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Fire lookout · Clearwater County, Idaho

Hemlock Butte Lookout

Clearwater National Forest lookout site; the present tower dates to 1954 (register and firelookout.com give an L-4 cab, Idaho Fire Lookouts a flat cab), sources disagree on earlier dates and height, and it is manned in fire season.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Staffed lookout that Idaho Fire Lookouts describes as drive-up. No public entry rules found in the sources.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Drive-up staffed lookout. Ask the Clearwater National Forest about current access before visiting.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cab per the register and firelookout.com; Idaho Fire Lookouts gives a flat cabThe designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
Wood
Height
54 ft (16.5 m)
Elevation
6,053 ft (1,845 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Clearwater County, Idaho
Coordinates
46.47333, −115.62917
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-hemlock-butte-2

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. 1919 EventRoofed platform on the site, per the register. The other two sources start at 1921.Source: nhlr.org
  2. 1921 EventCupola cabin, per firelookout.com and Idaho Fire Lookouts. The register dates its D-6 cupola cabin to 1923.Sources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1923 EventD-6 cupola cabin, per the register.Source: nhlr.org
  4. 1934 Replaced by a new structure50-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  5. 1948 StaffedIdaho Fire Lookouts lists a known staff member for 1948. This predates the 1954 tower.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1954 BuiltPresent tower. The register and firelookout.com give an L-4 cab; Idaho Fire Lookouts gives a flat cab. Heights given as 54 ft (register), 53 ft (firelookout.com) and 41 ft (Idaho Fire Lookouts).Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  7. No record between 1954 and 2005
  8. 2005 RestoredTower retrofitted to meet safety and engineering concerns after being closed about three years earlier; expected back in detection service.Source: firelookout.org
  9. 2009 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register, April 6, 2009.Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2021 StaffedIdaho Fire Lookouts post dated August 9, 2021 says the tower is manned during fire season.Source: 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.

Hemlock Butte sits on the Idaho/Clearwater County line in the Clearwater National Forest, at about 6,053 feet.1 Sources disagree on when the first lookout went up. The National Historic Lookout Register lists a roofed platform in 1919, while firelookout.com and Idaho Fire Lookouts date a cupola cabin to 1921.1,2,3

The register describes a D-6 cupola cabin in 1923, then an L-4 cab on a 50-foot pole tower in 1934.1 The present tower went up in 1954.1,2,3 The register and firelookout.com describe an L-4 cab.1,2 Idaho Fire Lookouts calls it a flat cab.3 The sources give its height three different ways: 54 feet on the register, 53 feet on firelookout.com and 41 feet on Idaho Fire Lookouts.1,2,3

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists a known staff member for 1948.3 That predates the present tower, so the entry probably refers to an earlier structure on the site. firelookout.com says the tower is staffed every summer.2 Idaho Fire Lookouts, in a post dated August 9, 2021, says it is manned during fire season.3

The register says the tower is still in service and was registered on April 6, 2009.1 It names the U.S. Forest Service as the administrator.1

Idaho Fire Lookouts calls the site a drive-up staffed lookout.3 Because the tower is manned during fire season, check with the Clearwater National Forest before you plan a visit.3

  1. Hemlock Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/hemlock-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Hemlock Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/hemlockbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Hemlock Butte Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/st-joe-clearwater-region/hemlock-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Hemlock Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Hemlock Butte in 1924
Hemlock Butte in 1924 (1924)Photo: Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Hemlock Butte in 1997
Hemlock Butte in 1997 (1997)Photo: Gary Weber, 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 the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1954
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1921

    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, 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: county, 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, height, staffing, 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.