From Enumclaw, take 410 for 24 miles to a right turn on FR 73 (Huckleberry Creek Road). Drive 1.5 miles to the Sun Top Sno-Park. If summer, turn left on FR #7315 and follow it 5 miles to the saddle south of the summit. Here is another gate that is often closed. If open, drive up. If closed, walk the road or take a short half mile trail up the south side to the summit.
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Sun Top Lookout

Ski it, hike it, bike it, snowshoe it or just drive it. Sun Top is a mountain for everyone. The Sun Top summit has a lookout building, picnic tables and a stunning view of Mt. Rainier. Perfectly perched between Huckleberry Creek and White River, Sun Top is the start of a wedge that reaches all the way to Sunrise inside the National Park. The road is often groomed for cross-country skiing.
Distance: 0 to 5.5 miles
Summit Elevation: 5,271 feet
Elevation Gain: 0 to 2,900 feet
Access: Good Gravel
Hwy. 410 Hikes
Access:
Sun Top Lookout Map Rainier from sun top Sun Top Lookout Sun Top Lookout sun top picnic Sun Top view Slide Mountain White River Valley
Looking south toward Slide Mountain
White River Valley
Sun Top view north 1998
Sun Top view
Sun Top Lookout in winter January 16, 1998
Sun Top Lookout in summer 1999
Cascade Lookouts
suntop lookout suntop lookout suntop lookout suntop lookout Sun Top Sun Top Sun Top Sun Top
The ground level L-4 hip cab was built in 1934. It is on the National Historic Lookout Register, used for emergency purposes. A patrol point was said to also be part of this lookout located 1.5 miles south, sometimes called the Buck Creek Firefinder. Along with the 3 panoramic (and one supplement) photos taken in 1934 at the Suntop lookout, another supplement photo was taken from the patrol point, giving us the exact location (see link below). Suntop was also part of the Aircraft Warning Service in 1942 and 1943. Some pictures show it looking like a completly different looking structure. New siding was added over the old, also new x-braced plywood shutters installed removing the old shutters. The original panel door had also been altered. A more recent rehabilitation appears to have made the lookout back to the more original designs.
Lookout History:
Sun Top Lookout Sun Top Lookout Sun Top Sun Top suntop lookout suntop lookout suntop lookout Lookout Museum cliff Shed Shed
Sun Top Lookout in summer 2016
Sun Top Lookout in 2016
View North 8-14-1934
View Southeast 8-14-1934
View Southwest 8-14-1934
View Northeast (nearby lookout)8-14-1934
Shed in the 1934 North Panoramic
Shed in 2016
Item in the Fire Lookout Museum in Spokane
1988
1989 after rehabilitation
1988 south side front entrance
October 1989 after rehabilitation
Inside 2016
Sun Top 2016
suntop lookout Picnic area suntop lookout suntop lookout
Picnic area
View Southeast 2016
View North 2016
View Southwest 2016
Horses elevation
Horses in the 1934 Southwest Panoramic
buck creek
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Buck Creek Firefinder Page
mountaineers sun top aws aws suntop mountaineers trail sign sun top Supplies sun top sun top map
AWS map with SunTop (used in summer)
CCC Improvements list on July 6, 1933
1950s mountaineers hike
1950s mountaineers hike
1950s mountaineers hike
Supplies to Suntop
Old trail sign 1959
Mrs. Bautelle chopping wood. July 1943. Picture taken by R.N. McCullough
Label said: McCullough 1940
Sun Top lookout in 1943
Sun Top Lookout in 1943
AWS information