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Fire lookout · Idaho County, Idaho

Burnt Knob Lookout

Also known as Burnt Knob Lookouut

Nez Perce L-5 log cabin built 1930 on a 1922 site; staffed into the 1960s, now emergency use, reached by a seasonal 4WD road.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Forest Service recreation site, open seasonally due to snow. Reached by Forest Road 468-C, recommended for 4WD only. The cabin is maintained for emergency use.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Road 468-C is unmaintained and rocky, 4WD recommended, seasonal. No restrooms or potable water. Trail 539 nearby reaches McArthur, Stillman and Burnt Knob lakes.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing sources disagree
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 log cabinThe design: L-5
Built of
LogsGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1930
Height
Unknown
Elevation
8,011 ft (2,442 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Idaho County, Idaho
Coordinates
45.70162, −114.99026
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-burnt-knob

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.

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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. 1910 EventRanger station established on the Shoup Trail; the lookout point is one-quarter mile from it.Source: firelookout.com
  2. 1915 StaffedElmer Purdyman listed by Idaho Fire Lookouts from a 1915 Idaho County Free Press item. Predates both the alidade and the cabin.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1922 EventSite first used, with an alidade placed on the summit.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  4. 1930 BuiltL-5 log lookout cabin built on the granite ridge.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  5. No record between 1930 and 1964
  6. 1964 Last staffedIdaho Fire Lookouts dates emergency status to 1964. NHLR says staffed until the 1960s; firelookout.com says used until the early 1960s.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  7. No record between 1964 and 1989
  8. 1989 EventRestoration work by district employees; dated only to the late 1980s (firelookout.com says 'late 1980').Source: firelookout.com
  9. 1997 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 25, 1997 (NHLR US 234, ID 20).Source: nhlr.org
  10. No record between 1997 and 2020
  11. 2020 EventFall 2020 visit, reported by Idaho Fire Lookouts, found the cabin in good condition despite smoke.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  12. 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.

Burnt Knob sits on a granite ridge that borders the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, inside the Nez Perce National Forest, and the cabin looks out over McArthur, Stillman and Burnt Knob lakes.1,2 The site first saw use in 1922, when an alidade was set up on the summit.1,3 The log cabin there was built in 1930 to an L-5 design.1,3 Firelookout.com says a ranger station went up on the Shoup Trail in 1910, and the lookout point sits a quarter mile from it.3 The register ties the name to the area's fire history.1

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists Elmer Purdyman as a staffer in 1915, citing a 1915 Idaho County Free Press item.2 That year came before both the 1922 alidade and the 1930 cabin.1,2 The register says the cabin was staffed until the 1960s.1 Firelookout.com says it was used until the early 1960s, while Idaho Fire Lookouts dates its move to emergency status to 1964.3,2

The register lists the lookout as registered on August 25, 1997, and says the cabin is kept up for emergency use.1 Firelookout.com says district staff did restoration work in the late 1980s.3 A visit in fall 2020, described by Idaho Fire Lookouts, found the cabin in good condition, though smoke from California wildfires left only glimpses of the lakes.2

The Forest Service page, last updated February 18, 2026, lists the site as open seasonally due to snow, with no restrooms and no potable water.4 The route is Forest Road 468-C, which the agency recommends for four-wheel drive only.4 From the junction with Nezperce Trail Road 468, the drive runs 31.5 miles to the spur road, and Trail 539 nearby reaches the lakes.4 The Forest Service calls the spot the site of the historic lookout. Access is seasonal due to snow, so check current conditions before going.4 The register gives 8,011 feet for the site, while firelookout.com gives 8,196 feet.1,3

  1. Burnt Knob Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/burnt-knob-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Burnt Knob Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/burnt-knob-lookout-2/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Burnt Knob Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/burntknob291.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Burnt Knob Lookout, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/nezperce-clearwater/recreation/burnt-knob-lookout (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Burnt Knob Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Burnt Knob Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Burnt Knob Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Burnt Knob in 1938
Burnt Knob in 1938 (1938)Photo: Gary Weber and the Nez Perce N.F, via firelookout.com · source
Burnt Knob in 1996
Burnt Knob in 1996 (1996)Photo: Gary Weber and the Nez Perce N.F, via firelookout.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: Standing
    • NHLR: Standing
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Standing
    • Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com): Gone
    • OpenStreetMap: Standing

    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: what it is built of, design, dates, 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: 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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: access, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. 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
  7. 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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