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Fire lookout · Skamania County, Washington

Sunrise Peak Lookout Site

Skamania County tower site: a 1924 camp, an L-4 tower dated 1930 or 1934 depending on source, staffed in 1955, removed in the 1960s; no source describes it today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed in the early 1960s; a 1964 USGS party reported it destroyed

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. Road to the trailhead repaired at the end of 2019 after years of closure; route described on Willhite

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Route from Randle along FR 23 (Cispus Road), then a signed road 5 miles up to the trailhead; hike 1.7 miles with 1,400 feet of gain, per Willhite

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cabin on a 15-foot wood tower with a 10-by-10-foot storage building below (Willhite); the Register says a 15-foot pole L-4 towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1930
Height
Unknown
Elevation
5,892 ft (1,796 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Skamania County, Washington
Coordinates
46.33264, −121.75915
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-sunrise-peak

View from the cab

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This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

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History

Then and now

  1. 1924 EventLookout camp with a tent and probably a telephoneSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1929 EventNewspapers reported plans for towers on Sunrise butte and two other buttes, each with a fire finderSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1930 BuiltWillhite dates the L-4 house on a 15-foot wood tower to 1930; a 1930 newspaper says a man had gone up to build a stationSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1930 StaffedFrank Slagle stationed there for the summer and using a tent, per a July 25, 1930 Chehalis itemSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1934 Replaced by a new structureRegister and firelookout.com date a 15-foot pole L-4 tower replacing the camp to 1934; conflicts with Willhite's 1930Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  6. 1937 FireA forest fire burned the telephone line to the lookout; the lookout was isolated but not in dangerSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1937 and 1955
  8. 1955 StaffedForest Service activated Sunrise as a ground observer post; Duane A. Priebe stationed thereSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1960 RemovedRemoved in the early 1960s per Willhite; the Register says removed in the 1960s, exact year not givenSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1964 DestroyedA USGS party in 1964 reported the lookout destroyedSource: willhiteweb.com
  11. No record between 1964 and 2011
  12. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered February 2, 2011 as FFLOS US 835Source: firetower.org
  13. 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.

Sunrise Peak is a former lookout site in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, in Skamania County, Washington.1 The Register lists its elevation as 5,892 feet (1,796 meters).1

Willhite says that in 1924 Sunrise was a lookout camp with a tent and probably a telephone.2 In June 1929 a newspaper reported plans for towers on Sunrise butte and two other buttes, each to get a fire finder.3 Willhite dates the lookout house on the summit to 1930, when a newspaper reported that a man had gone up to build a station.2,3 It describes an L-4 cabin on a 15-foot wood tower, with a 10-by-10-foot storage building below it.2 The Register and firelookout.com instead date a 15-foot pole L-4 tower, which replaced the 1924 camp, to 1934.1,4 The sources conflict, and we could not reconcile the two dates.

A July 1930 Chehalis newspaper item says Frank Slagle was posted there for the summer and had been using a tent.2,3 In August 1937 a forest fire burned through the telephone line to the lookout, leaving it cut off but not threatened.3 In July 1955 the Forest Service activated Sunrise as a ground observer post, with Duane A. Priebe stationed there.2,3 Observers reported aircraft sightings by radio to the Randle headquarters.3

Willhite says the lookout was removed in the early 1960s, and that a USGS party in 1964 reported it destroyed.2 The Register says it was removed in the 1960s.1

The sources do not describe the summit today. A photo caption on Willhite's page says "Hand railing is still there," but it does not say what the railing belonged to.2

Willhite's directions run from Randle along FR 23 (Cispus Road) to a signed road for the Sunset Trail, then up 5 miles to the trailhead.2 That last road was repaired at the end of 2019 after years of closure.2 From the trailhead the hike is 1.7 miles, with 1,400 feet of gain.2

  1. Sunrise Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/sunrise-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Sunrise Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/sunrise_peak_lookout/site_276.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Sunrise Peak, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/sunrise-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Sunrise Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/sunrisepeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Sunrise Peak 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, 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, staffing, 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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