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Fire lookout · Kootenai County, Idaho

Bernard Peak Lookout Site

Seasonal fire lookout at Bernard Peak above Lake Pend Oreille: 1918 platform tower, 40-foot L-4 from 1948, destroyed in 1976; trails and a drivable road reach the summit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Destroyed in 1976. WillhiteWeb photographs a footing dated 8/8/63 and Idaho Fire Lookouts reports an engraved piece of concrete; no tower stands

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. WillhiteWeb describes hiking trails from Farragut State Park and says the summit should be drivable if no gates or trees block the road. No closure rule was found, and gate status is not confirmed

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
No tower stands to climb. WillhiteWeb gives the hike as eight miles one way and says the Scout Trail starts at Farragut State Park

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower40-foot treated timber L-4 tower with cab, built in 1948 about 500 feet north of the summitThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1918
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,049 ft (1,539 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Kaniksu National Forest per firelookout.com)
Land
Federal land
Location
Kootenai County, Idaho
Coordinates
47.93557, −116.53404
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-bernard-peak

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.1 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. 1918 Built20-foot platform tower; the register gives 1919 and a pole towerSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1919 Built'Built' field on FFLOS detail pageSource: FFLOS register entry
  3. No record between 1919 and 1948
  4. 1948 Built40-foot treated timber L-4 tower about 500 feet north of the summit; Rex's (Kresek) gives 35 feetSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  5. 1950 StaffedJames Chamberlain on the lookout for the summer, per a Sandpoint News-Bulletin item quoted on Rex's pageSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1953 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Thomas L and Lora R Thrash, per Idaho Fire Lookouts (Former Forest Fire Lookout Registry)Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  7. 1959 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Dave Palmer manning the lookout, per a Sandpoint News-Bulletin item quoted on Rex's pageSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1961 EventWinning bidder on a nearby timber sale was to build a mile of road for access; WillhiteWeb says it was builtSources: idaholookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  9. 1965 StaffedLouise Stewart listed under 1965 in Idaho Fire Lookouts' known staff list, credited to the USFS Photo Collection; her role is not statedSource: idahofirelookouts.com
  10. 1967 StaffedChad Kinzel, June to September 1967 (register); firelookout.com names Charles KinzelSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  11. 1968 EventVandals broke in during October 1968, breaking windows, dishes and lantern globes and shooting holes through the floorSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  12. 1969 StaffedMr. and Mrs. William Heacox of Spokane watching for fires, per a Sandpoint News-Bulletin item quoted on Rex's pageSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  13. 1970 StaffedMr. Randy Langston, per Idaho Fire Lookouts' known staff list (listed under 1970, not 1965)Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  14. 1976 DestroyedTower destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  15. No record between 1976 and 2015
  16. 2015 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: August 30, 2015Source: FFLOS register entry
  17. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Bernard Peak sits at the south end of Lake Pend Oreille, about three miles south-southeast of Bayview.1,2 Most sources date the first lookout there to 1918, when a 20-foot platform tower went up.1,3,2,4 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register gives 1919 and calls the first tower a pole tower.5

In the 1930s a 40-foot pole tower replaced it.5,2 In 1948 a 40-foot L-4 tower of treated timber went up some 500 feet north of the top.5,1,4 Rex's page gives 35 feet for that tower.2

Staffing was seasonal.2 A Sandpoint newspaper item quoted on Rex's page reports James Chamberlain on the lookout in July 1950, and Mr. and Mrs. Dave Palmer in 1959.2 Idaho Fire Lookouts lists a Thrash couple for 1953 and Randy Langston for 1970.3 Chad Kinzel spent June to September 1967 there, though firelookout.com names him Charles Kinzel.5,1 In 1969, Mr. and Mrs. William Heacox of Spokane were watching for fires.2

In 1961 the winning bidder on a nearby timber sale was to construct a mile of road for access.2 WillhiteWeb says the road was built.4 In October 1968 vandals broke in, smashing windows and dishes, shattering lantern glass and shooting holes in the floor.2 The ranger said the lookout staffer took most of the gear out each fall and boarded the lookout up for winter.2

The tower was destroyed in 1976.5,1,3,4

The trees now block most of the views the lookout once offered, WillhiteWeb reports.4 Its photos include a footing dated 8/8/63.4 Idaho Fire Lookouts saw signs of several towers around the summit, along with a partly engraved piece of concrete. It guesses a CCC crew left the initials on it.3

WillhiteWeb gives the hiking distance as eight miles one way, with trails running from Farragut State Park to the summit.4 It also says a car could reach the summit unless gates or trees are in the way.4 We found no closure notice, so check before going. Idaho Fire Lookouts labels the site drive-up.3

  1. Bernard Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/bernardpeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Bernard Peak, Forest Lookouts (Rex's Fire Lookout Page), https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/bernard-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Bernard Peak, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/cda-region/bernard-peak/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Bernard Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb, https://willhiteweb.com/idaho_lookouts/bernard_peak/scout_trail_010.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Bernard Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/id/bernard-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Bernard Peak Lookout
Bernard Peak LookoutPhoto: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Bernard Peak
Bernard PeakPhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com) Gave us: 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
  5. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: design, height, links 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, height, 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

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