FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Adams County, Idaho

Indian Mountain Lookout

Also known as Indian (Mica), Indian Mountain / Mica Lookout

Forest Service two-story lookout on Indian Mountain, Adams County, Idaho: CCC-built 1933, staffed until 2015 per NRHP nomination, NRHP-listed 2022, drive-up.

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. Drive-up at the end of National Forest Road 243; still an active Forest Service fire-detection site. No rental or public visiting arrangement found in the sources read.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
No trail described in the sources read; reached by road.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2015)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingL-4The designs: L-4, Cupola house
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,136 ft (2,175 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Payette National Forest, Council Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Adams County, Idaho
Coordinates
44.59896, −116.24825
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-indian-mountain

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 3.6 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. 1910 EventSite first used for fire detection, with a tent camp.Source: nhlr.org
  2. 1922 BuiltLog cupola cabin built on the site; replaced by the 1933 lookout.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1933 BuiltPresent two-story lookout built by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees to a modified Forest Service plan.Sources: nhlr.org, history.idaho.gov
  4. 1942 StaffedAndy Clelland listed as a lookout.Sources: idahofirelookouts.com, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1942 and 1993
  6. 1993 RestoredRestored to original specifications in 1993-94 (NHLR); roof shingles installed in 1993 (NRHP nomination).Sources: nhlr.org, history.idaho.gov
  7. 1998 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered with the National Historic Lookout Register on March 1, 1998.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  8. No record between 1998 and 2015
  9. 2015 Last staffedNRHP nomination says staffed fire lookout activity ended in 2015 and the tower is now automated. A 2021 Idaho Fire Lookouts post says it is staffed.Sources: history.idaho.gov, idahofirelookouts.com
  10. 2017 RestoredForest Service replaced the stairs, catwalk and railings it found unsafe; railings raised to meet current building codes.Source: history.idaho.gov
  11. 2022 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places listing; start date 11 August 2022 per Wikidata.Source: wikidata.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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Indian Mountain Lookout sits on a basalt ridge in Adams County, Idaho, inside the Payette National Forest, with views over the West Mountains and the northern Weiser River Valley.1,2 The National Register nomination puts the ridge at 7,255 feet; the National Historic Lookout Register gives 7,136 feet.1,2

Fire detection began on the ridge in 1910, when a tent camp was set up there.1 A log cupola cabin followed in 1922.1,3

The present two-story lookout went up in 1933.3,2 Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees built it from a modified Forest Service plan that let pre-cut and prefabricated parts be carried to remote sites, often by mule train.2 The cab sits on a storage room and is reached by wood stairs and an exterior catwalk.2 The National Historic Lookout Register notes that no other lookout of its type was built on the Payette National Forest.1

The sources disagree about how long it stayed staffed. Andy Clelland appears as a lookout in 1942, the earliest name in the staff lists I could read.3,4 The National Historic Lookout Register describes the tower as still in active service.1 A post dated August 11, 2021 on Idaho Fire Lookouts says the tower is staffed for fire detection.3 The firelookout.com listing says it was staffed in the summer "until recently," while the National Register nomination says staffed activity ended in 2015 and the tower is now automated.4,2

Restoration work in 1993 and 1994 returned the tower to its original specifications, and new shingles went on the roof in 1993.1,2 In 2017 the Forest Service found the stairs, catwalk and railings unsafe and replaced them, raising the railings to meet current building codes.2 Wikidata gives 11 August 2022 as the start date of the tower's National Register listing.5

Today the lookout is reached by driving to the end of National Forest Road 243, and Idaho Fire Lookouts tags it as drive-up.2,3 The sources I read describe no rental or public tours. The Forest Service still uses the site for fire detection.2 I found no public visiting arrangement, so ask the Payette National Forest before planning a visit to the cab.

  1. Indian Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/indian-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Indian Mountain Fire Lookout, National Register of Historic Places nomination (NPS Form 10-900), Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/Indian_Mountain_Lookout_100007977.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Indian Mountain / Mica Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/west-central/indian-mica-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Indian (Mica) Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/indianmica.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Indian Mountain Lookout, Wikidata, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q86927161 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Indian Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Indian (Mica) L.O.
Indian (Mica) L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Mike Garske, via firelookout.com · source
Indian (Mica) in 1956
Indian (Mica) in 1956 (1956)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Mike Garske, via firelookout.com · source
Indian (Mica) in 1970
Indian (Mica) in 1970 (1970)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Mike Garske, via firelookout.com · source
Indian (Mica) L.O.
Indian (Mica) L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Mike Garske, via firelookout.com · source
Indian Mountain / Mica Lookout
Indian Mountain / Mica 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.

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: 1933
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1910
    • Wikidata: 1933

    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, 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, 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. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · 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, 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

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