Fivemile Butte Fire Lookout

In my quest to find more Oregon fire lookouts that are open in wintertime, I browsed recreation.gov and checked fire lookout guidebook author Cheryl Hill's list of Pacific Northwest fire lookouts. And Fivemile Butte fire lookout caught my eye as a new destination for us. East of Mount Hood, this fire lookout has been retired from active duty and serves as a destination for recreation. Its location relatively close to Portland and the short approach of approximately 3 miles mean that it is very popular and books up quickly. Luckily in June 2024 I was able to secure a December booking and with snow falling heavily already in mid-November, we were able to ski to the fire lookout. We skied in at twilight, arriving after dark. 

The approach is just under 3 miles and 800-900 feet of elevation gain on ungroomed Forest Service roads. After crossing the road you drove in on (Valley Road which becomes Forest Service Road 44), follow FS Road 4430. It initially descends before flattening out as you pass Eightmile campground, shuttered in winter. Look for the sign marking the left turn to the fire lookout and announcing that the fire lookout is 2 miles away. The road you turn left onto heads uphill and wraps around the north side of Fivemile Butte. Look for the sign at a sharp bend in the road marking the final turn onto the spur road 122-- you'll have half a mile left to go. The spur road continues to gently rise before flattening out as you gain the top of the butte. There are occasional orange and blue diamonds on trees to mark the route but they are easy to miss; however, the navigation overall is quite simple. 

With warming temperatures and thin snowpack we ended up using skins on our skis to travel back to the Billy Bob sno-park. The angle just was not steep enough given the conditions to simply ski downhill or glide. Plus the flat section in the first mile and the slight climb back to Forest Service Road 44 did require skins in any case. The forest was open and it appears that the Forest Service has been actively thinning out the underbrush and creating "mastication" piles; possibly with a deep enough snowpack there would be some downhills worth exploring. For a relaxing early December getaway and gear shakeout trip, Fivemile Butte fire lookout was ideal!

Getting There

• Oregon road conditions
• The approach starts at the the Billy Bob sno-park about 20 miles outside of Dufur, Oregon.
• Parking at the Billy Bob Sno-Park requires an Oregon sno-park permit.
• Fivemile Butte fire lookout information and bookings
• The Barlow ranger district's page on the Fivemile Butte fire lookout; the ranger station can be reached at 541-467-2291.
• GPS coordinates of the fire lookout: 45.410496,-121.468859
• Forest Service Roads 44 and 4430 are closed from the junction of Forest Service Roads 44/4430 to Highway 35 annually Dec. 1-April. In other words, you cannot drive to the Billy Bob sno-park from Highway 35 and instead you must approach from the east (from Dufur). 

Resources 

• Caltopo.com map
• Weather forecast from NOAA

Emergency Preparedness

• Limited cell phone coverage in the area; no service at the Billy Bob sno-park but enough service with our carrier Verizon to send messages, check email, and stream music at the fire lookout itself.

• 

Map of the approach to the fire lookout