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Fire lookout · Mendocino County, California

Pine Mountain Lookout

A 1933 BC-201 lookout-fireman cabin on Mendocino NF with a 180-degree view, used as a WWII aircraft warning post and now restored and rentable.

Visit & stay

You can rent this lookout for overnight stays through recreation.gov.

Season
May through October and is accessible by car
Getting there
The lookout is typically open from May through October and is accessible by car.

Rules

  • No water or electricity on site
  • Pack out all trash

Overview Rustic Pine Mountain Lookout was constructed in 1933 and used for fire detection until 1942. During World War II, the lookout served as part of an aircraft defense monitoring system that extended throughout California. This lookout is historically significant because it only offers 180-degree views of the surrounding terrain, while other lookouts have 360-degree views. The lookout is typically open from May through October and is accessible by car. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and will need to bring several of their own supplies for a comfortable and enjoyable experience at the lookout. Recreation The lookout mostly offers a prime location for relaxing and enjoying the views. Guests craving more active pursuits can find hiking trails and hunting areas nearby. Floating and fishing on the Eel River are popular pastimes enjoyed by visitors to the area. Facilities The inside of the cabin is equipped with a set of bunk beds and four cots, touch lights, a dining table with chairs and storage cabinets. A fire extinguisher and first aid kit are provided for emergency use. A picnic table, fire ring and grill are located outside. An outhouse with a vault toilet is a short distance away. There is no water and electricity. Guests must bring their own water supply, as well as trash bags to pack out their trash. The bunk bed does not have box springs or mattresses. Items such as bedding, lanterns or flashlights, firewood, cookware, utensils and extra toilet paper are not provided. Natural Features The lookout is perched on an outcropping, at an elevation of 4,400 feet. It is in a mixed forest of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, black oak and madrone trees. Bucknell Creek and the Eel River are the major drainages in the area. The windows afford views of endless mountain peaks and offer a good vantage point for watching the evening sunsets. A variety of bird species inhabit the forest, and guests may spot eagles, owls, hawks and osprey. Mountain lions, black bears, black-tailed deer, flying squirrels, bobcats and Tule elk also live in the area. Please be safe around snakes and bears. Nearby Attractions The historic town of Upper Lake is approximately 19 miles to the south. This former logging and ranching town offers excellent bird watching, various recreational activities, shops, restaurants and events. The Lake Pillsbury recreation area is seven miles to the northeast. This is the largest lake in Mendocino National Forest and offers many recreational opportunities. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (707) 275-2361.

Book on recreation.gov

Rental details from recreation.gov, checked 19 Oct 2026. Rules, fees and seasons change, so confirm on the booking page before you go. Data source: ridb.recreation.gov

Access

Open to the public. Restored and in the Forest Service rental program; reached by car through a combination-locked gate, May through October.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Accessible by car when the rental season is open; group size capped at six, no overnight camping elsewhere on site.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabBC-201 lookout-fireman cabin, windows on three sides, 180-degree viewing areaThe design: BC-201
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Also served as
Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,017 ft (1,224 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Mendocino National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Mendocino County, California
Coordinates
39.36701, −123.02043
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-pine-mountain

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 3.2 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. 1933 BuiltBuilt as a BC-201 lookout-fireman cabin on the Mendocino National Forest.Sources: nhlr.org, recreation.gov
  2. 1942 EventRecreation.gov states regular fire-detection use ran until 1942, though staffing accounts below extend past this date.Source: recreation.gov
  3. 1943 StaffedMr. and Mrs. B.M. Bucknell took over as lookouts, replacing Ralph Johnson after he was injured.Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1944 StaffedEarl Mersinger was injured fighting fire near the lookout; Mrs. Carl Capell and niece June Marie Bauer took over staffing.Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1944 and 2009
  6. 2009 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register, April 20, 2009 (per brief/NHLR record).Source: nhlr.org
  7. 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Pine Mountain Lookout went up in 1933 on the Mendocino National Forest, high above the Eel River country near Upper Lake.1 It's a BC-201 lookout-fireman cabin, a style built with windows on only three sides, giving the lookout a 180-degree field of view rather than the full circle most towers get.1,2 Recreation.gov notes that this partial view is actually what makes the site historically notable among California lookouts.2

The tower did regular fire-watch duty into the early 1940s, and newspaper notices from the area put names to the job: in the summer of 1943, Mr. and Mrs. B.M. Bucknell took over lookout duty from Ralph Johnson, who had been hurt fighting fire.3 A year later, Earl Mersinger was injured near Pine Mountain while fighting a fire, and the post was filled by Mrs. Carl Capell, with her niece June Marie Bauer helping out.3 Recreation.gov states fire detection work ran until 1942, with the gap suggesting staffing continued informally, or under a different arrangement, into the Bucknell and Mersinger years that followed.2

With World War II came a second job: Pine Mountain was pressed into service as part of California's aircraft warning network, with people watching the skies as well as the ridgelines for smoke.1,2

The lookout eventually fell out of regular fire-detection use, and the Forest Service has since restored it.1 It is now part of the agency's rental program, open to the public roughly from May through October, when the dirt road in is passable by car.1,4 Renters get a simple cabin with bunks, cots, and no running water or power, reached through a combination-locked gate, with the code sent ahead of arrival.4 Group size is capped at six, and no overnight camping is allowed anywhere else on the site.4

  1. Pine Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/pine-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Pine Mountain Lookout, Mendocino National Forest, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234600 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. California Lookouts - Pine Mountain, californialookouts.weebly.com, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/pine-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  4. Pine Mountain Lookout, Mendocino National Forest, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234600 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of Pine Mountain Lookout
Photo: 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.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, wartime use, 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, rental details, links Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association: lookout rentals Gave us: rental details, links Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals list (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only (state, name, booking link, manager, closure note), no prose copied. The FFLA says it is not involved in managing any rental program. · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  5. 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
  6. 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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