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Fire lookout · Riverside County, California

Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF)

Also known as Black Mountain Fire Lookout

A 1962 steel cab now tops Black Mountain; the first lookout there dates to 1926 and was moved to Barton Peak. Volunteers staff it in fire season.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. Walk-in public access during the staffed season, generally Memorial Day to November; Forest Service current conditions read 'Closed for the season'

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
About half a mile on foot from Boulder Basin Campground (1-mile round trip on a dirt road), or the longer Black Mountain Trail
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerCL-100 steel cab with flat corrugated metal roof and metal mesh catwalk on a solid rock outcrop (completed 1962); the earlier structure was a California Region 5 Plan 4AR cabin on a 10 ft open timber towerThe designs: D-5 (4-AR), CL-100
Built of
Not recorded
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,635 ft (2,327 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest, San Jacinto Ranger District
Land
Federal land
Location
Riverside County, California
Coordinates
33.82348, −116.75627
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-black-mountain-san-bernadino-nf

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.1 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1926 BuiltFirst lookout on Black Mountain per the Forest Service; the third lookout built on the San Bernardino National Forest. NHLR dates the original cabin to the late 1910s or early 1920sSources: fs.usda.gov, nhlr.org
  2. 1928 StaffedRita Morris of Hemet announced for the summer season, described as the first woman lookout in Southern California (May 1, 1928 newspaper item, quoted on a lookout history site)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1929 StaffedA May 31, 1929 newspaper item says Morris had again gone on duty at the Black Mountain station (secondhand, via lookout history site)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1934 MovedOriginal Plan 4AR cabin on a 10 ft open timber tower moved to Barton Peak; NHLR says 1934, the Forest Service says 1935Sources: fs.usda.gov, nhlr.org
  5. 1935 MovedThe original lookout was taken down and rebuilt on Barton Peak.Source: mountainsfoundation.org
  6. No record between 1935 and 1962
  7. 1962 BuiltCurrent CL-100 steel cab completed on Black Mountain (NHLR and Forest Service); a bronze plaque reportedly dated 1962 is noted in a photo log, not used hereSources: fs.usda.gov, nhlr.org
  8. 1962 Replaced by a new structureThe Barton Peak location was discontinued when the new lookout was completed on Black MountainSource: nhlr.org
  9. No record between 1962 and 1998
  10. 1998 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered October 1, 1998 as NHLR US 289, CA 22Source: nhlr.org
  11. No record between 1998 and 2017
  12. 2017 RestoredSeveral items repaired after a winter break-in.Source: firelookout.org
  13. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Forest Service says the first lookout on Black Mountain went up in 1926, making it the third lookout built on the San Bernardino National Forest.1 The National Historic Lookout Register describes that first structure differently: a California Region 5 Plan 4AR cabin on a 10-foot open timber tower, built in the late 1910s or early 1920s.2 Both sources say the original was moved to Barton Peak in the mid-1930s, but the register gives 1934 and the Forest Service gives 1935.1,2

The cab that stands on the summit now was completed in 1962.1,2 According to the register, the summit cab is a steel CL-100 design with a level roof of corrugated sheet metal, a mesh walkway, and a base resting on solid rock.2 The Barton Peak site was discontinued once the new lookout was finished.2

A May 1, 1928 announcement, quoted on a lookout history site, said Rita Morris of Hemet would be on duty at the Black Mountain station during the coming summer, and called her the first woman lookout in Southern California.3 A 1929 item says she had again gone on duty there.3

The register says the cab stayed in service through the 1980s, after which the Forest Service and Lookout Host volunteers restored it.2

Today the lookout is staffed by volunteers during fire season, usually open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a season that generally runs from Memorial Day to November.1 The register says Lookout Hosts staff it seven days a week, which is a different schedule from the Forest Service's fire-season hours, so check before you go.2 From Boulder Basin Campground, the walk is a mile round trip along a dirt road; the Black Mountain Trail is the longer alternative.1 The Forest Service page currently reads "Closed for the season," so confirm it is open before setting out.1

The Southern California Mountains Foundation says the San Bernardino National Forest's seven fire lookouts rely on volunteers and welcome visitors from spring through fall.4

  1. Black Mountain Fire Lookout, San Bernardino National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sanbernardino/recreation/black-mountain-fire-lookout (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF), National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/black-mountain-lookout-san-bernadino-nf/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Black Mountain, Forest Lookouts (California), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/black-mountain1.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Fire Lookouts Program, Southern California Mountains Foundation, https://mountainsfoundation.org/programs/fire-lookouts (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Black Mountain Lookout 2009
Black Mountain Lookout 2009 (2009)Photo: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF)
Photo: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF)
Photo: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF)
Photo: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Black Mountain Lookout (San Bernadino NF)
Photo: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Osborne Fire-Finder
Osborne Fire-FinderPhoto: Brad Eells, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
California Plan 4AR Cabin - Circa 1920's
California Plan 4AR Cabin - Circa 1920's (1920)Photo: Cleveland National Forest Archive, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1962
    • recreation.gov: 1926
    • Southern California Mountains Foundation: 1926

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Gave us: ownership, access Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Southern California Mountains Foundation Gave us: dates, links Southern California Mountains Foundation (mountainsfoundation.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, what happened). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the foundation's page it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  7. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  8. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages Gave us: register numbers, links FFLA chapters and Friends groups (each link names the group) · Links to the groups' own pages; facts only from the California-South chapter's tower table (register page, operator, condition). No text or photos reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, visiting details, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

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