calls it a cabin.3 Panorama photographs were taken on July 30, 1934.4 The Former Fire Lookout Sites photo captions credit the 1934 panoramas to the National Archives, Pacific Northwest Region.1 FireLookout gives the elevation as 3,244 feet, while WillhiteWeb gives 3,791 feet and adds a note of "3,760+ today" without explaining it.3,2

Sources disagree on how the cab ended. The Former Fire Lookout Sites says it was removed in the 1960s, and FireLookout says it was destroyed then.1,3 WillhiteWeb repeats earlier researchers' record of destruction in the 1960s.2 Washington Lookouts gives only the word "Removed".4 The same register lists the site as US 1288 and registered it on June 18, 2012.1

WillhiteWeb says a road still reaches the summit, rough and overgrown in places.2 The page lists the approach as gravel roads, with a rough last half mile.2 Spokane's Fire Lookout Museum holds a sign that came from the lookout.2 No source we read describes any remains of the cab itself, and none says whether the site is open to the public.

  1. Newaukum Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/newaukum-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Newaukum Lookout, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington/fire_lookouts/newaukum/lookout_263.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Newaukum Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/newaukum.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Newaukum - Forest Lookouts, Washington Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/newaukum.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Newaukum Lookout
Newaukum LookoutPhoto: Eric Willhite collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Newaukum Lookout site 2015
Newaukum Lookout site 2015 (2015)Photo: Eric Willhite, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (N)
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (SE)
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (SW)
Newaukum Lookout panoramic 7-30-1934 (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 570 m.

    • FFLOS: 46.66184, −122.46864
    • FFLA: 46.65691, −122.47083
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 46.65691, −122.47083

    They share a register number.

    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, status, agency, 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.