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Fire lookout · Skamania County, Washington

Observation Peak Lookout Site

Summit site of a 1934 L-4 cab, dated to the 1960s and described as removed, abandoned or destroyed; a half-mile trail climbs to the summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. The L-4 cab is gone. Sources date its end to the 1960s but differ on whether it was removed, abandoned or destroyed.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Forest Service page says Trail 132 is open to hikers and horses, but the same page carries a Trail Temporarily Closed banner.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trail 132A, about 0.5 miles, climbs from Trail 132 to the summit. Trail 132 ends on Road 58 at the Observation Peak Trailhead. Willhite gives 2.5 miles from the north trailhead.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cabThe designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,207 ft (1,282 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Skamania County, Washington
Coordinates
45.92055, −122.02473
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-observation-peak

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. 1924 FirePatrols missed the fire for three months; it was found after two days of low humidity; the lookout's prompt, accurate location held it to Class A; elapsed time from origin to end 92 days and 23 hoursSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 BuiltL-4 cab, per the register and the Forest ServiceSources: firetower.org, fs.usda.gov, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1934 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab replaced a D-6 cupola cabin from the 1920s, per the register; Willhite doubts the earlier cabinSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1934 StaffedSummer fire watch, per an August 1934 Oregonian item quoted by KemnowSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1934 and 1960
  6. 1960 AbandonedForest Service says abandoned in the 1960s; year is the decade start onlySource: fs.usda.gov
  7. 1960 Destroyedfirelookout.com and Willhite say destroyed in the 1960s; year is the decade start onlySources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. 1960 RemovedRegister says the L-4 was removed in the 1960s; year is the decade start onlySource: firetower.org
  9. No record between 1960 and 2012
  10. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: July 16, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  11. 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.

Observation Peak, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Trapper Creek Wilderness, was the site of a fire lookout.1,2 The register describes an L-4 cab built in 1934 that replaced a D-6 cupola cabin from the 1920s.1 Willhite is less sure about that earlier cabin. The lookout inventory mentions it, but a 1934 panoramic survey went to nearby Sister Rocks and seemed to skip this peak. The author wonders whether a cupola cabin stood here before 1934, though a dismantled cupola may be lying on the ground in a 1937 panorama.3

Willhite also places the peak in operation in August 1924, as either a cupola or a camp, which is before the 1934 cab.3 That month, a fire that patrols passing the spot daily or twice a day had missed for three months was found only after two days of low humidity.4 The lookout located it promptly and accurately, which kept the fire to Class A, although the elapsed time from origin to end was 92 days and 23 hours.4 In May 1926 the Morning Oregonian reported that a six-mile trail from Government Mineral Springs would probably be finished early in July.4 A Morning Oregonian item from August 1934, quoted on one lookout history page, describes seven women hiking to the lookout as guests of Mrs. N.H. Crowell, the wife of the summer fire watchman.4 Panoramic photographs of Observation Peak were taken on July 7, 1937.3,4

The sources all place the end of the cab in the 1960s, but they differ on how it ended. The Forest Service says the lookout was abandoned then.2 The register says the L-4 was removed, while firelookout.com and Willhite say it was destroyed.1,5,3

Trail 132A is about half a mile long and leads to the summit, which the Forest Service calls the site of an old fire lookout.2 Trail 132 ends on Road 58 at the Observation Peak Trailhead.2 The Forest Service page says the trail is open to hikers and horses, but the same page carries a "Trail Temporarily Closed" banner, so check conditions before you go.2 No source I found describes what, if anything, remains on the summit. Willhite also describes the forested pass between Observation Peak and Sister Rocks. Old campsites there remain as compacted soil, though trees have grown over the old berry fields.3

  1. Observation Peak Lookout Site (US 1335), Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, firetower.org, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/observation-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Trail #132 Observation, U.S. Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation/trails/trail-132-observation (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Observation Peak Lookout Site, Trapper Creek Wilderness, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/observation_peak_lookout/trapper_creek_wilderness_267.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Observation Peak, Forest Lookouts (Ron Kemnow), washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/observation-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Observation Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/observationpeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Observation Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Observation Peak Lookout 1960
Observation Peak Lookout 1960 (1960)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Observation Peak Lookout cupola
Observation Peak Lookout cupolaPhoto: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (N)
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (N) (1937)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (SE)
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (SE) (1937)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (SW)
Observation Peak Lookout panoramic 7-7-1937 (SW) (1937)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, 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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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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