FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Pend Oreille County, Washington

North Baldy Lookout Site

Summit lookout 1909-1938, Air Force radar site 1957-62, 41-ft R-6 tower 1964-1989. Its top 30 ft is now a viewing platform at Big Meadow Lake.

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at Big Meadow Lake

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. Top 30 ft of the 41-ft 1964 tower went to Big Meadow Lake in 1989; the rest was torn down. No source read describes the summit today.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Viewing platform at Big Meadow Lake campground. An undated WillhiteWeb visit found access closed for vandalism. Summit access is not described in any source read.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Paved trail to the viewing platform; vehicles reach the campground from Colville or Ione
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Moved
Type
Cab on a towerR-6 flat-roof cab on a 41-ft treated timber tower (1964)The designs: R-6, L-4, Cupola house
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1918
Height
41 ft (12.5 m)
Elevation
6,173 ft (1,882 m)
Agency
Kaniksu/Colville National Forests
Land
Federal land
Location
Pend Oreille County, Washington
Coordinates
48.54533, −117.15569
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-north-baldy

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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.5 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. 1918 BuiltLog cabin added to the camp at the summitSource: firetower.org
  2. 1928 BuiltCupola cabin. Firelookout.com gives 1925.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  3. 1930 StaffedNewspaper account (quoted by Rex's page) describes the lookout on North Baldy phoning the forest supervisorSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1938 Built40-ft pole tower with L-4 cabSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1938 and 1957
  6. 1957 EventAir Force acquires 56.5 acres from the Forest Service and Northern Pacific Railway for a radar site with a steel radar towerSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1962 EventSite declared excess in 1961; property returned to the Forest Service in 1962Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1964 Built41-ft treated timber tower with R-6 flat-roof cabSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1967 StaffedKnown lookout personnel listed as Susan WrightSource: firelookout.com
  10. No record between 1967 and 1989
  11. 1989 MovedTower torn down; top 30 ft moved to Big Meadow Lake as a wildlife viewing tower. Rex's page says the whole tower moved.Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  12. No record between 1989 and 2012
  13. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: December 17, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  14. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to Big Meadow Lake.Source: FFLA
  15. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. When it came down is not recorded.

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.

North Baldy sits in the Kaniksu and Colville National Forests in Pend Oreille County, Washington, at 6,173 feet.1,2 A camp was developed a quarter mile south of the summit in 1909.1 A log cabin came in 1918, and a cupola cabin followed in 1928.1 Firelookout.com dates the cupola cabin to 1925, so the two sources disagree.2 A 40-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab came in 1938.1,2

A 1930 newspaper account, quoted on Rex's Fire Lookout Page, describes the lookout on North Baldy phoning the forest supervisor during a plane emergency nearby.3 Firelookout.com lists Susan Wright as a known lookout in 1967.2

After the Second World War the summit became a radar site.1 The Air Force acquired 56 and a half acres in 1957 and built a steel radar tower there.1,3 The Air Force declared the site excess in 1961, and the land went back to the Forest Service in 1962.3

In 1964 a 41-foot treated timber tower with an R-6 flat-roof cab went up.1,3 It was abandoned in the 1970s.1 It had no guy cables or lightning hardware, yet it stayed upright into the 1980s.1

The tower was torn down in 1989.1 Firetower.org and WillhiteWeb say the top 30 feet of the 41-foot tower went to Big Meadow Lake, west of Ione, to become a wildlife observation tower.1,4,5 Rex's page says the tower was moved as a whole, which conflicts with those two accounts.3

Today WillhiteWeb identifies the Big Meadow Lake viewing platform as the former North Baldy tower.5 That visit report is undated, and it says access was closed for vandalism during the visit.5 Vehicles can reach the campground from Colville or Ione.5 We found no source that describes the summit today.1

  1. North Baldy Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/north-baldy-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. North Baldy Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/northbaldy.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. North Baldy Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Rex's Fire Lookout Page (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/north-baldy-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Relocated Lookouts - Washington State, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/relocated/locations_462.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Big Meadow Lake Campground Trails, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/hiking/colville/big_meadow_lake/trails_202.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of North Baldy Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1933
1933 (1933)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
After move to Big Meadow Lake
After move to Big Meadow LakePhoto: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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: design, height, 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. 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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