Many travelers aspire to find unconventional places to fully enjoy a vacation that is truly off the beaten path, experiencing a real break from the usual routine to enjoy the silence and sounds that only nature can offer.
Unusual places for an Into The Wild-style experience, visiting still-virgin areas, untouched by humans, free from mass tourism. It is still possible to find such solutions by staying in the historic forest “cabins” of the U.S. Forest Service located atop fire lookout towers, the fire lookout.
Fire lookout towers, fire lookout
These structures are unique and are part of the history of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, in the United States. They were mostly used in the early twentieth century by the Forest Service to monitor fires. During the Great Depression in America, the Civilian Conservation Corps – President Roosevelt’s “green” army – were assigned construction projects across the country, including over 600 fire lookouts.
The use of fire lookouts peaked in 1938, with over 800 towers in use – during the summer – in the northern USA regions. After World War II, the number significantly decreased. By 1964, only 250 lookouts were still in use. While some of these lookouts are no longer operational for fire monitoring due to the advent of new technology with fire detection systems, some towers are still maintained to offer scenic viewpoints to forest visitors, usually with a view covering a radius of at least 32 kilometers.
Sleeping in Fire Lookout Towers
Other lookouts are now rented out for short holiday periods and those seeking recreation in nature, thus being revived for a new use to accommodate guests with a rental formula, however bookable well in advance. Today there are 10 towers in Idaho, 24 in Montana and 2 in Wyoming that are part of the U.S. Forest Service recreational program.
Some towers are accessible by dirt roads, others require being reached via trails, carrying your own luggage and essential supplies. They are not always within easy reach but the memory of nights spent in history, in the natural beauty and silence of “wild” places, will remain forever.
Each structure rewards the senses with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, with ample opportunities for wildlife spotting and hiking. It is the dream come true: being in a high-altitude refuge, touching the great skies of the American Northwest, and with your eyes fixed on endless horizons dominating vast open spaces and listening only to the sounds of the natural environment.
An invitation to walks, healthy reading or writing poetry and novels, or other hobbies. Many of these towers offer simple accommodation, sometimes without electricity and water.
Mostly available in the summer season, they usually accommodate up to 4 people. Start imagining yourself overlooking from a rustic 4 x 4-meter cabin, on top of a remote tower with views as far as the eye can see. You learn to follow the rhythms of nature and the balcony will soon become the place where you feel most content with yourself in a sanctuary of contemplation far from the noise of modernity. It is like a spiritual retreat. As Norman Maclean – Montana writer – wrote in his short novel “A River Runs Through It”: “It doesn’t take much in the way of mind and body to be a lookout. It’s mostly soul” (it doesn’t take much in terms of mind and body to become a lookout. It’s mostly a matter of the soul).
The furnishing of the lookout towers
The space of the fire lookout observers is furnished with the essentials: table, chairs, a wood stove, beds and cots, (but sheets are not provided). Some may have some dishes, but in most cases you need to bring your own kitchen utensils. Usually, electricity and water are not available. It may happen that you have to chop wood for the stove and the axe is available. Toilets are outside.
Some accommodations provide lanterns, but it is advisable to bring flashlights. Phones do not exist and in rare cases, cell reception is available. If you don’t mind organizing a well-equipped luggage for the experience of staying at the top of the world, try the experience of a few days in a “lookout“!
It is only necessary to book many months in advance and follow every instruction and information given. The places are remote, with rudimentary services and require only adaptability. Certainly, they are “hidden treasures” suitable for few or true travelers! Reservations are made through the National Recreation Reservation System (NRRS) on the website Recreation.gov where the daily fee for each lookout is highlighted and the booking is finalized with a credit card. They are inexpensive, between 40-50 dollars per day. The fees applied for renting the lookouts contribute to financing the system, maintaining for the future high-quality experiences aimed at the public while also expanding the range of recreational opportunities, emphasizing forest services.
Double Arrow Lookout, Montana
The Double Arrow Lookout in the Lolo National Forest of Montana, just 2 miles west of Seeley Lake in Missoula County, is on the National Historic Lookout Register. This lookout tower from 1933, operational until 1980, is part of the Recreation Rental program.
From May to October, it offers guests the opportunity to admire the Seeley valley and the nearby Swan Mountains from a different vantage point with the unique advantage of being high up on the heights. The tower cabin (measuring 4m x 4m) contains some modern amenities, including electricity, heating, a wood stove for cooking, and a small refrigerator. The outdoor toilet is a few steps from the tower. It accommodates up to 4 people in two single beds and two camp cots. It leaves guests the freedom to personalize it with their own equipment.
There is cell phone service in the area. Nevertheless, guests must provide their own sheets, cooking utensils, and food, as well as cleaning and washing supplies. Each guest must bring food, wipes, soap, trash bags, toilet paper, and whatever else they consider necessary. The cabin must be left clean before leaving. The lookout tower is accessible by car, but the dirt road requires a vehicle with good ground clearance. Each guest is responsible for planning the transfer and trip, as well as their own safety.
