Update: Craig Willis also visited the Diamond Peak Patrol tower, but it was missing from the list originally posted here. The list below has been updated to include that site.
Craig Willis of Everett just finished an impressive journey.
Willis has visited all of the Washington fire lookouts still standing at their officially used locations. That’s 93 lookouts, and he visited nearly 40 of them this year alone. From all indications, Willis is the first person to complete that list.
Mount Pilchuck Lookout was the first on Willis’ journey. In early August, he finished up by reaching Three Fingers, a challenging 36-mile trek that requires some scrambling and the use of an ice ax.
Willis had always been interested in hiking in general, and in lookouts in particular.
“What made me jump into a different gear to see them was I missed out on seeing some of them by just a few weeks,” he said.
Lone Mountain Lookout, which he’d seen high on a peak his whole life, came down just before he had planned to visit it.
Willis would love to see more people visiting lookouts, and hopefully advocating for their preservation.
“I’m a firm believer people are willing to save what they understand,” he said. “I think people are more willing to save lookouts if they have seen them and cared about them.”
I plan to write more about Willis’ accomplishments for our outdoors section in a few weeks. For now, enjoy the video above, which shows the last 10 lookouts Willis visited.
And for those who are interested, below is a list of the 93 lookouts still standing where they were used in Washington state.
1. Mount Adams: 12276 feet, Yakima County
2. Slate Peak, 7440 feet, Okanogan County
3. North Twentymile Peak, 7437 feet, Okanogan County
4. Mount Bonaparte, 7257 feet, Okanogan County
5. Mount Fremont, 7181 feet, Pierce County
6. Goat Peak, 7001 feet, Okanogan County
7. Mebee Pass Lookout, 6960 feet, Okanogan/Skagit County
8. Hidden Lake Peaks, 6890 feet, Skagit County
9. Three Fingers, 6870 feet, Snohomish County
10. Salmo Mountain, 6828 feet, Pend Oreille County
11. Columbia Mountain, 6782 feet, Ferry County
12. Moses Mountain, 6774 feet, Okanogan County
13. Tyee Mountain, 6654 feet, Chelan County
14. Winchester Mountain, 6521 feet, Whatcom County
15. Monument 83 Lookout, 6520 feet, Okanogan County
16. Green Mountain, 6500 feet, Snohomish County
17. Sullivan Mountain, 6483 feet, Pend Oreille County
18. Oregon Butte, 6387 feet, Columbia County
19. Grizzly Mountain, 6381 feet, Ferry County
20. Copper Mountain, 6265 feet, Whatcom County
21. Table Rock, 6250 feet, Columbia County
22. Nason Ridge (Alpine Lookout), 6235 feet, Chelan County
23. Miners Ridge, 6208 feet, Snohomish County
24. Buck Mountain, 6135 feet, Okanogan County
25. Sourdough Mountain, 6120 feet, Whatcom County
26. Desolation Peak, 6102 feet, Whatcom County
27. Tunk Mountain, 6054 feet, Okanogan County
28. South Baldy, 5961 feet, Pend Oreille County
29. Tolmie Peak, 5939 feet, Pierce County
30. Mount Spokane, 5883 feet, Spokane County
31. Strawberry Mountain, 5863 feet, Okanogan County
32. Thorp Mountain, 5854 feet, Kittitas County
33. Shriner Peak, 5834 feet, Pierce County
34. Sugarloaf Mountain, 5814 feet, Chelan County
35. Dodger Point, 5760 feet, Jefferson County
36. Omak Mountain, 5747 feet, Okanogan County
37. Lookout Mountain, 5699 feet, Skagit County
38. High Rock, 5685 feet, Lewis County
39. Jumpoff Lookout, 5670 feet, Yakima County
40. Clearwater Lookout, 5660 feet, Garfield County
41. Granite Mountain, 5629 feet, King County
42. Evergreen Mountain, 5587 feet, Snohomish County
43. Lynx Mountain, 5520 feet, Ferry County
44. Lookout Mountain, 5515 feet, Okanogan County
45. First Butte, 5491 feet, Okanogan County
46. Gobblers Knob, 5485 feet,Pierce County
47. Timber Mountain, 5474 feet, Pend Oreille County
48. Park Butte, 5440 feet, Whatcom County
49. Kelly Butte, 5409 feet, King County
50. Red Top Mountain, 5361 feet, Kittitas County
51. Mount Pilchuck, 5324 feet, Snohomish County
52. Burley Mountain, 5304 feet, Lewis County
53. Sun Top Mountain, 5271 feet, Pierce County
54. Aeneas Mountain, 5167 feet, Okanogan County
55. Quartz Mountain, 5162 feet, Spokane County
56. Funk Mountain, 5121 feet, Okanogan County
57. Signal Peak, 5100 feet, Yakima County
58. Cornell Butte, 5096 feet, Okanogan County
59. Mount Leecher, 5020 feet, Okanogan County
60. Indian Mountain, 5014 feet, Pend Oreille County
61. Big Butte, 5009 feet, Asotin County
62. Mount Leecher Crow’s Nest, 5000 feet, Okanogan County
63. Red Mountain, 4965 feet, Skamania County
64. Puyallup Ridge, 4877 feet, Pierce County
65. Keller Butte, 4811 feet, Ferry County
66. Cody Butte, 4764 feet, Ferry County
67. Whitestone Ridge, 4762 feet, Ferry County
68. Gold Mountain, 4686 feet, Ferry County
69. Watch Mountain, 4664 feet, Lewis County
70. Armstrong Mountain, 4587 feet, Okanogan County
71. Diamond Peak Patrol Tower, 4320 feet, Pend Oreille County
72. Satus Peak, 4182 feet, Yakima County
73. Johnny George, 4090 feet, Ferry County
74. Tower Mountain, 4000 feet, Stevens County
75. Whitmore Mountain, 3949 feet, Okanogan County
76. Whitmore Mountain L-4 Cab, 3880 feet, Okanogan County
77. Spokane Mountain, 3869 feet, Stevens County
78. Knowlton Knob, 3852 feet, Okanogan County
79. North Mountain, 3824 feet, Skagit County
80. Franson Peak, 3786 feet, Ferry County
81. Meadow Butte, 3620 feet, Klickitat County
82. Wellpinit Mountain, 3464 feet, Stevens County
83. Ned Hill, 3464 feet, Clallam County
84. North Point, 3320 feet, Clallam County
85. Lookout Point (Lookout Mountain), 3114 feet, Spokane County
86. Pyramid Mountain, 3100 feet, Clallam County
87. Steliko Point, 2586 feet, Chelan County
88. Mount Constitution, 2407 feet, San Juan County
89. Lorena Butte Lookout, 2160 feet, Klickitat County
90. Heybrook Ridge, 1701 feet, Snohomish County
91. Okanogan Post Office, 800 feet, Okanogan County
92. Darrington Ranger Station, 540 feet, Snohomish County
93. Goodman Hill, 480 feet, Pierce County
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