FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Kittitas County, Washington

Red Top Lookout

Also known as Red Top Mountain

Red Top's 1952 L-4 cab replaced a 1928 D-6 cupola; abandoned in the 1970s, restored 1996-97, and reported volunteer-staffed in summer.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. NHLR calls it a public information site; the interior is visible when the lookout is open, and the trail is about 1.5 miles round trip.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Trailhead reached via Forest Roads 9738 and 9702 from Highway 97; about 1.5 miles round trip with about 350 ft of gain.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower10-foot treated timber tower with an L-4 wooden cab and catwalkThe designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
Wood
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
5,168 ft (1,575 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Kittitas County, Washington
Coordinates
47.30154, −120.76063
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-red-top

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. 1918 EventMillmade Construction shipped two standard lookout houses to the Forest Service; one reportedly went to Red TopSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1924 BuiltFirst cabin on the site (TrailChick); Willhite says the cupola cabin's build date is unclear, possibly as late as 1924Sources: trailchick.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1928 Replaced by a new structureEarlier cabin replaced by a D-6 cupola ground houseSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  4. 1929 EventLightning struck the summit several times and hit the lookout at least twice (November 1929)Source: trailchick.com
  5. No record between 1929 and 1952
  6. 1952 BuiltPresent 10-foot timber tower with L-4 cab built; replaced the D-6 cupolaSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com, wta.org
  7. No record between 1952 and 1997
  8. 1997 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 6, 1997 as US 225, WA 28; summit dedication August 26, 1997Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  9. 1997 RestoredRestored 1996 and 1997 by the Cle Elum Ranger District and the Friends of Red Top MountainSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com
  10. No record between 1997 and 2020
  11. 2020 Last staffedVolunteer staffing ended in 2020; the lookout then sat empty because of reported deficiencies until 2025.Source: firelookout.org
  12. 2025 RestoredRepairs in June: stolen copper lightning-protection wiring replaced and the system fully restored, plus some structural repairs.Source: firelookout.org
  13. 2025 StaffedStaffing resumed by volunteers from 26 July to 23 September (with a few gaps) under a group volunteer service agreement.Source: firelookout.org
  14. 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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Red Top Lookout has been rebuilt at least twice.1,2 A September 1918 newspaper item, quoted on a lookout history site, reports that two standard lookout houses had gone to the Forest Service, and one was bound for "Red Mountain" in the Wenatchee forest.3 Willhite Web says one of those houses ended up at Red Top, but the date of the cupola cabin is unclear and may be as late as 1924.4

TrailChick dates the first cabin on the site to 1924 and says a D-6 cupola replaced it in 1928.2 The NHLR also dates the D-6 cupola to 1928.1 The present tower, a 10-foot timber structure with an L-4 cab, was built in 1952.1,4,5

The cab was abandoned in the 1970s and had been battered by decades of weather.4,1 The Cle Elum Ranger District and the Friends of Red Top Mountain spent about two years restoring it.1 The NHLR lists its registration date as August 6, 1997, and a summit party on August 26 celebrated the lookout's place on the register.1,2

Lookouts worked the site in the 1920s. A letter written for the 1924 season and a 1926 item about a lookout named Rosnold both appear on the Washington Lookouts site.3 TrailChick reports that in November 1929 lightning struck the summit several times and hit the lookout at least twice.2

Willhite says volunteers staff the lookout during the summer.4 A TrailChick trip report from a 2017 visit is inconsistent on the point: it says the lookout used to be staffed in summer, and in the same post says it is now staffed as an interpretive site in summers.2

From Interstate 90 exit 85, drive north on Highway 97 for 18 miles, then take Forest Roads 9738 and 9702 to the trailhead.4 The round trip is about 1.5 miles and gains roughly 350 feet. The trail is a short, steep climb through forest to an exposed, rocky ridge.5,2 Visitors can see the inside when it is open, so check before you go.5 The U.S. Forest Service administers the site, with the Cle Elum Ranger District as a cooperator.1

  1. Red Top Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/red-top-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Red Top Lookout, TrailChick Trip Report, https://www.trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/red-top-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Red Top Mountain, Washington Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/red-top-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Red Top Lookout, Willhite Web (Teanaway River), http://www.willhiteweb.com/teanawayriver/red_top_mountain/lookout_032.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Red Top Lookout, Washington Trails Association, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/red-top-lookout (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Red Top Lookout - 2017
Red Top Lookout - 2017 (2017)Photo: Jacob Monahan, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2021
2021 (2021)Photo: Benjamin West, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1939 - D6 Cupola
1939 - D6 Cupola (1939)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Red Top Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Red Top in 1945
Red Top in 1945 (1945)Photo: Mike Matanich, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Red Top in 1952
Red Top in 1952 (1952)Photo: Mike Matanich, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Red Top in 1998
Red Top in 1998 (1998)Photo: Mike Matanich, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Red Top in 2009
Red Top in 2009 (2009)Photo: Mike Matanich, the Fire Lookout Museum and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Red Top 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: 1952
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1924
    • TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts: 1952

    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. 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
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. 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
  7. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: height, 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
  8. WillhiteWeb.com: Washington Fire Lookouts WillhiteWeb.com · No licence stated; names and page links only (the site's photos and text are not reproduced). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.