Schonchin Butte Fire Lookout - Siskiyou County, CA - Civilian Conservation Corps on Waymarking.com

The Schonchin Butte Fire Lookout is located at the summit of Schonchin Butte, a cinder cone volcano that makes up Medicine Lake Volcano. It was built in 1939-41 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (mentioned on Wikipedia here) and is also registered as a National Historic Place by the National Parks Service (NPS) as a contributing structure as part of the Lava Beds National Monument Archeological District. This lookout went through a major renovation in 1994 and it looks to be in excellent condition today and maintained very well. There are four informative placards at each side of the lookout that describes the panoramic view and highlights specific natural features in the distance that you may see.

The hike up to this lookout is .7 miles and not for the faint of heart or out-of-shape visitors. If you make it up here, the views are fantastic. The lookout is only open seasonally from late May through September and was closed and boarded up when we visited.

The Lava Beds NPS has a great PDF document that highlights the history of this lookout and also mentions the CCC construction of this lookout and can be read in more detail here. The official Lava Beds National Monument website also discusses the CCC and the projects that Camp Tulelake workers performed, including the construction of this fire lookout here.

I highly recommend the hike up to visit this fire lookout. You wont be disappointed.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/17/2013 ChapterhouseInc visited it