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Fire lookout · Whatcom County, Washington

Sulphur Point Lookout Site

Whatcom County 20-foot L-4 tower built 1935, a 1942 AWS spotting post, abandoned 1959; remnants seen on a 2014 visit, nothing confirmed since.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. The register says it was abandoned in 1959 and is gone. A Forest Lookouts page says destroyed, with no date. WillhiteWeb found remnants on a 2014 visit.

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. Off-trail route on Forest Service land, starting from FR 12 and an abandoned road with a blockade. No closure found in the sources.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
WillhiteWeb gives 1.8 miles round trip and 846 feet of cumulative gain, with a creek crossing, a lava field and a steep forested hill. The tower is gone, so there is nothing to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower20-foot wooden tower with an L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1935
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,262 ft (690 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Whatcom County, Washington
Coordinates
48.67071, −121.74589
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-sulphur-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 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. 1935 Built20-foot wooden tower with an L-4 cab constructed on the siteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1935 EventPanorama photos taken September 11, 1935 by WernstedtSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 StaffedUsed by the AWS to spot enemy aircraft threats; activated March 21 to August 24, 1942 under the Bellingham Filter CenterSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1942 and 1959
  5. 1959 AbandonedAbandoned; register and FireLookout.com say gone; Forest Lookouts says destroyed, undatedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1959 and 2014
  7. 2014 EventWillhiteWeb visit found remnants of the tower, living quarters, a storage cellar and two firewood pilesSource: willhiteweb.com
  8. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 3, 2020; nominated by Tammy McLeodSource: 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Sulphur Point is a former lookout site in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, in Whatcom County, Washington, at about 2,262 feet.1 A Forest Lookouts page and WillhiteWeb call the same site Sulphur Butte.2,3 The Forest Lookouts page gives the same September 11, 1935 panorama date as the register, and WillhiteWeb gives the same 2,262-foot elevation, so the sources appear to describe one place.2,3

A 20-foot wooden tower with an L-4 cab went up on the site in 1935.1,4,3 Wernstedt took the panoramas there on September 11, 1935.1,2

In 1942 the AWS put the lookout to work watching for enemy aircraft, according to WillhiteWeb.3 A Forest Lookouts page gives the activation as March 21 to August 24, 1942, under the Bellingham Filter Center.2

The register says the lookout was abandoned in 1959 and is gone.1 FireLookout.com gives the same 1959 date.4 WillhiteWeb also says it was abandoned in 1959.3 A Forest Lookouts page says the site was destroyed but gives no date.2

The 2014 WillhiteWeb visit recorded tower remnants, living quarters, a storage cellar and two firewood piles.3 Its photo captions include burned timbers from the tower.3 The register's photo captions show remains of living quarters and a storage shed.1

Getting there takes effort. WillhiteWeb's route starts on the North Cascades Highway, runs up Baker Lake Road and FR 12, and parks at the blockade on an abandoned road.3 From there it crosses a creek and a lava field, then climbs a steep forested hill, about 1.8 miles round trip.3 The 2014 visit is the most recent account we found, so the site's condition today is unknown.3

  1. Sulphur Point Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/sulphur-point-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Sulphur Butte, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/sulphur-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Sulphur Butte Lookout - Baker Lake Sights, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/washington/fire_lookouts/sulphur_butte_lookout/baker_lake_215.htm (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Sulphur Point Fire Lookout Tower, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/sulphurpoint.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (N)
Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (N) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (SE)
Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (SE) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (SW)
Sulphur Point Lookout panoramic 9-11-1935 (SW) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sulphur Point Lookout living quarters remains
Sulphur Point Lookout living quarters remainsPhoto: Eric Willhite, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sulphur Point Lookout storage shed remains
Sulphur Point Lookout storage shed remainsPhoto: Eric Willhite, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sulphur Point Lookout site
Sulphur Point Lookout sitePhoto: Eric Willhite, via 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, 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. 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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