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Fire lookout · Boise County, Idaho

Deadwood Lookout

Also known as Deadwood Lookout Cabin

Deadwood Lookout, a CCC-built L-4 cab on Idaho's Boise National Forest staffed into the early 1970s, was restored over ten years and is now a popular Forest Service rental.

Visit & stay

You can rent this lookout for overnight stays through recreation.gov.

Getting there
Guests can drive to the cabin, but high clearance vehicles are recommended for the dirt access road because it is narrow, steep and winding.

Overview Deadwood Lookout Recreation Cabin is a historic Forest Service fire lookout on Deadwood Mountain. The structure provides sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding forest, making this a unique place to overnight. At least two other lookouts have existed previously on Deadwood Mountain, but the current one was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was actively used as a fire lookout until 1972. It has since become one of the most popular rental cabins in Idaho. The peak season is late June through mid-October. Guests can drive to the cabin, but high clearance vehicles are recommended for the dirt access road because it is narrow, steep and winding. The cabin offers only a few basic amenities. Guests should be prepared to bring most of what they need to make themselves comfortable, but the views of the mountains by day and the stars at night guarantee a memorable and rewarding experience. Recreation Hikers and mountain bikers have access to three nearby trails: Scott Mountain, Julie Creek, and Nellie's Basin. The Deadwood Ridge Trail is a popular destination for equestrians, hikers, mountain bikers, and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Facilities This rustic cabin is a 14x14-ft. room equipped with two single beds with mattresses that can be fastened together. A wood stove is available for heating and cooking. A wood counter with shelf and a table with two chairs complete the furnishings. A vault toilet, picnic table, and campfire ring are located outside and below the lookout. The cabin is surrounded by an exterior catwalk. No water, electricity or firewood is available. Guests must bring their own water supply, as well as trash bags to pack out garbage. Bedding, pillows, cookware, kitchen utensils, and tableware are not provided. Guests are expected to clean the lookout before leaving. A broom and dustpan are provided for this purpose. Natural Features The cabin is perched atop Deadwood Mountain at an elevation of 7482 feet. A variety of colorful wildflowers bloom around the base of the cabin in the summer, and stands of conifers dot the landscape. Mornings bring unobstructed views of sunrises. Guests can watch the sun set each evening and then gaze out at an endless canopy of stars. Wildlife enthusiasts may spot elk, deer and bear in the surrounding area. Bull moose have occasionally been spotted along nearby trails. Guests may find swallows and other birds nesting just outside the lookout. Guests can also expect to see various types of snakes, including Gopher snakes, Garter snakes, Racer snakes, Bull snakes & Rattlesnakes, especially when temperatures reach 70-82 degrees fahrenheit outside.

Book on recreation.gov

Rental details from recreation.gov, checked 19 Oct 2026. Rules, fees and seasons change, so confirm on the booking page before you go. Data source: ridb.recreation.gov

Access

Open to the public. Forest Service rental via Recreation.gov; narrow, steep, winding access road.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
High-clearance vehicle recommended for the dirt access road.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1972)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab, ground-mountedThe designs: L-4, Cupola house
Built of
Wood
Height
15 ft (4.6 m)
Elevation
7,575 ft (2,309 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Boise County, Idaho
Coordinates
44.12540, −115.70409 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-deadwood

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 3.8 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. 1916 BuiltEarliest known structure: a log crib platform.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  2. 1924 Replaced by a new structure12x12-foot frame cabin with cupola replaced the log crib platform.Source: firelookout.com
  3. 1934 BuiltCurrent ground-mounted L-4 cab built by the CCC, per Recreation.gov and Firelookout.com.Sources: recreation.gov, firelookout.com
  4. 1936 BuiltNational Historic Lookout Register instead gives 1936 for the current structure, replacing the 1924 cupola cabin.Source: nhlr.org
  5. No record between 1936 and 1953
  6. 1953 StaffedLookout Jay Broadie recorded staffing the tower.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  7. No record between 1953 and 1972
  8. 1972 Last staffedRecreation.gov: actively used as a fire lookout until 1972.Source: recreation.gov
  9. 1973 EventIdaho Fire Lookouts instead gives 1973 as when the tower went to emergency status.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  10. No record between 1973 and 2003
  11. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterAdded to the National Historic Lookout Register, May 12, 2003, after a ten-year restoration.Source: nhlr.org
  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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Deadwood Lookout, high in Idaho's Boise National Forest, has gone through several lives on the same mountain. The earliest known structure there was a log crib platform put up in 1916.1 That gave way in 1924 to a 12-by-12-foot frame cabin with a cupola.2 The building that stands today — a ground-mounted L-4 cab built by the Civilian Conservation Corps — replaced the cupola cabin next. Sources disagree on exactly when: the National Historic Lookout Register and Recreation.gov both describe it going into service around 1934–1936, with the Register giving 1936 and Recreation.gov and Firelookout.com both giving 1934.3,4,2

The Forest Service staffed the lookout for decades afterward. Among the names on record is Jay Broadie, logged there in 1953.5 Recreation.gov states the tower was actively staffed until 1972, after which the Forest Service shifted it to standby, emergency-only status — Idaho Fire Lookouts gives 1973 for that change, which is close enough to likely be the same event described slightly differently.4,5

Rather than being abandoned, Deadwood was kept up. The National Historic Lookout Register notes a ten-year restoration effort that returned the cab to close to its original 1936 appearance, and the lookout was added to the register in May 2003.3,5

Today Deadwood Lookout is administered by the Forest Service and sits on the Recreation.gov rental program, where it's become one of Idaho's more sought-after rental cabins for the panoramic forest scenery visible from its perch on the mountain.4 Getting up Deadwood Mountain means a twisting, uphill dirt road, so a vehicle with good ground clearance is a good idea; bookings run roughly from the end of June to the middle of October.4

  1. Deadwood Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/deadwood-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Deadwood Fire Lookout Cabin, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/deadwood.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Deadwood Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/deadwood-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  4. Deadwood Lookout Recreation Cabin, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233881 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  5. Deadwood Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/deadwood-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of Deadwood Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1917
1917 (1917)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1923
1923 (1923)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1937
1937 (1937)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Deadwood in 1917
Deadwood in 1917 (1917)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Deadwood in 1925
Deadwood in 1925 (1925)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Deadwood L.O.
Deadwood L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Deadwood in 2000
Deadwood in 2000 (2000)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Deadwood Lookout
Deadwood 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 the location by 1.8 km (1.1 mi).

    • NHLR: 44.12540, −115.70409
    • recreation.gov: 44.10889, −115.70333

    The map uses the position from NHLR.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1936
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1916
    • recreation.gov: 1934

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, 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. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Gave us: ownership, access, rental details, links Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association: lookout rentals Gave us: rental details, links Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals list (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only (state, name, booking link, manager, closure note), no prose copied. The FFLA says it is not involved in managing any rental program. · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  5. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: what it is built of, design, 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
  6. 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
  7. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  8. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: 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
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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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