FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Skagit County, Washington

Rinker Point Lookout Site

Rinker Point's 1935 30-foot L-4 tower served as a WWII aircraft-warning post, was destroyed in 1965, and sits on private timber land with no visible remains reported.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. On Sierra Pacific Land & Timber ground, reached through a gate off an unsigned dirt road. A 2019 visit saw no signs suggesting that hiking was not allowed.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower destroyed in 1965; the site is on private timber land and no source describes remains

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Park at the gate at the end of the branch road, then walk about 1 mile and gain roughly 650 feet on the old road

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower30-foot pole tower with L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1935
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,090 ft (942 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Skagit County, Washington
Coordinates
48.41364, −121.61595
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-rinker-point

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 3.6 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. 1935 Built30-foot pole L-4 tower one mile southeast of the summit; WillhiteWeb says built on or before 1935Sources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1935 EventPanorama photos taken July 21, 1935 by George ClisbySource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 EventAircraft Warning Service station activated March 21, 1942 (Bellingham Filter Center)Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1943 EventAWS station deactivated October 16, 1943; the Forest Service kept using the site; a shed for sleeping quarters was built in 1943Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, discoverdarrington.com
  5. No record between 1943 and 1965
  6. 1965 DestroyedDestroyed in 1965 per firelookout.com and the Darrington history; the FFLOS register says removedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, discoverdarrington.com
  7. No record between 1965 and 2012
  8. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 24, 2012 as FFLOS US 1258; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  9. 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.

The Rinker Point lookout went up in 1935 as a 30-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab, set along the ridge about a mile southeast of the summit it was named for.1,2 Rex's Fire Lookout Page records panorama photos taken on July 21, 1935, by George Clisby.3

During World War II the lookout became an Aircraft Warning Service station.2,3 Rex's page dates that service from March 21, 1942, to October 16, 1943.3 Darrington's history says men on these lookouts stayed there year round, and that a shed for sleeping quarters went up in 1943.4 WillhiteWeb gives $315 for the sleeping quarters added then.2

The FFLOS register says the tower was removed in 1965.1 Firelookout.com and the Darrington history say it was destroyed that year.5,4

The site sits on private timber land owned by Sierra Pacific Land & Timber.2 Logging in the 1980s made the old road hard to follow and changed the site, and on a return visit WillhiteWeb found no evidence of the lookout.4,2 Some people still hike to the old site, following the old road northwest of Texas Pond.4 None of the sources consulted describes any remains of the tower.

WillhiteWeb's directions start 5.6 miles north of the Darrington Ranger Station and lead along an unsigned dirt road between private property to a gate at the end of a branch road.2 From the gate you park and walk about a mile, gaining roughly 650 feet.2 WillhiteWeb's 2019 notes say no signs suggest hiking is off limits, but the land is still private, so check with the owner before you go.2

  1. Rinker Point Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/rinker-point-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Rinker Point Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/rinker_point_lookout/texas_pond_197.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Rinker Point, Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/rinker-point.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Fire Lookouts of Darrington, Discover Darrington, https://www.discoverdarrington.com/history-2/fire-lookouts-of-darrington/fire-lookouts-of-darrington-g-l/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Rinker Point Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/rinkerpoint.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Rinker Point Lookout
Rinker Point LookoutPhoto: Eric Willhite collection - Darrington Historical Society, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (N)
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (N) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (SE)
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (SE) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (SW)
Rinker Point Lookout panoramic 7-22-1935 (SW) (1935)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, 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.