Sand Mountain Lookout

Sand Mountain is a barren sandy hill, with forested slopes on some sides while other sides are treeless. The whole mountain sticks up above surrounding terrain. Two craters are on the summit. The lookout is currently staffed seasonally by McKenzie River Ranger District and Sand Mountain Society volunteers.

At Santiam Pass, head south on Big Lake Road. Follow Big Lake Road for 3 miles to Forest Road 810 (Old Santiam Wagon Road). Turn right on Forest Road 810, heading west 3 miles to the junction with Forest Road 866. This is a 4WD road due to the soft sand, bumps and dips created by ATVs. A left turn at a gate is Forest Road 810, which winds south up Sand Mountain. The gate is likely closed requiring a 1.5 mile road walk. If the gate is open, drive up the road to just below the summit to the parking area.

A lookout person was stationed on Sand Mountain by 1926. Around 1931, a 14 x 14 gable roof lookout house constructed. In 1933 panorama photos taken by Robert Snyder. In 1937 a garage was requested. A road reached the top at this point. In 1968, the lookout building survived a forest fire that swept over the mountain, but several months after the fire, the building burned down anyway. The Forest Service said the cause of the fire was unknown. The lookout Bruce Fish of Portland, and his wife, were off duty attending a movie in Bend that evening. When they returned to Sand Mountain the lookout had burned down. There was even about four inches of snow on the ground from a storm at the time. A portable trailer lookout with a pop-up cupola was placed on the summit. Around 1972, the site was discontinued as a lookout point. In 1990 a dedication of a new lookout structure was held. The new lookout was a project led by Don Allen and the Sand Mountain Society. Materials were donated and from the old R-1 style Whiskey Peak lookout in southern Oregon. Labor was provided by a variety of volunteers.