Dee Wright Observatory, Stone observation point in McKenzie Pass, Oregon.

Dee Wright Observatory is an open shelter of basaltic andesite lava at the summit of McKenzie Pass, 5,325 feet up in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. The stone was gathered at the site, and the viewing windows are cut to frame individual peaks. A 36-inch bronze peak finder sits on the roof, and the half-mile Lava River Interpretive Trail starts at the shelter.

The observatory was built during the Great Depression by a Civilian Conservation Corps crew from Camp Belknap near Clear Lake and completed in 1935. It was named for the crew's foreman, who had died the previous year after 24 years as a Forest Service packer and crew foreman at Camp Belknap. The Forest Service still maintains it.

On the roof of the structure, a bronze peak finder helps visitors put names to the summits visible on the horizon. It turns a simple walk around the building into a more engaged way of reading the volcanic landscape.

The observatory sits on McKenzie Pass and the road leading to it is typically closed to vehicles in winter due to snow. Visiting in summer or early fall gives the best chance of reaching the site without any access issues.

The window openings cut into the walls are each aligned to frame a specific distant peak when viewed from inside the building. Their rough, irregular edges mimic the shape of lava tubes, making them look more like natural formations than constructed openings.