Quail Prairie Lookout

Oregon Coast

QUAIL PRAIRIE LOOKOUT in Oregon Coast — photo 4

Quail Prairie Lookout

Oregon Coast

About this campsite

Overview

THIS FACILITY IS CLOSED TO RESERVATIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Quail Prairie Lookout offers guests a unique lodging experience in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest in western Oregon. On a clear day, visitors are treated to spectacular views of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness from the top of the 41-foot tower.

The tower was completed in 1963 and served as one of the last lookouts built by the southwestern Oregon Forest Service until the mid 1990's, when it was converted for recreational purposes.

Today campers can enjoy a unique lodging experience in the historic structure, which offers basic amenities and spectacular views of the surrounding area. Although the facility provides basic amenities, guests must bring a few of their own supplies to ensure a safe and comfortable stay.

Recreation

The nearby Upper Chetco Trail is the main east/west route through the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. It offers access to the Chetco River and two main tributaries. Heavy vegetation provides shade but eliminates most views, and at least three significant long and steep sections provide a challenging backpacking experience.

Anglers will enjoy the remote location and scenic backdrop of the nearby Chetco River, providing angling opportunities for trout, steelhead, and salmon in season. The Chetco starts in steep, deeply dissected, sparsely vegetated, mountainous terrain within the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

At night the lookout is an ideal setting for stargazing, as constellations and planets put on a dazzling display.

Facilities

The one-room lookout rests on the top of a 41-foot timber tower, surrounded by a catwalk. It is furnished with a single bed, a table and two chairs, a stool, broom and fire extinguisher. It also features a wood stove, a propane stove for cooking and a propane refrigerator. A vault toilet is located near the tower.

There is no water or electricity available at the site. Guests must bring water for drinking, cooking and washing. In addition, visitors will need to supply a light source, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, cooking gear, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Firewood is provided.

Natural Features

The lookout affords panoramic views of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and the Chetco River drainage. The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is an area of great geological and botanical interest. Many of the rocks were formerly parts of the oceanic crust, while diverse plant life provides evidence of adaptation to the area's harsh soils.

The Kalmiopsis leachian, a shrub discovered in the Gold Basin area in 1930, is a relic of the pre-ice age. The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is named after this unique endemic plant.

Diverse landscapes provide habitat for a wide-range of wildlife, from spotted owls and black-tail deer to salamanders and salmon. These species, along with many others, depend on surrounding undeveloped wilderness, undisturbed wetlands, clean streams, and diverse forests to live.

Location

QUAIL PRAIRIE LOOKOUT•OR

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Weather Forecast

via Open-Meteo

TUE☁️

22° / 11°

—

WED☁️

23° / 12°

💧 3%

THU🌧️

18° / 7°

💧 72%

FRI🌦️

17° / 6°

💧 90%

SAT☁️

21° / 5°

💧 1%

Nearby Campsites

within 50km

3.3 km away

PACKERS CABIN

Overview Packers Cabin was originally built during the 1930s and served as the headquarters for the Forest Service packer who supplied lookouts and field crews by horse or mule pack trains. Today, visitors no longer need to hitch up a team of mules and trek for days to enjoy staying in the quiet, remote cabin within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The accessible cabin offers most items needed for a comfortable lodging experience, though guests will need to bring some of their own amenities to ensure a safe and comfortable stay. Recreation Hiking, wildlife viewing and fishing top the list of recreational opportunities in the area surrounding Packer's Cabin. Anglers will enjoy the remote location and scenic backdrop of the nearby Chetco River, providing angling opportunities for trout, steelhead, and salmon in season. The Chetco starts in steep, deeply dissected, sparsely vegetated, mountainous terrain within the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Over its 55.5 mile length, the Chetco drops from 3,700 feet to sea-level as it empties into the Pacific Ocean between the towns of Brookings and Harbor, about 5 miles north of the California border. The Oregon Redwoods Trail provides a unique accessible hiking opportunity that travels through a grove of majestic old-growth redwood trees. Located along Peavine Ridge in the Winchuck River drainage, guests will learn about old-growth tree ecology, fire history, wildlife, and botany in the area. Redwood trees in this area represent the only coastal redwoods found in the Pacific Northwest Region, located at the limit of their northern range. The trail is an out/back design with a short loop at the far end, where a picnic stop is provided. A short wooden deck provides access to the inside of a hollowed redwood tree. Facilities Packer's Cabin is a facility that meets accessibility standards and is equipped with ramps, decks, wide doorways and door handles to make the cabin as barrier-free as possible for anyone wishing to take a step back in history and live the life of a forest ranger. The cabin accommodates up to 12 people comfortably and is furnished with one double bunk and ten single bunks with mattresses. There is a table and chairs, a work surface for food preparation, and a wood-burning stove. Picnic tables and a campfire ring are located near the cabin, as well as an accessible vault toilet. There is no water on site; visitors must bring a sufficient supply for drinking, cooking and washing. A natural spring is located nearby, but the water is not recommended for consumption. Guests must also provide their own sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a light source, towels, dish soap, matches, cooking gear, first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Tent space is available near the cabin. Natural Features The landscapes comprising the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has led to the designation of over 340,000 acres of the Forest as wilderness, and over 200 miles of streams as National Wild and Scenic Rivers. The forest itself is composed of two distinct geological provinces - the Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains. The Cascade Range is dominated by snow-capped volcanic peaks such as the 9,495 foot Mt. McLoughlin, located within the Sky Lakes Wilderness. The Siskiyou area embodies the most complex and treasured plant communities in the Pacific Northwest. Wild rivers, biological diversity, remarkable fisheries, and complex watersheds define the Siskiyous. Packer's Cabin, when built, was adjacent to a large meadow. The trees started encroaching on the meadow and over time, the cabin became nestled in a grove of large fir trees. The Forest Service is now in the 2nd stage of restoring the original meadow habitat. Packer's Cabin now has lots of sun. There will be meadow enhancement information available at the cabin. The