In the nearby mountains, there are a variety of recreational opportunities, but the panoramic view is what mostly attracts people to stay in this tower. The forest shelters a variety of plants, trees, and wildlife and is the habitat of mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, American deer, deer, grizzly and black bears. It is home to bald and golden eagles that live in the forest, as well as wild swans, herons, and a variety of ducks.
There are numerous trails leading from the tower to the nearby mountains and valleys. Seeley Lake is only 3 km from the Double Arrow Lookout and is open to fishing, boating, and other water recreation activities. There is also a sandy beach with ample shaded areas for those who simply want to relax and enjoy the alpine setting. The tower is close to the Clearwater River Canoe Trail, spectacular for bird and wildlife watching, as well as offering unparalleled views. The 5.6 km route can be completed in a couple of hours exclusively on the water, paddling.
Surveyors Lookout, Idaho
In Idaho most lookouts are located in the northern part of the state, the area commonly called the Panhandle, which features numerous forests and lakes and is undeniably a tribute to wilderness. The Surveyors Lookout rests on a tower about 9 meters high, offering a phenomenal view of the Snow Peak mountain summit and the surrounding mountains.
This structure is on the National Historic Register for Lookouts and offers guests a unique experience in the Panhandle National Forest, an environment boasting 400 wildlife species including lynxes and grizzly bears, as well as 73 species of river and lake fish. Originally the tower was built in 1931 as part of a network of lookouts used to spot fires in the Upper St. Joe Country region. In 1964 the structure was replaced with the current wooden one. Access is via a single-lane dirt road for which a jeep is recommended.
Surveyors Lookout is located at the top of the Surveyors Ridge chain at an altitude of 1800 m. The 9-meter-high lookout tower overlooks the spectacular Mallard-Larkins Pioneer Area, which straddles the divide between the watershed of the Little North Fork Clearwater River and the North Fork Clearwater River.
Among other lookouts – Snow Peak, Middle Sister, and Mallard Peak – are clearly visible from the Surveyors. The lookout can accommodate 4 people and among the furniture features a stove for cooking, a stove for heating, and lighting powered by propane cylinders. Two twin beds and another two mattresses are provided along with a chest of drawers. A refrigerator is also available, though small, but a cooler with ice is recommended; pots and pans with utensils are provided. There is no drinking water with the alternative of collecting water from the natural source only 2 km away and boiling it. Therefore, luggage must include food, sheets, a first aid kit, dish soap, wipes and personal hygiene products, as well as binoculars and a water container.
Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tower, Wyoming
In Wyoming the choice falls on Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tower available from June to September, in the southeastern part of the state. Perched on the forest-covered mountain, the tower offers a unique experience within the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming, which covers 1 million acres. This historic fire lookout tower over 16 meters tall was renovated and opened to the public for recreational lodging in 1977. It is reachable by car. From the top of the lookout, you can dominate the panorama with the summit of Medicine Bow Peak at 3661 meters, the Rob Roy Reservoir basin, Jelm Mountain, and the southern slope of the Snowy Range chain. In June, as the snow melts, wildflowers bloom, dotting the rocky hills thick with forests with colors. Wildlife species, especially American deer, elk, black bears, cougars, squirrels, foxes, and bats, find support from the diverse forest habitats of the area.
At three thousand meters altitude, one must acclimate, and summer temperatures reach 21°C, with strong thermal fluctuations at night or during thunderstorms, reaching as low as -1°C. The entire area around the lookout offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding. Ideal for those who simply want to relax and picnic, have campfires, and admire the starry skies at night. Rob Roy Reservoir is only 10 km by car and invites fishing, boating, and water skiing. In the nearby tributary Douglas Creek, you can even organize a gold-seeking excursion.
The lookout tower provides some basic services: two beds with mattresses to accommodate two people; table, chairs, dishes, plates, kitchen utensils, cleaning products, heating, stove for cooking with oven, and propane lighting. An outdoor toilet and a campfire at the base of the tower. There is also a hand winch for transferring equipment to the tower cabin. There is neither water nor electricity. It is therefore suggested to bring water for drinking and washing and to carry a sleeping bag, flashlight or lamp, wipes, dish soap, matches, toilet paper, trash bags, or a first aid kit. Food and trash must be removed, leaving the lookout clean and orderly for the next guest.
Lookout Cookbook
The Lookout Cookbook is a beautiful collection of recipes, history, personal anecdotes, and over 100 photographic images. Seventy recipes from breakfast to dessert have been collected from people who have served or currently serve in fire lookout stations. This book offers a glimpse into an experiential dimension of a summer spent in isolation in a lookout. The Lookout Cookbook simultaneously highlights these historic structures and their preservation. It is a publication curated by the Museum of North Idaho.
©Thema Nuovi Mondi
