Drake Peak Lookout
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located on the crest of the Warner Mountain Range at an elevation of 8,222 feet, Drake Peak Lookout hugs the wind-swept land surrounding it, offering unparalleled views into Oregon, California and Nevada. The lookout was built in 1948 and has served as a fire detection site for the surrounding area. Historically, Forest Service personnel lived long seasons in the cabin, scanning the region for lightning, flames, curls of smoke or any other indicator of possible forest fires. At one time, hundreds of these types of lookouts were in service throughout the Pacific Northwest. Today the lookout provides a unique lodging experience for guests seeking recreation and relaxation in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Although the lookout offers some basic amenities, for guests to enjoy their experience completely, they must bring several of their own supplies. Keep reading
Recreation
Hiking, stargazing and wildlife viewing are popular activities. The Drake-McDowell area provides solitude for backpackers and horseback riders with spectacular views of the Warner Mountains, Hart Mountain, Warner Valley and Abert Rim. A hike to the summit of Drake Peak is a popular excursion from the lookout. At night the lookout is an ideal setting for stargazing, as constellations and planets put on a dazzling display.
Facilities
The small, 14 x 14-foot lookout is designed to accommodate up to four people and is furnished with folding cots, a table and chairs, a wood stove for heat and limited counter space for food preparation. A picnic table is located outdoors, as is a vault toilet. There is no water on site, so guests must bring sufficient supplies for drinking, cooking and washing. Guests may fill water jugs at Mud Creek Campground approximately 6 miles away. Guests must also provide their own sleeping bags, sleeping pads, towels, dish soap, matches, cooking gear, first aid kit and firewood. Although lighting is available, it is recommended that guests bring an additional light source in case of emergencies. The Forest Service does not provide firewood for this facility.
Natural Features
Drake Peak Lookout sits beneath a vast sky, overlooking distant peaks, volcanic landscapes and wide-open sage basins. From its scenic perch, the lookout offers panoramic vistas and glimpses into wild places where visitors can still find solitude. Although the lookout does not sit on Drake Peak, the nearby mountain is one of several high peaks in the immediate vicinity, including Twelvemile Peak, Light Peak and Crook Peak. Composed of uplifted and eroded basalt, and sparse vegetation, views from this mountain offer unobstructed views of unique geological landforms. Diverse habitats support a variety of species. Deer, Rocky Mountain elk and pronghorn find homes in nearby forests, while several varieties of trout inhabit the lakes and streams. In the spring and fall, migrating geese, ducks and swans frame the Oregon sky. Black bears, mountain lions and bobcats, also find homes in the surrounding area.
What the agency tells you
No water available at this site
Entry to the cabin is by combination lock; the lock combination will be provided in your reservation confirmation letter or you can also stop by or phone the Lakeview Ranger District Office at 541-947-6300 to receive the lock combination; office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m; office is located about 2 miles north of Lakeview on Highway 395
Please contact the Ranger District prior to arriving at the cabin to check on any restrictions or conditions, such as fire or road closures, weather or storms that may affect the quality of your visit
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Pets are welcome at this facility
All garbage and food must be packed out
The cabin is a non-smoking facility
Off-road vehicles allowed on designated unpaved roads only.
Learn more about the Fremont-Winema National Forest.
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
This is a popular destination for sightseeing, wildlife viewing, and hiking. It is also an active communication site. Individuals renting this lookout should anticipate encountering other recreationists, communication site users, and U.S. Forest Service personnel while onsite.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…located outdoors, as is a vault toilet. There is no water on site, so guests must bring sufficient supplies…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek
- Birding
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Mountain biking
- Picnicking
- Stargazing
- Wildlife viewing
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA DRAKE PEAK LOOKOUT | 001 | cabin nonelectric | 2,921 ft | 35 ft | $40 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Aspen Cabin (Fremont-Winema National Forest, OR)Fremont National Forest · 1.9 mi
Mud Creek CampgroundFremont National Forest · 2.8 miCan Springs CampgroundFremont National Forest · 5.5 mi
Vee Lake Trailhead/CampgroundFremont National Forest · 8.4 miTwin Springs CampgroundFremont National Forest · 10 mi
Willow Creek CampgroundFremont National Forest · 15 miFrom the Lakeview Ranger District Office, travel 6 miles north on Highway 395, and turn right on Highway 140. Take Highway 140 east for 8 miles, then turn left on Forest Road 3615. Continue on Forest Road 3615 for 7.5 miles and turn right on Forest Road 019. Follow Forest Road 019 for 5 miles to the lookout.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Lakeview, OR
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Drake Peak Lookout is in Oregon’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Cliff Bentz (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →