FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Idaho County, Idaho

End Butte Lookout

A 1922 observation camp on a 7,303-ft Idaho County peak; an L-4 cab tower dated 1939 or 1940, manned to 1952, burned 1954 to 1956; no source describes the summit today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Abandoned in the 1950s and burned; sources disagree on the burn year; nothing describes the summit today

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the site as a hike-in

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerTent camp observation point (1922), then an L-4 cab on a 10-foot log towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1935
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
Nez Perce National Forest
Land
Unknown
Location
Idaho County, Idaho
Coordinates
46.30863, −115.11240
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 10 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-end-butte

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 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. 1922 First staffedTent camp observation point; smokechaser Jess Mosher camped at End ButteSources: idahofirelookouts.com, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1935 BuiltClearwater list build year for the 10-foot L-4 entry; Hartig describes a lookout with tent quarters placed near the top that seasonSources: fs.usda.gov, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1939 BuiltL-4 cabin on a 10-foot log tower, built by Ranger Hans Roeffler (Hartig, 1981)Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1940 BuiltL-4 cab on a 10-foot tower added (firelookout.com and Idaho Fire Lookouts); conflicts with 1939Sources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  5. 1947 StaffedMinnie Willson listed as staff for 1947 to 1948Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1952 Last staffedManned seasonally through 1952; aerial detection made the structure obsoleteSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1954 BurnedClearwater list date for the burn; Hartig gives 1955 or 1956Source: fs.usda.gov
  8. 1955 BurnedCondemned and burned in 1955 or 1956 (Hartig, 1981); Idaho County list reads 1955 or 6Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  9. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

End Butte is a peak in Idaho County, in the Nez Perce National Forest, about 24 miles southwest of Powell Ranger Station. Its elevation is listed as 7,303 feet.1,2

The site began as an observation point.3 In 1922, Fish Lake District Ranger Al Kolmorgan pitched a tent camp in a small meadow roughly three-quarters of a mile from the summit, and smokechaser Jess Mosher camped at End Butte that year.2,3 A platform tower and a log cabin also stood two miles southeast at Rhoda Point.2

In 1935 a tent-quartered lookout was set up near the top, and a telephone line was brought in from Fish Lake Saddle.3 The Clearwater National Forest list gives 1935 as the build year for a 10-foot L-4 entry.4 Louis Hartig's 1981 history, quoted on the Idaho County list, credits Ranger Hans Roeffler with packing in materials for an L-4 cabin and its 10-foot log tower in 1939.3 Two lookout listings date the L-4 cab and tower to 1940 instead.1,2

Seasonal staffing lasted until 1952, when aerial detection made the lookout obsolete.3 Idaho Fire Lookouts lists Minnie Willson as staff for 1947 and 1948.2

Two listings describe the lookout as abandoned in the 1950s.1,2 The burn year is disputed. The Clearwater list says it burned in 1954,4 while Hartig says it was condemned and burned in 1955 or 1956.3

The state list marks the tower as gone.5 Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the summit as a hike-in.2 A firelookout.com listing says the log cabin at Rhoda Point is still there, but no source describes what remains on the End Butte summit today.1,2,3

  1. End Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/endbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. End Butte Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/end-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Idaho County (A-L) - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts (idaholookouts.weebly.com), https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/idaho-county-a-l.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Clearwater National Forest Lookouts, USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r01/nezperce-clearwater/publication/fseprd507528%20(1).pdf (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  5. Fire Lookouts in Idaho, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

End Butte Lookout
End Butte 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.

Sources

  1. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, 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.