There were sections of the trail that were without snow. The trip was strenuous, but the views were well worth it. As previously mentioned the wood stove didn't seem to be putting out much heat until it was really cranking for several hours. All and all an excellent trip with amazing views of Jefferson, Hood, Adams, and Rainer when its clear.

Had to park at the start of Cold Spring Road near Dufur road. Hiked in through patches of thick slushy snow for the first 6 miles, last 3 miles needed snow shoes. Conditions were roughly the same on the hike out a week later. The wood stove in the lookout is a bit temperamental but everything else was great. Visibility for the first two days was patchy but the last five were amazing. We even saw the northern lights.

Had to park at the start of Cold Spring Road near Dufur road. Hiked in through patches of thick slushy snow for the first 6 miles, last 3 miles needed snow shoes. Conditions were roughly the same on the hike out a week later. The wood stove in the lookout is a bit temperamental but everything else was great. Visibility for the first two days was patchy but the last five were amazing. We even saw the northern lights.

Beautiful lookout and amazing view! The wood stove is small and has a hard time keeping the space warm during storms. The kitchen was great and had all utensils we needed! Will be back!!

Beautiful lookout and amazing view! The wood stove is small and has a hard time keeping the space warm during storms. The kitchen was great and had all utensils we needed! Will be back!!

In midwinter, starting from Billy Bob saves some elevation gain on the way to the lookout, but before the full snowpack forms and once it starts to melt again in the spring, coming by way of Friend will usually let you get quite a bit closer to the lookout.

In midwinter, starting from Billy Bob saves some elevation gain on the way to the lookout, but before the full snowpack forms and once it starts to melt again in the spring, coming by way of Friend will usually let you get quite a bit closer to the lookout.

Hiked in from Billy Bob, no winter equipment was required. The wood stove struggles to get enough oxygen and it will take a couple hours of persistence to warm up the interior of the lookout to around 60. And the grate/hatch at the top of the stairs was iced shut when we arrived and took quite a bit of effort to open… consider leaving it open for the next folks if ice/freezing rain is forecast. Otherwise a very epic trip and 10/10 would do again. Such a cool spot and worth every mile of the long hike in.

Hiked in from Billy Bob, no winter equipment was required. The wood stove struggles to get enough oxygen and it will take a couple hours of persistence to warm up the interior of the lookout to around 60. And the grate/hatch at the top of the stairs was iced shut when we arrived and took quite a bit of effort to open… consider leaving it open for the next folks if ice/freezing rain is forecast. Otherwise a very epic trip and 10/10 would do again. Such a cool spot and worth every mile of the long hike in.

Thisis a hard one to rate… I gave it 5 stars as the location was amazing and we were really looking forward to our stay. We also had a one star experience as for some reason, the code we were given did not unlock the padlock. Whether it was frozen shut, or we were given the wrong code, we couldn’t get into the fire tower. We tried the padlock on both the tower and woodshed, and neither work. Because it was a weekend check in, there was no one to contact to help. We called recreation.gov, but they had no information to help beyond calling the ranger station. We ended up having to turn around and head home. Hoping that next time we try to rent we will be successful!