15.5 km away

SNOW CAMP LOOKOUT

Overview Snow Camp Lookout sits at the peak of Snow Camp Mountain at an elevation of 4,223 feet, offering guests spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding area. The fire lookout is the most recent of three structures built atop Snow Camp Mountain. The structures onsite were used as fire lookouts and an Aircraft Warning System station during World War II. The original cabin was destroyed in the 2002 Biscuit Fire, a massive blaze that burned more than a half-million acres in Oregon and California, but was reconstructed just two years later. Today the lookout offers a unique lodging experience for guests seeking a bit of solitude and relaxation. Although the cabin offers some basic amenities, guests must bring a few of their own supplies to ensure an enjoyable stay. Recreation Hiking, mountain biking, stargazing, and wildlife viewing are popular among guests to this lookout. An important component of the historic fabric of the watershed is the trail system. Hikers may want to wander trails that originally followed older aboriginal routes. "Chief" Elwin Frye, a packer for the Forest Service, identified a portion of the Snow Camp Trail as an Indian travel route. The trail is one of the oldest in the Forest, and provides access to Windy Valley, a pristine mountain meadow with a small crystal clear creek. At night the lookout is an ideal setting for stargazing, as constellations and planets put on a dazzling display. Facilities The renovated fire lookout is a 15' x 15' structure, originally designed for one or two people. It is furnished with a double bed with a mattress, a table and chairs, cabinets and counter space for food preparation. It is also equipped with a wood-burning cook stove and a picnic table for outdoor dining. A pit toilet is located near the lookout. There is no water on site, so visitors must bring sufficient supplies for drinking, cooking and washing. Guests must also provide their own sleeping bags, sleeping pads, towels, dish soap, matches, cooking gear, toilet paper and garbage bags. Although visitors can drive within sight of the lookout, the 200-yard hike to the summit can be strenuous when carrying gear. The final 200 yards to the lookout are open to administrative traffic only. Natural Features On a clear day, guests at Snow Camp Lookout will see ocean waves crashing along Kellogg Beach, Point St. George and Castle Rock near Crescent City, California. Effects of the 2002 Biscuit Fire and the 2017 Chetco Bar Fire are obvious within the surroundings, though forested mountains and grassy hillsides dotted with pine trees extend from the lookout as well.

18.3 km away

Alfred A. Loeb

Campground: Alfred A. Loeb.

22.8 km away

LUDLUM HOUSE

Overview The Ludlum House is situated at the base of a mixed-conifer forest at the confluence of Wheeler Creek and the Winchuck River in southwestern Oregon, offering guests a unique setting for recreation and relaxation. The house was rebuilt in 1999 as a near-replica of the original two-story Ludlum family vacation house. Mr. Ludlum, an oil-company executive, constructed the house in 1939, then sold the property to the Forest Service following World War II. The accessible home offers some of the amenities needed for a comfortable lodging experience, although guests will need to bring several of their own supplies to ensure a safe and enjoyable stay. Recreation Hiking, wildlife viewing and fishing top the list of recreational opportunities in the area surrounding the Ludlum House. Just steps away from the banks of the Winchuck River, the cabin provides fantastic fishing opportunities for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead trout. The river is closed to fishing above the Wheeler Creek confluence to provide a refuge for wild fish, but anglers will some excellent steelhead waters below this point, including several miles on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Standard winter steelhead tactics such as drift fishing, floating jigs, or swinging flies work well on this gravel and cobble-bottomed river. Flies such as spruce flies or bucktail streamers work well for sea-run cutthroat. The Oregon Redwoods Trail provides a unique accessible hiking opportunity through a grove of majestic old-growth redwood trees. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about old-growth tree ecology, fire history, wildlife, and botany in the area along Peavine Ridge in the Winchuck River drainage. Redwood trees in this area represent the only coastal redwoods found in the Pacific Northwest Region, located at the limit of their northern range. The trail is an out/back design with a short loop at the far end, where a picnic stop is provided. A short wooden deck provides access to the inside of a hollowed redwood tree. Facilities Ludlum House is two stories and features one room on a lower floor, and a three-quarter dividing wall upstairs. The first floor, porch and surrounding grounds are all accessible. Picnic tables and a campfire ring are located near the cabin, as well as an accessible vault toilet. While the house and grounds can accommodate up to 60 guests maximum, there are no beds. The house is minimally furnished with a table and chairs, a sink and food preparation counter and a wood stove. There is no firewood available at this site, visitors must bring their own. Guests must also provide their own sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a light source (battery powered lights are preferred), towels, dish soap, matches, cooking gear, first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Water is available on site from a hand pump. Solar lighting is available, though it is recommended that guests bring an additional light source (battery operated lights). The use of candles is prohibited. Tent space and room for trailer parking is available near the cabin. Natural Features The Ludlum House is somewhat secluded and surrounded by a towering old-growth forest, with an expanse of lawn stretching out before it. Within an 1.5 hour drive from the house, guests have access to the rugged southern Oregon and northern California coasts and further south, the Redwood National Park . The nearby Winchuck River flows into the Pacific Ocean about 0.5 miles north of the Oregon and California border and approximately 5 miles south of Brookings, Oregon. Five major tributaries, Wheeler Creek, East Fork, Fourth of July Creek, Bear Creek and South Fork, make up the Winchuck River system. Mt. Emily, at 2,926 feet, is the highest point in the basin. Diverse landscapes p