Warner Mountain 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 · 16 notices
In the agency’s own words
Warner Mountain Lookout is the winter wonderland destination for avid winter sports enthusiasts looking for a challenge. This replica of an old cupola-style lookout sits on a high vantage point of Warner Ridge at an altitude of 5,300 feet in the Willamette National Forest approximately 75 miles southeast of Eugene, Oregon. This is a very remote location; the road to the lookout is not plowed or maintained for winter travel. The lookout can only be accessed by skis, snowmobiles or snowshoes, a distance of 2-10 miles. Conditions on the mountain change rapidly. Keep reading
You need to be evaluating conditions and weather throughout your stay. Sudden storms and high winds may make skiing and driving conditions difficult. Experience in cross-country skiing or snowshoe travel is highly recommended. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. The reward is worth the effort of getting there. Guests will enjoy panoramic views of the pristine snow-covered landscape and starry skies on clear nights.
Recreation
Winter recreationists can enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling on the terrain in the nearby Middle Fork Willamette River - Moon Point Trail Area. Reaching the cabin on the 10-mile access road is part of the snow sport fun. Visitors might also catch a glimpse of any number of wildlife that lives in the area.
Facilities
The 14x14-ft. cabin sits atop a 40-foot tower and is surrounded by a catwalk. The cabin accommodates 4 people and is furnished with one double bed that comfortably sleeps two, a table and chairs, propane stoves for heating and cooking, cookware, dishes, and a broom and dust pan. Propane is provided. Cell service may be available from the tower depending on your service provider. There is a vault toilet nearby. No water or electricity is provided. Guests typically melt snow for their supply of water for drinking, cooking and washing. A large pot is provided for this purpose. Items such as bedding, extra mattresses, flashlights, matches, extra toilet paper, first aid supplies, trash bags, dish soap, and towels are not reliably available after mid-season. Guests are expected to pack out their trash and clean the cabin before leaving. Absolutely no pets are allowed.
Natural Features
The lookout towers over forest cover of noble fir, mountain hemlock and silver fir at the crest of Warner Mountain. The lookout is close to Middle Fork Willamette River - Moon Point Trail Area, with a diverse habitat ranging from meadows to rocky cliffs and dotted with high-elevation conifers. Willamette National Forest offers prime habitat for such species as Roosevelt elk, black bears, bald eagles, black tail deer and bobcats, among other wildlife.
What the agency tells you
It is highly recommended that visitors reserving the lookout follow the directions and the route shown below in 'Getting There.' Do not attempt to access the lookout from Forest Road 23.
Experience in cross-country skiing or snowshoe travel is highly recommended; renters should plan an entire day of travel to reach the lookout. Make sure you leave early enough and account for short winter days.
Be prepared for extreme winter weather conditions; guests should be experienced in back country travel and survival skills
Everything else this campground posts · 13
Carry adequate clothing, food, water and equipment
There is no water; guests must provide their own water for drinking, cooking and washing
No open flames, including candles, are permitted
Cabin access is on steep, narrow metal gripping stairs up the 41 foot tower.
Guests should come prepared for rapidly changing winter conditions and carry tire chains and a shovel; this is a high wind and storm area and there can be up to a foot of snowfall overnight
A high-clearance vehicle is recommended
Guests can contact the Ranger District prior to arrival to check on any restrictions or conditions, road closures, weather or storms, which might affect their visit.
Refunds will not be granted due to weather or snow conditions which may make access extremely challenging
Guests must pack out all trash and clean the cabin before departure
Smoking is not permitted
Learn more about the Willamette National Forest
Pets are not allowed.
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Shade
- Little
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…on your service provider. There is a vault toilet nearby. No water or electricity is provided. Guests…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Meadow
- Birding
- Cross Country Skiing
- Snowshoeing
- 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
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 WARNER MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT | 001 | lookout | 2,797 ft | $85 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Campers FlatWillamette National Forest · 3.7 mi
SacandagaWillamette National Forest · 3.8 mi
SecretWillamette National Forest · 4.2 miSecret Group CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 4.3 mi
Sand Prairie CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 5.8 mi
Indigo SpringsWillamette National Forest · 6.1 miFrom Eugene, Oregon, take I-5 south to the exit for Highway 58 East. Drive east 34 miles on Highway 58 through Oakridge. Continue on Highway 58 about 1 to 1.5 miles east of Oakridge. Turn right towards Hills Creek Reservoir on Kitson Springs Road and proceed 0.2 mile to Forest Service Road (FSR) 21. Turn right and follow double lane FSR 21 south and southeast for approximately 18 miles. Turn left on gravel FSR 2129. Proceed on 2129 for 8 miles to Spur 439. (You may encounter snow before you reach 439). Turn right at this junction; follow this road for 4 miles to the 342 spur on the left. This is the road to the lookout. The road is gated, but the gate is usually buried under snow during the winter season and not visible. Lookout signs along FSR 21 and FSR 2129 will help identify the routes. Orange poles identify the final route through a meadow to the lookout.
If a low-elevation storm is predicted at the time of arrival, be sure to park vehicle facing downhill before reaching the snow zone. It is the responsibility of cabin guests to arrange for towing if their vehicle gets stuck in snow.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Oakridge, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 30°F, day 55°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 20°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
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
Warner Mountain Lookout is in Oregon’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Val Hoyle (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →