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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

North Twentymile Peak Lookout

Also known as North Twenty-Mile

Okanogan NF site with two lookouts standing side by side, a 1923 D-6 cupola and a 1947 L-4 tower, staffed into the late 1980s and now a standby lookout.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Reached by a steep, largely unshaded trail; no road access to the summit.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
~4,500 ft elevation gain to over 7,000 ft; faint trail with blowdown in burned sections, little reliable water.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1988)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-4The designs: L-4, D-6, Region 6 timber towers (CT, TT)
Built of
Wood
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
7,340 ft (2,237 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.75098, −120.06834
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-north-twentymile-peak

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 4.3 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. 1920 BuiltOriginal log cabin lookout established on the summit around 1920.Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  2. 1923 BuiltD-6 cupola-style lookout house constructed, replacing the log cabin; now used for storage.Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  3. 1923 First staffedTrailChick cites an undated 1920s Methow Valley Journal report naming Gwendolyn Creveling as lookout; Fire Lookout Museum gives 1923 as her specific year. No source gives 1921 specifically, so 1923 (the more specific, sourced year) is used here.Sources: trailchick.com, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1923 and 1947
  5. 1947 Built30' timber L-4 tower erected alongside the cupola.Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  6. No record between 1947 and 1988
  7. 1988 Last staffedLast actively staffed year per TrailChick and NHLR.Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  8. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterDate registered per NHLR detail page: February 5, 1996Source: NHLR register entry
  9. 2006 FireThe two unused lookouts at this site were wrapped to protect them from wildfire.Source: firelookout.org
  10. 2015 EventFFLA restoration grant of 500 dollars toward rehabilitation, matched by 500 dollars from the Eastern Washington chapter; restoration was near completion.Source: firelookout.org
  11. 2015 RestoredThe D-6 cupola was restored by volunteers led by the late Bob Pfeifer.Source: mvffla.org
  12. 2016 RestoredRestoration completed; project begun 2014 by one volunteer and finished by his son.Source: firelookout.org
  13. 2021 FireCub Creek 2 Fire interrupted a planned volunteer work party and both towers were wrapped for fire protection as a precaution.Source: trailchick.com
  14. 2023 RestoredA smokejumper plane dropped paint, cedar shingles and supplies on the summit for the planned reroof and repaint of the L-4 tower.Source: mvffla.org
  15. 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

North Twentymile Peak has carried a fire lookout in some form since around 1920, when the Forest Service put up a simple log cabin on the Okanogan National Forest summit.1 One of the earliest lookouts there was Gwendolyn Creveling, later known as Gwennie Yockey, one of the few women working as a fire lookout in the country at the time; a newspaper report from the 1920s named her as the lookout on "North 20-Mile mountain in the Methow."2

In 1923 the agency replaced the cabin with a D-6 cupola-style lookout house, a design that's now rare — only nine of the more than 200 built in the Northwest are said to survive.1 That cupola building is still standing on the summit today, though it's used for storage rather than as a working lookout.1,2 Lookout Carl Albin worked from the station in the late 1920s, and other named observers over the following decades included Paul Heaton in 1952 and Bob Crandall in the mid-1950s.3

In 1947 the Forest Service added a 30-foot timber tower topped with a 14-by-14-foot hip-roofed L-4 cab and catwalk, which still stands beside the older cupola.1,2 The lookout was staffed into the late 1980s, with 1988 given as the last season of regular staffing.1,2

Since then it has been kept as a standby or "emergency" lookout rather than rented out or regularly staffed.1,2 Volunteers have worked with the Methow Valley Ranger District to maintain both towers; a 2021 work party planned to repair and repaint them had to be called off when the Cub Creek 2 Fire closed access to the area two days beforehand, and the towers were later wrapped for fire protection as the fire spread north.2

Reaching the lookout today means a demanding, largely unshaded hike of about 4,500 feet of elevation gain to just over 7,000 feet, on a trail that can be faint in spots and prone to blowdown from past wildfire damage.2 There's little reliable water along the route, so hikers need to carry their own.2

  1. North Twentymile Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/north-twentymile-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. North Twentymile, TrailChick, https://www.trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/north-twentymile-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. North Twentymile Lookout, Fire Lookout Museum, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/ntwentymile.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

North Twentymile Peak Lookout - 2005
North Twentymile Peak Lookout - 2005 (2005)Photo: Tammy McLeod, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Both lookouts visible on the peak - 2018
Both lookouts visible on the peak - 2018 (2018)Photo: Christine Estrada, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
North Twentymile cabin
North Twentymile cabinPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 1923
North Twentymile in 1923 (1923)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile L.O.
North Twentymile L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile L.O.
North Twentymile L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 1974
North Twentymile in 1974 (1974)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 1974
North Twentymile in 1974 (1974)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 1974
North Twentymile in 1974 (1974)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile cupola in 1996
North Twentymile cupola in 1996 (1996)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile L-4 tower in 1996
North Twentymile L-4 tower in 1996 (1996)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 2010
North Twentymile in 2010 (2010)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
North Twentymile in 2015
North Twentymile in 2015 (2015)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, Fire Lookout Museum, Bob Pfeifer, and Paul Michelson, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of North Twentymile Peak Lookout
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: 1947
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1923
    • OpenStreetMap: 1923
    • TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts: 1923
    • Methow Valley Forest Fire Lookout Association: 1923

    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, 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. Methow Valley Forest Fire Lookout Association Gave us: dates, links Methow Valley Forest Fire Lookout Association (mvffla.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the association's post it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. 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
  6. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: register numbers, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  7. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: height, register numbers, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  8. 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
  9. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: photos 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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

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