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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

North Creek Butte Lookout Site

Okanogan County site of an L-5 cab built in 1934 and abandoned in 1952; the cab is gone, the final site is not marked, and no current access is described.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. L-5 cab abandoned in 1952 and gone; no source describes what remains at the site 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
WillhiteWeb gives a general route only, says the final site is not marked, and lists 2,710 ft elevation gain with no hiking distance

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 cabThe design: L-5
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,580 ft (2,006 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Okanogan National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.50100, −120.55520
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-north-creek-butte

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 4.1 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 BuiltL-5 cab constructed here in 1934 (FFLOS, Firelookout.com, WillhiteWeb)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. No record between 1934 and 1952
  3. 1952 AbandonedCab abandoned in 1952 and now goneSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1952 and 2020
  5. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 13, 2020 as US 1999, WA 488; nominated by Tammy McLeodSource: firetower.org
  6. 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.

North Creek Butte is in Okanogan County, in the Okanogan National Forest, at about 6,580 feet.1,2 An L-5 cab was constructed here in 1934.1,3 The Register credits its 1934 panoramic photographs to the National Archives Pacific Northwest Region, and the panoramas are dated September 18, 1934.1,4 WillhiteWeb also says photos were taken from the cab's roof that same year.3

The lookout was abandoned in 1952, and the cab is gone.1,2,3

Today, no source we read gives directions to the site itself. WillhiteWeb offers only a rough outline of how to reach the area and says the exact spot is unmarked.3 One photo caption says a tree later took over the North Creek Lookout sign.3 The page lists an elevation gain of 2,710 feet but no hiking distance.3 Because the cab is gone, there is no structure to climb, and anyone planning a visit should check current access with the national forest first.

  1. North Creek Butte Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/north-creek-butte-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. North Creek Butte Fire Lookout Cabin, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/northcreekbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. North Creek Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/north_creek_lookout/chelan_sawtooth_095.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. North Creek Butte - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts (Washington), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/north-creek-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (N)
North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (SE)
North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (SW)
North Creek Butte Lookout panoramic 9-18-1934 (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.

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.