Cornell Butte Lookout - Okanogan National Forest

Relatively accessible from Highway 20 and good gravel roads, you can drive up Cornell Butte. The tower on top is a 42 foot all-steel live-in tower built in 1958. The tower was purchased by a private party for removal in 1996 but still remains today (2016). In 2012, the Forest Service said on an online project proposal that Cornell Lookout has not been used regularly since 1971, and the removal of the vandalized site is preferred. A 2013 SOPA document said the project was canceled due to no funding for removal. In September 2015, the North Star Fire burned close enough to the structure to throw burning embers into the cab and start the floor boards on fire.

I came in from the east, off Swan Lake Road, then FR 200. A better road is on the west side of Cornell Butte, FR 3125. Taking it to FR 200 is better.