ODF

Bunker Hill L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Coos Bay, OR

Status.

Interpretive site; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

4 hours

Date visited.

December 31, 2021

Elevation.

240′

National Historic Lookout Register.

US 473; OR 70

Trip Report.

My partner and I decided to book a rental in Reedsport for the New Year and our 3-year anniversary. We chose Reedsport for it’s proximity to two lookouts along the coast. We figured we could end and start the year doing what we enjoyed most. We headed to Bunker Hill L.O. since we had some time to kill before checking into our rental. This will be our last lookout visit for the year! It’s located in the coastal town of Coos Bay at the Oregon Department of Forestry building. We were able to find it by following signs to the ODF building from HWY-101. Heading south on HWY-101 you will turn right on to Flanagan Road. You will stay on Flanagan Road until you reach Lookout Lane. Turn Left on to Lookout Lane. If you end up driving past Lookout Lane you can still get there by turning left on to Bay Park Lane and then another left on Fifth Road. The junction of Bay Park Lane and Fifth Road has an ODF sign. The buildings were closed for the holiday but we were still able to access the grounds and view the lookout from the parking lot. There is marked visitor parking just past the gate.

History.

In 1937, a combination lookout and water tower were built for the ODF by the CCC of Camp Walker. A 7’x7′ lookout cab was built atop a 3,000 gallon 52′ water tank. This lookout tower was used by the Coos Fire Patrol until the 1950’s. It was also used briefly for air raid spotting during the war, but it was found that most spotting had been done from the ground. The combined lookout and water tower was dismantled in 1965. It wasn’t until 1996 that they decided to build a new lookout tower on Bunker Hill for training. The existing 12’x12′ lookout sits atop a 40′ steel tower next to the district headquarters. The steel tower used was donated by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is currently an interpretive site for visitors and listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. it’s labeled as the Coos Bay Lookout on the tower itself.

Bonus: We visited the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park to check out the lighthouse before heading to Bunker Hill L.O. It is ran by the U.S. Coast Guard and tours are offered through the museum. While parked we spotted another structure closer to the ocean that resembled a lookout. I’m sure it’s used by the U.S. Coast Guard for some sort of training but the base looked almost identical to Bunker Hill L.O.

Henkle Butte L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Deschutes County

Status.

Fire Detection Camera; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

3 hours

Date visited.

October 9, 2021

Elevation.

3,412

National Historic Lookout Register.

US 915, OR 119

Henkle Butte is a lookout ran by the Oregon Department of Forestry and staffed every summer. It sits on top of a butte that overlooks expensive neighborhoods in Deschutes County. The tower isn’t accessible to the public but can be viewed from the road. It’s listed on geocache and peak bagger sites, but it’s unclear if the summit is accessible to the public. Be aware a lot of this area is private property and posted signs should be respected.

History.

Henkle Butte received its name from a competition. The commander stationed at Camp Polk offered a prize to the soldier that could make the quickest trek to and from the butte. It was around two miles northeast from the camp. The butte was named after the winner, Jeremiah F. Henkle. He was stationed at Camp Polk during the winter of 1865-1866. It is commonly mislabeled as Hinkle Butte. The first live-in fire tower wasn’t built until 1943. It was constructed from recycled material by the CCC as a 42′ tower with a 14×14 L-4 cab. The current structure was built in 1961 as a 3-story enclosed ODF cab.

White Point L.O.

Oregon Lookouts

Location.

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Status.

Fire detection camera; Currently standing

Estimated drive time from Portland, OR.

5 hours

Date visited.

August 15, 2021

Elevation.

5,075′

National Historic Lookout Register.

US 507; OR 99

White Point Drive-In Theater Billboard

Trip Report.

My partner and I had visited Halls Point (post) earlier in the day and were now headed to White Point from my parked car. It was only about a mile road walk from the road junction of NF-200 and NF-290. You will stay left on NF-200 until you reach a gate to get to White Point on the left. The gate was closed but not locked. On the final stretch of road to the lookout there is a large green metal billboard sign. I found this very odd and out of place. Apparently it used to say “White Point Drive-In Theater”, but had no signage when we visited which only adds to the mystery. After spending so much time ogling Halls Point (post), this one was disappointing in comparison. I also found it interesting that Halls Point (post) was painted white but White Point had a dark finish. A trip report from 2011 stated that this had been an actively staffed lookout for years but that the current lookout was worried about losing their job to infrared cameras. It looks like they have since been replaced by said cameras which was unfortunate to see. The catwalk was closed off for access and the windows have been boarded up. There was a 24-hour surveillance warning sign along with a camera. It was hard to tell if there would be much of a view on a clear day. The trees and shrubs seemed to be taking over the area. By the time we were at the lookout, we were in the heat of the day and I was tired from constant smoke inhalation. We didn’t spend too much time here before heading back to the car.

Old shower

History.

White Point L.O. is an Oregon Department of Forestry lookout instead of the typical Forest Service lookout. The first lookout at this site was built in 1951 with a 40′ tower and 14’x14′ live-in cab. It was replaced in 1974 when they dismantled the Burnt Peak L.O. They reused the wooden tower uprights from Burnt Peak L.O. to build a new 30′ tower with ODF cab. On Ron Kemnow’s site it is described as a 28′ tower fitted with a 14×14 Amort flat roof cab.

Too tired to stand up straight