Partnerships Made the Popular Suntop Lookout ADA-Accessible

by Zachary Toliver

Fire lookouts are perhaps the last destinations most people would recommend to someone searching out trails that meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility standards. These locations often come with long, grueling hikes on trails that can be in terrible shape. But thanks to work from a legion of volunteers, nonprofit and agency staff, the Suntop Fire Lookout off Highway 410 will soon be ADA-accessible, truly a trail for everyone.

The newly ADA-accessible Suntop Lookout nears completion thanks to EarthCorps, USFS and WTA. Photo by trip report Wild Recharge.

A ROOM WITH A VIEW

On a peak 5,721 feet in the sky, overlooking the White River Valley, the Suntop Fire Lookout is one of four staffed lookouts in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. While many other lookouts have turned into private rentals, Suntop has remained in active service since its construction in 1932.

Speaking from firsthand experience, one can’t help but feel present and at a loss for words gazing out at lower summits in every direction. It’s a feeling more people should have the ability to experience. Suntop offers an astounding view of Mount Tahoma (Rainier), but perhaps more exceptional than the view is that during the snow-free season, folks hungry for such a spectacular site can drive right up to Suntop, making this gem one of the most accessible peaks in the state.

That drive made it the perfect candidate to become Washington’s first ADA-accessible fire lookout.

Views like this should be available to all hikers, and the work we did at Suntop will help increase access to views like this to all. Photo courtesy Zachary Toliver

Honoring 90 Years of firespotting

From approximately mid-June to late September, volunteers and professionals keep sharp lookout for fires, and members of the public can hike or drive to the little house on a hill to talk to volunteers or just enjoy the view.

• For access
• John Hearing noted that as this project was considered, many people involved urged that the lookout remain a staffed facility so the public could continue to visit and learn, and not be turned into a private rental.

But wheelchair hikers were limited by the stairs to the area around the lookout, and couldn't access the structure itself. So in 2018, Forest Service employees Mary Coughlin, Todd Schmutz, and Brian McNeil along with Snoqualmie Fire Lookouts Association (SFLA) volunteer John Hearing cooked up a plan for an ADA renovation to the iconic Suntop Lookout.

“The concept [is] that the lookout is not just open to the public to see an operational fire lookout, but is open to everyone to be able to visit. And even further: the potential for persons with mobility disabilities to be able to train and serve as fire lookouts!” Hearing stated.

Coughlin secured a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office — who wholeheartedly supported this novel idea — to help cover labor and material cost. With money secured, the rally for support and volunteers came next.

Balancing History with Pragmatism

John Hearing wrote a letter detailing the lengths that dedicated stewards like him had gone through over the past five years to move the Suntop Project forward.

“Given the historic nature of this building, there was a lot of debate over the proposed changes to this iconic lookout. Yet historical records showed that the Suntop building had a number of changes over its 90 years of service, most recently in 1986-89, when the entire lookout was disassembled, refurbished, and then reassembled on a new rock foundation.”

Thanks to Hearing's research and letter, Forest Service managers agreed that the value of the final product would be worth the modifications, and Suntop was officially greenlit for a facelift.

Improvements underway

Eagle Scout Nolan Bjorkman broke ground first with his proposal for an ADA-standard access trail from the parking area to the lookout.

Bjorkman’s trail project replaced a number of rocky, steep “social trails” with 350 feet of an ADA-standard, 5% grade trail with a tamped gravel surface and a number of resting spots. His project involved nearly 100 person-days of labor and 683 hours.

Meanwhile, John Hearing began plans for the deck structure (above right), drawing on expertise from engineer Casey Nakatani and construction contractor Mike Cunningham.

The plans were made consulting to ADA standards. Construction will include a 5-foot deck all the way around, a 5-foot-wide ramp up to the deck and a unique modification to the lookout — turning one of the window sections into a hinged door to enable wheelchairs to enter the lookout.

A volunteer inspires a Crew Leader

After five minutes in John’s presence, even the most stoic humans would light up with inspiration. I first heard about Suntop’s ADA-accessible overhaul during a USFS meeting that brought together the many varied outdoor steward organizations of the 410 corridor.

John gave an impressive rundown filled with the confidence of true leadership. His passion for this region, its history, and its sustainability moved me to the point that I’m hoping to become a lookout volunteer myself!

In addition to volunteering my own time on the Suntop project, I was able to connect with my former WTA colleague and friend Britt Lê to help out. Britt, now a Senior Project Manager at EarthCorps, prioritizes partnering with WTA and our agency partners to provide opportunities for her crews to gain more hands-on trail work  experience. When she reached out looking for projects for the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) members of EarthCorps, I jumped at the chance to get the crew in on something truly historical.

Britt Le and Zachary Toliver pose for a photo during a work party at Suntop Lookout. Photo courtesy Zachary Toliver.

Britt is an adept hiker and backpacker, but noted that she’s spent countless hours seeking accessible natural spaces.

“My parents are elderly and have some mobility issues, so whenever they visit, I face the challenge of finding  outdoor spaces that are easily accessible by car and require, at most, only a short walk with minimal elevation  gain and loss.”

She also gave important insight on how dismantling barriers to outdoor spaces like Suntop benefits everyone.

“These spots remind me that while my love for hiking and backpacking might be a forever thing, my physical ability to access remote places is not a lifelong guarantee. I feel proud to have now worked at a place that I can take my parents to the next time they visit! I'll be able to point to the deck and say, 'Look, that's where I struggled to use an impact drill!'"

Suntop reminded me of the truly beautiful feats we can accomplish as a community. In one way or another, members of the USFS, Eagle Scouts, SFLA, WTA, EarthCorps and numerous volunteers from other pockets of the region all helped create something magnificent in this area: access.

Building a better trail system together takes time

Our world so often excludes human beings who have mobility and physical disabilities. The fight against this marginalization is as old as civilization. But the Americans with Disabilities Act wasn’t passed into law until 1990.

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act — which expanded the legal definition of “disability” and focuses on whether or not discrimination occurs in a given case — only became effective in 2009. If other civil rights movements have shown us anything, its that we have so much work to do in the fight for equity.

WTA has long been a solutions-forward organization in the outdoor industry. In a recent Seattle Times article, WTA CEO Jaime Loucky stated: “We are at a pivotal moment in outdoor recreation … How do we make sure it’s  welcoming and inclusive to everybody who lives in our state and wants to recreate?”

I truly believe an answer to this question exists somewhere in the Suntop fire lookout project. Outdoor recreation can only be sustainable when people share a connection with these lands.

And to have that connection, access must come first. So when groups come together, share knowledge, and build community around opening outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy, we all win.

Zach poses for a moment with the EarthCorps crew at Suntop Lookout with Rainier in the background. Photo courtesy Zachary Toliver.