New! Please visit my Searchable App for details, GPS tracks and links to Peakbaggers and WTA for most sites.
Sometime around 2012-2013 I realized that Fire Lookouts and former Fire Lookout sites, would by definition, be placed in locations with great views. While I found out later that this is not always true, it does make for a great place to start when looking for a hiking/backpacking destination.
Fast forward to 2016 and I come to find out that the woman I was dating, Kari Darvill, is also collecting fire lookout sites and even has a family history with a couple of lookouts in the North Cascades. That may go a long way to explain why we are still together! Go here to find out about her family lookout history.
In Feb of 2019, Kari and I were married. We have taken up the quest to visit all of the fire lookout sites in Washington that still have a structure. Depending on who you talk to and what definitions apply, there are 87 - 97 of these sites. In the table below, I am attempting to keep a running total of the sites Kari and I have visited. The table is categorized by region and I have a page for each region listing the sites and filling in limited information (perhaps more to come) and a GPS track for trips we have completed recently. The region categories came from the following site: www.firelookout.com/wa.html I think a lot of people have started with this site for a list of sites.
| Region | Total Sites | Kari | Dave | Existing Structures | Kari | Dave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WA Coast | 99 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Northwest WA | 97 | 47 | 33 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Mt. Rainier | 72 | 21 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Southwest WA | 75 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| North Central WA | 101 | 20 | 17 | 32 | 20 | 17 |
| Central WA | 64 | 22 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| South Central WA | 47 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Northeast WA | 97 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| Southeast WA | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 660 | 146 | 113 | 93 | 70 | 66 |
Another source of information about these sites is Eric Willhite's web site. I will be referencing
some of his research as I go along. He is breaking down the list in other ways including those with
structures still existing. There are 87-93 of them depending on how you count it. He lists two people
that have visited all of the sites with structures
Cascade Lookouts with structures
Former Lookout sites
Finally, The Peakbaggers list of 93