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Fire lookout · Lewis County, Washington

Stahl Peak Lookout Site

Also known as Stahl Mountain

Forest Service lookout site on Stahl Peak (Stahl Mountain), Lewis County, WA: L-4 cab built 1933, gone by 1956; photos show only the former cab site and anchor bolts.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab gone by 1956. WillhiteWeb photos show the site of the former cab with anchor bolts; no source describes a structure standing today.

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. Route described in a hiking guide: a gravel road from FR 74 and FR 7409, then an unsigned trail on National Forest land. The sources read name no closure or permit requirement.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Drive from Highway 7 along FR 74 and FR 7409 for about seven miles, then walk 0.75 miles one way on an unsigned trail. Nothing stands to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab (1933)The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,716 ft (1,133 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lewis County, Washington
Coordinates
46.74278, −122.26976
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-stahl-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. 1933 BuiltL-4 cab built on the siteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1934 EventPanorama photos taken from the site on July 26, 1934Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1934 and 1956
  4. 1956 RemovedCab gone by 1956; the exact removal date is not givenSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. No record between 1956 and 2010
  6. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 28, 2010 as US 686, WA 20; nominated by Irene PotterSource: firetower.org
  7. 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.

Stahl Peak, also called Stahl Mountain, is a lookout site at 3,716 feet in Lewis County, Washington.1,2,3

An L-4 cab was built on the site in 1933.1,2,3 A February 1934 item reports that a CCC crew under Foreman McCray completed a telephone line to Stahl Mountain on January 15.3,4 Panorama photos were taken from the site on July 26, 1934.4

The sources do not agree on the national forest. The register lists the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forests, firelookout.com says Gifford Pinchot, and the Forest Lookouts list says Snoqualmie.1,2,4

The cab was gone by 1956.1,2,3 The Forest Lookouts list marks the lookout simply as removed.4

WillhiteWeb's photos show the site of the former lookout cab, with two anchor bolts and a third anchor at the summit.3 The register includes a September 2001 photo captioned "Remnant September 2001."1

From Highway 7, take the turnoff for FR 74, then follow FR 7409 for seven miles.3 WillhiteWeb calls the road uneven at times and says most vehicles can manage it carefully when conditions are dry.3 The trail runs 0.75 miles one way, has no marker, and can be tough to locate at the start.3

  1. Stahl Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/stahl-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Stahl Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/stahlpeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stahl Mountain Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/stahl_mountain/lookout_site_379.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stahl Peak, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/stahl-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Stahl Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
View of Pleasant Valley from site September 2001
View of Pleasant Valley from site September 2001 (2001)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Remnant September 2001
Remnant September 2001 (2001)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (N)
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (SE)
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (SW)
Stahl Peak Lookout panoramic 7-26-1934 (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, 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.