From Enumclaw, take 410 for 24 miles to a right turn on FR 73 (Huckleberry Creek Road). Drive 1.5 miles to the Sun Top Sno-Park. If summer, turn left on FR #7315 and follow it 5 miles to the saddle south of the summit. Here is another gate that is often closed. If open, drive up. If closed, walk the road or take a short half mile trail up the south side to the summit.

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Sun Top Lookout

Ski it, hike it, bike it, snowshoe it or just drive it. Sun Top is a mountain for everyone. The Sun Top summit has a lookout building, picnic tables and a stunning view of Mt. Rainier. Perfectly perched between Huckleberry Creek and White River, Sun Top is the start of a wedge that reaches all the way to Sunrise inside the National Park. The road is often groomed for cross-country skiing.

Distance: 0 to 5.5 miles
Summit Elevation: 5,271 feet
Elevation Gain: 0 to 2,900 feet
Access: Good Gravel

Hwy. 410 Hikes

Access:

Looking south toward Slide Mountain

White River Valley

Sun Top view north 1998

Sun Top view

Sun Top Lookout in winter January 16, 1998

Sun Top Lookout in summer 1999

Cascade Lookouts

The ground level L-4 hip cab was built in 1934. It is on the National Historic Lookout Register, used for emergency purposes. A patrol point was said to also be part of this lookout located 1.5 miles south, sometimes called the Buck Creek Firefinder. Along with the 3 panoramic (and one supplement) photos taken in 1934 at the Suntop lookout, another supplement photo was taken from the patrol point, giving us the exact location (see link below). Suntop was also part of the Aircraft Warning Service in 1942 and 1943. Some pictures show it looking like a completly different looking structure. New siding was added over the old, also new x-braced plywood shutters installed removing the old shutters. The original panel door had also been altered. A more recent rehabilitation appears to have made the lookout back to the more original designs.

Lookout History: