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Fire lookout · Fremont County, Idaho

Big Springs Lookout

A 1936 steel tower near Big Springs Ranger Station on the Targhee NF; its cabin was removed in 1989, and the abandoned tower was registered in 2015.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Listed as a hike-in on Idaho Fire Lookouts. The register records no signed directions. No closure or permit requirement appears in the pages read, but no source says whether the tower may be climbed.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Hike-in per Idaho Fire Lookouts. A 1949 account describes walking a mile from the bus at the foot of the hill; current directions are not signed per the register.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1981)

Facts

Status
Standing sources disagree
Type
Cab on a towerSteel tower with a small 7 by 7 foot cab, built by the Aermotor Company of ChicagoThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1936
Height
72 ft (21.9 m)
Elevation
6,856 ft (2,090 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Fremont County, Idaho
Coordinates
44.50510, −111.24510
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-big-springs

View from the cab

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

History

Then and now

  1. 1936 BuiltSteel tower reportedly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps; the site also had a one-room log cabin, a single-car garage and a latrine. Sources differ on height: 72 feet (Island Park Historical Society) or 100 feet (Idaho Fire Lookouts, firelookout.com).Sources: iphs.us, idahofirelookouts.com, firelookout.com
  2. 1949 EventGroup of female Forest Service employees visited; some climbed the 70-foot tower to look for smokeSource: iphs.us
  3. 1963 EventOne of only three lookout towers on the Targhee National ForestSource: iphs.us
  4. No record between 1963 and 1981
  5. 1981 EventNo longer used; replaced by aircraft patrolsSource: iphs.us
  6. 1985 AbandonedIdaho Fire Lookouts gives 1985. The Island Park Historical Society says the lookout was no longer used by 1981.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  7. 1989 RemovedThe Forest removed the cabin, garage and latrine; only the tower remainsSource: iphs.us
  8. No record between 1989 and 2006
  9. 2006 EventRegister visit report by Byron Nelson (July 11, 2006) answered Yes to Good condition? and Yes to Needs paint?Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2015 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 3, 2015 as US 1061 (ID 105)Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  11. 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.

Big Springs Lookout stands near the Big Springs Ranger Station, about 15 miles southwest of West Yellowstone in Fremont County, Idaho.1,2,3 The U.S. Forest Service administers it on the Targhee National Forest.2,4

The tower went up in 1936, reportedly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.1,4,3 It is a steel tower topped with a small cab about seven feet square, made by the Aermotor Company of Chicago, a firm widely known for its windmills.1 Island Park Historical Society gives the tower a height of 72 feet, while Idaho Fire Lookouts and firelookout.com both say 100 feet.1,4,3 Its main job was fire protection, and it was placed to cover two timber sales, the Crow Creek and Coffee Pot Timber Sales.1 The site also had a one-room log cabin with a wood stove, a single-car garage and a latrine.1

A 1949 visit by a group of Forest Service women is remembered in one account. Visitors hiked a mile from the bus, and several climbed the 70-foot tower to look for smoke.1 By 1963 it was one of only three lookout towers on the Targhee National Forest.1 Island Park Historical Society says the lookout was no longer used by 1981, when aircraft patrols had taken over its work.1 Idaho Fire Lookouts dates the abandonment to 1985, and says no staffing history is documented.4

In 1989 the Forest removed the cabin, garage and latrine, and only the tower remains today.1 The National Historic Lookout Register registered it on January 3, 2015, as US 1061.2,4

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as a hike-in, and the register says no directions to the tower are signed.2,4 No source read says whether the tower may be climbed, so check with the Targhee National Forest before planning any visit.2,4

  1. Big Springs Lookout Tower, Island Park Historical Society, https://iphs.us/node/102 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Big Springs Lookout, US 1061, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/big-springs-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Big Springs Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/bigsprings.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Big Springs, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/big-springs/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Big Springs Lookout
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Springs Lookout
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Big Springs Lookout
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Big Springs in 2015
Big Springs in 2015 (2015)Photo: Luke Channer, via firelookout.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.

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

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered. 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: photos, 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: 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, staffing, 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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