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Fire lookout · King County, Washington

Stampede Pass Lookout Site

King County, WA pass lookout built 1934; airlifted in 1974 to Camp Waskowitz, where the tower is listed as standing; footings were seen at the pass site in 2014.

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at Camp Waskowitz

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. Tower moved in 1974 to Camp Waskowitz near North Bend; Firelookout.org lists no tower at the original site

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Drive-up site per WillhiteWeb; no gate or closure described, and no official access rule found. The road runs past a communication site, so confirm before visiting. Camp Waskowitz access not described.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Drive up, or hike the PCT from Stampede Pass (WillhiteWeb)
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Moved
Type
Cab on a tower40' treated timber L-4 towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,963 ft (1,208 m)
Agency
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie/Wenatchee National Forests (per Firelookout.com)
Land
Federal land
Location
King County, Washington
Coordinates
47.27619, −121.33844
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-stampede-pass

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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at a typical height for a lookout like it.

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. 1934 BuiltBuilt 1934 as a 40-foot timber L-4 tower; FFLOS and Firelookout.com give the same year, and WillhiteWeb agreesSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1942 EventAircraft Warning Service used the site; a ground cabin was built; activated 14 Aug 1942, deactivated 15 Sep 1943Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. No record between 1942 and 1974
  4. 1974 MovedAirlifted by helicopter to Camp Waskowitz near North Bend. FFLOS and Firelookout.com say the tower moved; Forest Lookouts says only the cab didSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1974 and 2012
  6. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: June 20, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  7. 2014 EventA visitor reported at least two concrete footings still on the original site (a personal observation on a hobby site, not a survey)Source: willhiteweb.com
  8. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to Camp Waskowitz.Source: FFLA
  9. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. When it came down is not recorded.

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 Stampede Pass lookout was built in 1934 in King County, Washington, and its site sits at 3,963 feet, or about 1,208 meters.1,2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association registers it as US 1299.1 Its entry gives a 40-foot treated timber L-4 tower on a small peak roughly three-quarters of a mile southeast of the pass.1 A hobby guide gives the same 1934 date and describes a wood tower of 40 feet with an L-4 cab, set on a knoll south of the pass.3 The sources we read do not say why it was put up.

Our sources do not name anyone who staffed the lookout, and none describes a notable fire it watched. A 20-foot L-4 tower reportedly stood about a mile north of it for a time.1 From August 1942 to September 1943 the Aircraft Warning Service used the site.4,3 A ground cabin was built there, because the lofty tower was chilly and noisy in gusts.3

In 1974 a helicopter moved the tower to Camp Waskowitz, a conservation camp near North Bend, where it was kept as a permanent display.1,2 A hobby guide says the military called the move a training exercise and carried the tower in two parts, about 20 miles from the pass to North Bend.3 A Forest Lookouts page says only the cab was flown there and set atop a new tower.4 The sources disagree on whether the whole tower or only the cab was moved, and we could not settle it.

The original site is a small knoll near the pass, and hikers can reach it along the PCT as well as by road.3 Travel is mostly on good gravel, though the last stretch has potholes and ruts.3 A visitor in 2014 saw two or more concrete footings still on the site, and we found no later description of it.3 A list at Firelookout.org marks the pass site as having no tower.5

The Camp Waskowitz tower is still listed as standing, and the sources describe it as used for education.5,4 We found nothing on whether visitors may go to the camp or see the tower, so ask the camp before going. Please do not climb any tower without permission.

  1. Stampede Pass Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, Forest Fire Lookout Association, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/stampede-pass-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Stampede Pass Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/stampedepass.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stampede Pass Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, https://www.willhiteweb.com/hiking/cle_elum/stampede_pass/lookout_194.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stampede Pass - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/stampede-pass.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Washington lookouts list, Firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wa/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Stampede Pass Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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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