Trip Report.

My partner and I had visited Halls Point L.O. earlier in the day and were now headed to White Point L.O. from my parked car. It was only about a mile road walk from the road junction of FS-200 and FS-290. You will stay left on FS-200 until you reach a gate to get to White Point L.O. 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 L.O., this one was disappointing in comparison. I also found it interesting that Halls Point L.O. was painted white but White Point L.O. 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 It looks like they have since been replaced by said cameras which was unfortunate to see.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.

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 the Oregon Lookout site it is described as a 28′ tower fitted with a 14×14 Amort flat roof cab.