Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout is a fire lookout in Lane County, Oregon. It sits roughly 29 km (18 mi) E of Oakridge.
The Waldo Mountain fire lookout is located atop Waldo Mountain, in the Willamette National Forest, Oregon. The original fire lookout tower was built on this site in 1926 and was a small cabin. In 1929 a cupola style lookout replaced the cabin. The current flat top lookout was built in 1956. The lookout is currently unstaffed and no longer a functioning lookout. This is hike #90 in William Sullivan's 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades. Sullivan describes the hike as a difficult 7.9 miles (12.7 km) loop with a 2,000' elevation gain.From the Wikipedia article “Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 56° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 238° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 70° in summer but only 23° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:12 AM | 90° E | 7:21 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:27 AM | 56° NE | 8:55 PM | 305° NW | 70° | 15h 27m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:56 AM | 89° E | 7:07 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:40 AM | 123° ESE | 4:35 PM | 238° WSW | 23° | 8h 55m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Lookouts are built for 360° views, so sunrise and sunset are both options — use the azimuths to decide which view you want.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:08 AM | 7:40 AM | 8:25 AM | 4:12 PM | 4:57 PM | 5:29 PM | 9h 17m |
| February | 6:39 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:49 AM | 4:58 PM | 5:39 PM | 6:08 PM | 10h 31m |
| March | 6:53 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:59 AM | 6:37 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:44 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:56 AM | 6:26 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:52 PM | 8:22 PM | 13h 26m |
| May | 5:11 AM | 5:44 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:27 PM | 9:01 PM | 14h 44m |
| June | 4:51 AM | 5:27 AM | 6:11 AM | 8:09 PM | 8:53 PM | 9:29 PM | 15h 26m |
| July | 5:06 AM | 5:41 AM | 6:24 AM | 8:06 PM | 8:49 PM | 9:24 PM | 15h 08m |
| August | 5:42 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:34 PM | 8:14 PM | 8:45 PM | 14h 00m |
| September | 6:20 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:26 AM | 6:43 PM | 7:21 PM | 7:49 PM | 12h 32m |
| October | 6:54 AM | 7:23 AM | 8:02 AM | 5:47 PM | 6:26 PM | 6:55 PM | 11h 03m |
| November | 6:33 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:47 AM | 4:01 PM | 4:44 PM | 5:15 PM | 9h 40m |
| December | 7:03 AM | 7:36 AM | 8:23 AM | 3:46 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:05 PM | 8h 56m |
Local time (America/Los Angeles), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 3.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 17° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 2 (typical truly dark site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| March | 5:00 AM – 5:40 AM | 0.7 | 14° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:56 AM – 4:36 AM | 1.7 | 17° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:00 AM – 3:30 AM | 2.5 | 17° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:15 PM – 2:55 AM | 3.7 | 17° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:02 PM – 1:42 AM | 2.7 | 17° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:05 PM – 11:35 PM | 1.5 | 16° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:58 PM – 9:38 PM | 0.7 | 14° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -20° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 2 Bortle 2 — Typical truly dark site. The summer Milky Way shows rich structure; clouds look like black holes in the stars. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.8 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show July as the clearest month (about 25% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (75%). August is the warmest month and December the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 64 | 64 | 70 | 78 | 87 | 94 | 103 | 99 | 96 | 86 | 74 | 58 |
| Low °F | 1 | -1 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 31 | 36 | 37 | 31 | 21 | 0 | -1 |
| Precip. (in) | 6.6 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 8.5 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this fire lookout
- Access roads may be rough or seasonal.
- Some lookouts can be rented overnight through recreation.gov, which puts you on site for both sunset and sunrise.
- Shoot the tower itself against the Milky Way or star trails on clear, moonless nights.
- Haze from wildfire smoke can turn the sun deep red but reduce visibility; check air quality.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Summer and early autumn; many towers are staffed only during fire season.
Suggested gear: Wide and telephoto lenses, Tripod, Warm layers. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout, closest first.
Wilderness AreaLake
Waterfall
Hot Spring
WaterfallWaterfall
Lake
Mountain Peak
Mountain PassCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Islet Campground7.6 km (4.7 mi) · reservable
- North Waldo7.7 km (4.8 mi) · reservable
- Shadow Bay9.3 km (5.8 mi) · reservable
- Skookum Creek Campground11.5 km (7.2 mi) · reservable
- Blair Lake Campground14.1 km (8.7 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout?
What time is golden hour at Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout?
Where does the sun rise and set at Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout?
Can you see the Milky Way from Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout?
How far is Waldo Mountain Fire Lookout from Oakridge?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.