Lookout rental · U.S. Forest Service · Mt. Hood National Forest · Mt. Hood, OR

Fivemile Butte Lookout

Fivemile Butte Lookout is available for reservation year-round. It provides stellar mountain views and access to a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, including hiking, mountain biking and wildlife viewing. During the winter months, the lookout is popular among hunters and winter sports enthusiasts. During winter driving conditions, from early fall to late spring, the lookout can only be accessed by skiing, snowmobiling or snowshoeing up to 3 miles one way from a parking area at the Billy Bob Sno-Park. In the summer guests can drive directly to the lookout. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities.

Lookout rentalReservable · Recreation.gov1 site
Check availability on Recreation.gov ↗
Interior of Fivemile LookoutExterior stair access to Fivemile Lookout.Fivemile Lookout propane stove.Fivemile Lookout wood stove.
Photos courtesy of USFS · Recreation.gov
4fires
active
Grasshopper · 11 mi away · 93,972 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Site mix

Cabins1
This lookout is booked as a single unit on Recreation.gov. The booking page shows which dates are open and how far ahead they release. How the booking window works

Site guide

1 site. Tap a filter to narrow the list; the map follows.

SiteShadePeople / vehicles
001Partial4 / 10

Per-site records as published by the managing agency on Recreation.gov. Blank cells mean the agency listed nothing for that site. Check-in 12:00 PM, checkout 11:00 AM.

Amenities & rules

The cabin is atop a 40-foot tower and is surrounded by a wooden catwalk. The 14-by-14 room is furnished with a small bed, a wood stove for heating and a table and chairs. It has a propane cook stove and solar-powered lights. There is no water on-site. An outhouse with a vault toilet is located on the ground, as well as a shed stocked with firewood. A rope and pulley system is available to transport gear, as well as firewood, up and down the tower with ease. Guests will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, as well as their own sleeping bags/bedding, a flashlight or lantern for emergencies, first aid kit, washcloths and towels, dish soap and garbage bags. This is a "Pack it in, Pack it out" facility; guests will need to carry out all trash and clean the facility prior to leaving.

Individual sites vary. Confirm on Recreation.gov or with the managing office.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Fivemile Butte Lookout30°40°50°60°70°January: 5.63 inches of precipitation, 16.6 inches of snowFebruary: 3.97 inches of precipitation, 8.8 inches of snowMarch: 3.60 inches of precipitation, 4.1 inches of snowApril: 2.28 inches of precipitation, 1.0 inches of snowMay: 1.66 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 1.07 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.31 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.39 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.06 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 3.17 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowNovember: 6.00 inches of precipitation, 5.0 inches of snowDecember: 6.86 inches of precipitation, 18.2 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 33.5°F averageFebruary: 36.2°F averageMarch: 41.2°F averageApril: 46.0°F averageMay: 52.9°F averageJune: 58.0°F averageJuly: 64.3°F averageAugust: 63.7°F averageSeptember: 58.2°F averageOctober: 48.2°F averageNovember: 38.7°F averageDecember: 32.8°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Parkdale 1 NNE, 10 miles from the campground at 1,520 feet, station USC00356466 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 36 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 54 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

From Dufur, Oregon, travel west on Valley Road for about 18 miles to the junction of Forest Service Roads 44 and 4430, at Billy Bob Sno-Park (the road may be plowed to the Sno-Park). Turn right on Forest Service Road 4430-120, then turn left and follow to the spur road 122.

Nearest townMt. Hood, Oregon
Coordinates45.4101° N, 121.4688° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Wildfire
    Grasshopper

    11 mi from the campground · 93,972 acres · 98% contained

  • Prescribed
    Top Of The World Rx

    22 mi from the campground

  • Prescribed
    Tracy Hill Rx

    23 mi from the campground · 28 acres

  • Prescribed
    Stone Ck/Clackamas Guard Station Rx - West

    26 mi from the campground

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearOuter Limits Sports ↗11 mi
Dump stationDump station ↗21.1 mi
RV sales & serviceLook No Further RV's ↗52.8 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 0.3 mi
    4430-014 Spur Snow
    1.8 mi trail
  • 0.3 mi
    Five Mile Lookout
    0.8 mi trail
  • 0.6 mi
    4400-130 Spur Snow
    1.2 mi trail
  • 0.6 mi
    Eightmile Loop ↗
    6.2 mi trail
  • 0.6 mi
    Eightmile Campground Spur
    0.3 mi trail
  • 0.7 mi
    4400-120 Spur Snow
    3 mi trail

Trailheads within three miles

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Mt. Hood National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Natural features

The lookout was originally a small cab on a 30-foot tower, established in the 1920s. In 1932, a standard lookout tower was built to replace the earlier lookout, but was destroyed by heavy snow in 1942. A non-typical lookout structure was rebuilt at the site in 1957. The tower sits on Fivemile Butte, at an elevation of 4,627 feet. It is surrounded by ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and western hemlock forests. Numerous creeks run through the area. A variety of wildlife, including wild turkeys, grouse and blue jays, as well as deer, elk, coyotes, cougars and bears, frequent the area.

Recreation

In the summer months, visitors enjoy hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking in the area, as well as the gorgeous views from the lookout. The lookout is near Eightmile Creek and Eightmile Trail, which travels through and around a riparian area, old growth pine forests and meadows dotted with wildflowers. The area is popular among winter sports enthusiasts as well, as the location provides access to numerous cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling trails. It is a shared winter recreation area and lookout guests should expect other winter sports enthusiasts in the area.

Guidebooks for Oregon

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Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Fivemile Butte Lookout?

Sites at Fivemile Butte Lookout are reservable on Recreation.gov. Any walk-up sites are listed on the booking page.

Source: Recreation.gov

What time is check-in at Fivemile Butte Lookout?

Check-in 12:00 PM, checkout 11:00 AM.

Source: Recreation.gov

How many sites does Fivemile Butte Lookout have?

1 site, including 1 cabin.

Source: Recreation.gov

Is there cell service at Fivemile Butte Lookout?

FCC coverage maps show AT&T 4G LTE at the campground point. Terrain changes that from one site to the next.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

What is there to do at Fivemile Butte Lookout?

In the summer months, visitors enjoy hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking in the area, as well as the gorgeous views from the lookout. The Recreation section on this page has the rest.

Source: Recreation

What is the nearest town to Fivemile Butte Lookout?

Mt. Hood, Oregon.

Source: Getting there

What if Fivemile Butte Lookout is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Eightmile Campground/Day Use (0.6 mi, first-come), Pebble Ford Campground/Day Use (0.7 mi, first-come), and Knebal Springs Campground/Day Use (1.9 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby