Granite Mountain Lookout

The quickest access will be from trails at either exit 45 or exit 47 off Interstate 90.

Just hike the 4 mile trail.

In 1916, a mountaineers journal describes the summit as having a summer forest lookout station.

In August, 1917, the Oregonian newspaper made mention of the lookout.

A 1920 photo has a cabin on the summit.

In 1924, an elevated D-6 cupola cabin was constructed. "The material for the new lookout house was cut from regular mill stock by the carpenter prior to packing it to the lookout site. In order to correct a problem of snow blowing into the house, a new product from Weyerhaeuser, Balsam Wool, was used as additional insulation. The shutters were hinged from the top of the window frames, when open, they were propped up by rods creating a sun shade." (Six Twenty-Six)

In 1934, panoramic images were taken from the building.

In 1942, Granite Mountain was used during WWII by the Aircraft Warning Service.

Around 1956, the present 10 foot treated timber L-4 tower was built.

In 2017, an Army Special Forces unit based in Washington assisted to the U.S. Forest Service as part of its change-of-command ceremony. Three dozen soldiers with the Headquarters Detachment, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), carried 880 pounds of lumber up the trail to the top of Granite Mountain as part of the ceremony, in which Capt. Wesley Wiblin took over for the outgoing boss, Capt. Joseph Bresnahan. (Military Times)

Roger Schoenhals also once slammed the lookout door shut just above his big toe, pulling away the nail completely. After nearly passing out from the pain, he hiked down the entire trail and drove himself to a clinic.