Dee Wright Observatory

Lava-rock observation tower on McKenzie Pass with panoramic Cascade views

The Dee Wright Observatory stands at the high point of McKenzie Pass on the old Highway 242, about half an hour west of Sisters. It is a squat round tower built entirely of lava rocks during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the windows are arranged so that each frames a specific Cascade peak — Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, the Three Sisters, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack — each labelled by a bronze plaque on the parapet.

The drive up Highway 242 is one of the great Oregon scenic drives, winding through the Belknap and Yapoah lava flows — vast expanses of black volcanic rubble. The Lava River Interpretive Trail at the observatory is a short paved loop with signs explaining the geology. Note: Highway 242 is only open from early summer until the first heavy snow (typically October-November), and is the kind of narrow, twisty road on which RVs and large trucks are explicitly banned.

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A story
The observatory was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, using lava rocks gathered from the surrounding flow. Dee Wright was the CCC camp foreman who supervised the construction and died before it was finished — the structure is his memorial. The bronze direction finder on top points to seven of the major Cascade peaks, with their elevations and distances inscribed.