Pickett Butte is a two point summit east of Canyonville in southern Oregon. This 3296' peak has a lookout cabin on top of a 40' tower. The cabin is rented when not in fire lookout service. It was occupied on the June day we hiked up. The government guidelines specify that it is ok to hike from the locked gate to the summit when the cabin is rented. Just don't disturb the occupants. The hike from the gate to the summit was a little over 1/2 mile with 400' of elevation gain.
The summit is pleasant with a number of support points for an antenna. There is a picnic table that makes a comfortable activation site. I mounted a push-up mast to a small tree and brought the EFHW wire down to the table. We said hello to the cabin renters and didn't interact with them again. We did not climb the lookout tower, but the view is no doubt
This is evidently bear country. As we hiked up, our Pyrenees dog flushed and chased a small bear down into the woods. He barked a bit then returned to us. As we drove out, we came around a corner and flushed a much larger bear back into the woods.
The Google Maps directions seem to work, but there is some road name confusion east of Tiller, OR.
The recreation.gov website is slightly different in this region, but that got us to the summit OK too:
Directions: From Canyonville take West 1st Street and turn onto SE 3rd St/OR-227. Continue to follow OR-227 approximately 23 miles until you reach Tiller. From Tiller take *Douglas County Road #46 for 3 miles to the Pickett Butte turn off which is marked as Forest Service Road #3113 (on the right across the bridge). Follow Forest Service Road #3113 approximately 5 miles up to the 300 Spur Road sign (#3113-300). Take the 300 Spur Road up to the lookout (2 miles). The road to the lookout is not snow plowed.
