Many travelers aspire to find unconventional places to fully enjoy a vacation that is truly out of the ordinary, experiencing a real break from the usual routine to enjoy the silences and sounds that only nature can offer.
Unusual places for an Into The Wild-style experience and to visit 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 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 declined sharply. By 1964 only 250 lookouts were still in use. While some of these lookouts are no longer operational for fire monitoring due to new technologies with fire detection systems, some towers are still maintained to offer scenic spots to forest visitors, usually with views covering a radius of at least 32 kilometers.
Sleeping in Fire Lookout Towers
Other lookouts are today rented for short vacation periods and those seeking recreation in nature, thus reviving a new use to accommodate guests with the rental formula, bookable, however, well in advance. Today there are 10 towers in Idaho, 24 in Montana and 2 in Wyoming that are part of the recreational program of the U.S. Forest Service.
Some towers are accessible from dirt roads, others instead require being reached by 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 wildlife spotting and hiking opportunities. It is a dream come true: being in a high-altitude refuge, touching the great skies of the American Northwest, and with your eyes fixed on infinite 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 frugal accommodation, sometimes without electricity and water.
Available mostly in the summer season, they usually accommodate up to 4 people. Start imagining yourself looking out 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 – a 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 is 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. Generally, electricity and water are not available. It may happen that you have to cut wood for the stove and an axe is available. The toilets are outside.
Some accommodations provide lanterns, but it is good to have flashlights. Phones do not exist and in rare cases cell phone reception is available. If you don’t mind organizing 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 a matter of booking many months in advance and following every instruction and information given. The places are remote, with rudimentary services and require only adaptability. Certainly, they are “hidden treasures” suited to few or true travelers! Reservations are made through the National Recreation Reservation System (NRRS) on the website Recreation.gov where the daily rate for each lookout is highlighted and finalizing the booking with a credit card. They cost little, between 40-50 dollars per day. The fees applied for renting lookouts contribute to financing the system, maintaining high-quality experiences for the public in the future and at the same time 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 fire 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 well 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 just a few steps from the tower. It accommodates up to 4 people on two single beds and two camp cots. Guests are given the freedom to customize it with their own equipment.
There is cellphone service in the area. Nevertheless, those staying must provide their own sheets, cooking utensils, and food, as well as cleaning and washing products. Every guest must bring food, wipes, soap, garbage bags, toilet paper, and whatever else they consider necessary. The cabin must be left clean before departure. The lookout tower is accessible by car, but the dirt road requires a vehicle with good ground clearance. Each guest is responsible for planning transport and travel, as well as for their own safety.
The nearby mountains offer a variety of recreational opportunities, but the panoramic view is what most attracts people to stay in this tower. The forest houses a variety of plants, trees, and wildlife and is the habitat of mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, elk, deer, grizzly and black bears. Populated by bald and golden eagles residing in the forest, as well as wild swans, herons, and a variety of ducks.
There are numerous trails that lead from the tower to the nearby mountains and valleys. Seeley Lake is only 3 km from the Double Arrow Lookout and is open for fishing, boating, and other water recreational 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 a short distance from the Clearwater River Canoe Trail, spectacular for birdwatching and wildlife viewing, as well as offering unparalleled views. The 5.6 km route can be completed in a couple of hours entirely 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 unquestionably a tribute to wilderness. The Surveyors Lookout rests on a tower about 9 meters tall, offering a phenomenal view of the Snow Peak mountain summit and the surrounding mountains.
This structure is listed in the National Historic Register for Lookouts and offers guests a unique experience in the Panhandle National Forest, an environment that boasts 400 species of wildlife 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 one-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-tall 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 cooking stove, a heating stove, and lighting powered by propane bottles. Two twin beds and two additional mattresses are provided along with a dresser. A refrigerator, although small, is also available, but it is suggested to bring a cooler with ice; pots and pans with utensils are provided. There is no potable water, with the alternative of collecting water from the natural source only 2 km away and boiling it. Therefore, luggage should 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 the 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, standing over 16 meters tall, was restored and opened to the public for recreational lodging in 1977. It is accessible by car. From the top of the lookout, you can overlook the view including the Medicine Bow Peak summit at 3661 meters, the Rob Roy Reservoir basin, the Jelm Mountain, and the southern slope of the Snowy Range chain. In June, with the thaw, wildflowers bloom, speckling the densely forested rocky hills with color. Wildlife species, especially American deer, elk, black bears, pumas, squirrels, foxes, and bats receive support from the diverse wooded habitats in the area.
At three thousand meters of altitude, one must acclimate, and summer temperatures reach 21°C, with strong temperature fluctuations at night or during thunderstorms, even dropping to -1°C. The entire area around the lookout offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, and 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 just 10 km away by car and invites fishing, boating, and water skiing. In the nearby tributary Douglas Creek, you can even organize an excursion in search of gold.
The lookout tower offers some essential services: two beds with mattresses to accommodate two people; table, chairs, dishes, plates, kitchen utensils, cleaning products, heating, a stove for cooking with an oven, and propane lighting. An outdoor toilet and a campfire at the base of the tower. There is also a manual winch for transferring equipment to the tower cabin. There is no water or electricity. It is therefore suggested to bring water for drinking and washing, and to prepare with a sleeping bag, torch or lamp, wipes, dish soap, matches, toilet paper, trash bags, or a first aid kit. Food and garbage must be taken away, leaving the lookout clean and tidy 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 gathered 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 also emphasizes these historic structures and their preservation. It is a publication curated by the Museum of North Idaho.
©Thema Nuovi Mondi
