FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Custer County, Idaho

Big Soldier Lookout

Challis National Forest lookout site in Custer County, Idaho: built 1934 or 1937 (sources differ), abandoned c.1973, burned 2018 per two sites.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Burned in a 2018 forest fire per two sites; no independent report found; abandoned around 1973

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. Idaho Fire Lookouts calls it a hike-in site inside the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness; no source gives current rules

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab per Forest Lookouts and Rex's page; the register describes a groundhouse with a catwalkThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
8,993 ft (2,741 m)
Agency
Challis National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Custer County, Idaho
Coordinates
44.56947, −115.26002
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-big-soldier

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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.6 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. 1927 EventSite established as a patrol and emergency lookoutSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 BuiltRegister: tent camp first used and lookout constructed in 1934 as a groundhouse with a catwalkSource: nhlr.org
  3. 1937 BuiltL-4 cab built, per Forest Lookouts and firelookout.com; conflicts with the register's 1934 dateSources: idaholookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  4. 1946 StaffedMarried couple employed at the lookout for the summer, per a Post-Register item quoted by Forest LookoutsSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1946 and 1973
  6. 1973 AbandonedApproximate (c.1973) per Forest LookoutsSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1973 and 2008
  8. 2008 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 20, 2008 as US 749, ID 51; described as inactive for many yearsSource: nhlr.org
  9. 2018 BurnedBurned in a forest fire per Rex's page; Idaho Fire Lookouts says destroyed in fire; no independent report foundSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  10. 2018 DestroyedSource: Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com)
  11. 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.

Big Soldier was a lookout site in the Challis National Forest, in Custer County, Idaho.1 The register says it lies within the River of No Return Wilderness, which Forest Lookouts and Rex's page call the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.2,1,3

The Forest Lookouts history says the site was set up as a patrol and emergency lookout in 1927.1 The register says a tent camp was in use in 1934 and that the lookout was constructed that year as a groundhouse with a catwalk.2 Forest Lookouts and Rex's page instead date an L-4 cab to 1937.1,3 The sources disagree on the year and on the design, and we have not settled which is right.2,1,3,4

A June 1946 item in the Post-Register, quoted on the Forest Lookouts page, reported that a married couple had gone to the lookout for summer work.1 Idaho Fire Lookouts says it has no documented staffing history for the site.4

The Forest Lookouts page says the lookout was abandoned around 1973.1 The register, which listed the site in November 2008, described the groundhouse as inactive for many years.2

Rex's page says the cab burned in a 2018 forest fire.3 Idaho Fire Lookouts lists it as destroyed in fire that year.4 We did not find an independent report naming this lookout in that fire, so the 2018 loss rests on these two sites.3,4

No source we read describes what, if anything, remains at the site today.3,4 Idaho Fire Lookouts calls it a hike-in site.4 Nothing in the sources shows a structure still standing there.3,4

  1. Big Soldier - Forest Lookouts, https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/big-soldier.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Big Soldier Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/big-soldier-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Big Soldier Fire Lookout Cabin, Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://www.firelookout.com/id/bigsoldier.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Big Soldier Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/big-soldier-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Big Soldier Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1946 photo
1946 photo (1946)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Outhouse
OuthousePhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Big Soldier Lookout
Big Soldier LookoutPhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · 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 whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Gone
    • Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com): Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered. firelookout.com lists it, but not on its map of standing lookouts. idahofirelookouts.com's status is read from a short summary.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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. 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: what it is built of, design, 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, status, agency, access, 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.