Butler Butte Cabin

Step into the Butler Butte Cabin and step back in time to the days of WWII, when the threat of forest fires wasn’t just from lightning strikes.

The one room cabin is furnished with a double bed and two single beds, as well as a table and chairs. It is equipped with a propane heater, cook stove and oven, refrigerator and lights. There is no water on site; visitors must bring plenty of water for drinking, cooking and washing. Potable water is available at a spigot in front of the Tiller Ranger Station office.

There is a metal outdoor fire pit with a metal barbeque grill for cooking and a campfire ring, as well as a picnic table. A vault toilet is located near by.

• Availability: Butler Butte Cabin will be closed due to maintenance until further notice.
• Price & Capacity: $40 per night per group, with a maximum of eight occupants. Fees are used directly for the maintenance and preservation of the cabin.
• Reservations: Reservations must be made at least two days in advance. The maximum-length stay is seven consecutive nights. Phone 1-877-444-6777 or visit www.recreation.gov.

The Butler Butte cabin was built in 1942 as an Aircraft Warning System (AWS) Station. The site was chosen as a strategic location to watch for Japanese planes and balloons loaded with incendiary devices meant to set American west coast forests on fire. Observers staffed the stations on the mountain tops and watched for any signs of an invasion or fire. A 20-foot lookout tower, built in 1932 for fire lookout purposes, was also used by AWS from early 1942 to October 16, 1943. After the threat of invasion subsided the lookout and cabin were used for fire observation purposes.