Winchester Mountain Lookout — Glacier
U.S. Forest Service lookout · Winchester Mountain, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, USA
Photo: Lmm3181 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), taken 21 September 2012; also published by Street Art Utopia in You Can Sleep Here (8 Photos).
Winchester Mountain Lookout is a 1935 fire lookout on a 6,521-foot summit near the Canadian border in Washington’s Mt. Baker area. Source Source Checked The Mount Baker Club got a federal permit to look after it in 1982 and restored the dilapidated cabin two years later. Source Reported Volunteers still repair it, and it is first come, first served. Source Source Source Checked
Standing — Cascadia Daily News reported in August 2024 that volunteers had just rebuilt its west wall; since November 2017 the cabin has been locked from November through May. Source Source Checked
💡 4 things to know
- Staffed from 1935The Forest Service began staffing the 6,520-foot summit in 1935, Cascadia Daily News reports. Source Source Checked
- Two end datesThe same article says it was staffed until 1966 in one place and abandoned 36 years after 1935 in another. Source Conflicting
- A club takes overThe Mount Baker Club of Bellingham received a special permit in 1982 and restored the cabin two years later. Source Reported
- A new west wallVolunteers spent a few days rebuilding the rotting west wall of the 14-by-14-foot cab; the organizer estimated the cost at less than $1,000. Source Reported
📍 Where it is
On Winchester Mountain in the Mount Baker Wilderness, above Twin Lakes, reached by a 3.4-mile round-trip trail. When Twin Lakes Road is not drivable, parking at the Tomyhoi Lake trailhead adds 2 miles. Source Source Source Checked
Opens the map at the camera location given for the photograph on Wikimedia Commons.
🗓️ Sightings
- 1935
Forest Service begins staffing · Cascadia Daily
- 198714 Jul
National Register record published · NPS
- 201221 Sep
Photographed on the summit · Commons
- 2017Nov
Locked November through May from now on · Recreation.gov
- 202411 Aug
West wall rebuilt by volunteers · Cascadia Daily
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.
✅ The facts
- Last staffed
- 1966, or 36 years after 1935, both in the same article Source Conflicting
📰 In the press
Cascadia Daily News11 Aug 2024
Volunteer labor keeps historic Winchester Mountain lookout in good repair
“Volunteers spent a few days rebuilding the west wall of the Winchester Mountain Lookout, one of two remaining fire cabs along the Mount Baker Highway corridor.”
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Cascadia Daily News — Volunteer labor keeps historic Winchester Mountain lookout in good repair (11 August 2024)
- Washington Trails Association — Winchester Mountain
- Recreation.gov — Winchester Mountain Lookout
- NPGallery — Winchester Mountain Lookout, National Register record 87001188 (published 14 July 1987)
- Washington Trails Association — What you need to know about spending the night in a fire lookout
- Wikimedia Commons — Winchester Mountain Fire Lookout, photo by Lmm3181, 21 September 2012 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Hero image: the photograph credited above (Lmm3181, 21 September 2012, CC BY-SA 3.0), as published by Street Art Utopia; the 16:9 share image is made from it.
Last checked: November 14, 2026 · How we verify art
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