FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Idaho

Bear Creek Point Lookout

1934 L-5 cab in Valley County, Idaho, inside the River of No Return Wilderness; abandoned in the 1950s, still listed as standing, reached only on foot.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Hike-in only, by trail within the River of No Return Wilderness.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing sources disagree
Type
Type unknownL-5 cab; three sources give 10 by 10 feet, and Forest Lookouts gives a two-story 12 by 12 log cabinThe design: L-5
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Unknown
Location
Idaho
Coordinates
45.17768, −115.65595
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 10 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-bear-creek-point

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 4.2 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. 1934 BuiltL-5 cab built; all four history sources give 1934Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1934 and 1950
  3. 1950 AbandonedSources give only the decade, the 1950s; 1950 stands in for the decadeSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1951 StaffedJuly 12, 1951 Recorder-Herald item, quoted on Forest Lookouts, names Charles L. Powell, Jr. as taking over a 'Bear Creek lookout'; the item does not clearly identify this siteSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1951 and 2008
  6. 2008 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 20, 2008 as US 748, ID 50; nominated by Jill OsbornSource: 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Bear Creek Point Lookout is an L-5 cab in Valley County, Idaho, built in 1934.1,2,3 Three sources give its size as 10 by 10 feet.1,2,3 Forest Lookouts describes a two-story, 12-by-12 log cabin instead.4

The sources also disagree about the forest. The register places the site in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, while firelookout.com and Forest Lookouts say Salmon National Forest.1,2,4 Forest Lookouts also quotes a 1945 survey description of a "Bear Creek Pt." tower and cabin in the Nez Perce National Forest. That may describe a different point with the same name.4

Forest Lookouts quotes a July 12, 1951 Recorder-Herald item saying Charles L. Powell, Jr. of Kennewick, Washington, had taken over a "Bear Creek lookout." The item does not clearly name this site, so it may not be about this cab.4

The cab was abandoned in the 1950s.1,2,4,3 The National Historic Lookout Register listed it on November 20, 2008, as US 748, ID 50, on the nomination of Jill Osborn.1

Firelookout.com says the cab "is still there," but that page carries no date, so it is the most recent description we found of the cab's condition.2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Idaho list marks the lookout as standing.5

The register says the Forest Service administers the site and that it is reached only by trail, inside the River of No Return Wilderness.1 Firelookout.com calls it the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.2 The sources do not say whether visitors may go inside the cab, so check with the Forest Service before going.1

  1. Bear Creek Point Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/bear-creek-point-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Bear Creek Point Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/bearcreekpoint.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Bear Creek Point Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/west-central/bear-creek-point-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Bear Creek Point, Forest Lookouts, https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/bear-creek-point.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  5. Idaho Lookouts list, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Bear Creek Point Lookout
Bear Creek Point LookoutPhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · source

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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 whether it still stands.

    • Firefinder research: Standing
    • Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com): Gone

    Research (2026-10-10) gives standing where the source records give gone. The page shows the researched status; please tell us if it is wrong.

Sources

  1. Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com) Gave us: name, location, status, dates, photos, links idahofirelookouts.com · No licence stated; facts only (coordinates, status/built/destroyed year parsed from each entry's short excerpt). Thumbnail photos mirrored with credit per the project's photo policy. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.