Located in the Cascade Range at 5,187 feet, this mountain observatory offers panoramic views across 65 square miles of black lava rock that looks so much like a moonscape that in 1964, NASA conducted drills with astronauts as they prepared to travel to the moon. Completed in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the observatory was named in memory of Dee Wright, the crew’s foreman who passed away the year before.

Trees at D. Wright Conservatory

Lake at D. Wright Conservatory

View at D. Wright Conservatory

View at D. Wright Conservatory

Hike at D. Wright Conservatory

Viewpoint at D. Wright Conservatory

View at D. Wright Conservatory

View at D. Wright Conservatory

Approaching the lake at D. Wright Conservatory

Approaching the lake at D. Wright Conservatory

Expanse of volcanic rock at D. Wright Conservatory

Approaching D. Wright Conservatory

Understory at D. Wright Conservatory

Lake at D. Wright Conservatory

Clearing at D. Wright Conservatory

Canopy at D. Wright Conservatory

Conversation at D. Wright Conservatory

Volcanic Rock at D. Wright Conservatory

Observers atop D. Wright Conservatory

Charred logs at D. Wright Conservatory

Reflections at D. Wright Conservatory
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