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Fire lookout · Boundary County, Idaho

Lookout Mountain Lookout (Boundary County)

Also known as Lookout Mountain

Priest Lake lookout site: the 1929 cupola cabin still stands, the 1939 L-4 pole tower and the 1977 steel tower are gone, and restoration was planned for 2026.

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. Hike-in and abandoned. The sources do not give current entry rules. A 2006 visit report notes a large hole in the floor by the door.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Hike-in. Idaho Fire Lookouts warns the last 6 miles of road to the trailhead are rough. Ask the Idaho Department of Lands about access before going.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of undated)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-2 cupola cabin (1929)The designs: L-2 house, L-4
Built of
Steel sources disagree
Built
1929
Height
50 ft (15.2 m)
Elevation
6,727 ft (2,050 m)
Agency
Idaho Department of Lands
Land
Unknown
Location
Boundary County, Idaho
Coordinates
48.77232, −116.76830
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-lookout-mountain-boundary-county

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 4.3 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. 1921 EventFirst used for fire detection as a patrol point.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  2. 1929 BuiltCupola cabin, called L-2 by firelookout.com. The register says the cupola structure was completed in 1929.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1939 Built50-foot pole tower with L-4 cab. The register calls it CCC-built.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  4. 1947 AbandonedAbandoned as an active fire detection site.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1947 and 1965
  6. 1965 EventPole tower collapsed around 1965 per the register. firelookout.com says it fell in the 1960s.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  7. 1977 RebuiltSteel tower moved from Packsaddle Lookout and topped with a wooden cab by the Idaho Department of Lands. The register gives a 12 x 12 cab; firelookout.com gives 15 x 15.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  8. 1983 RestoredCupola cabin restored. The register gives 1983-1992; Idaho Fire Lookouts says the 1980s.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  9. 1993 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register, December 20, 1993.Source: nhlr.org
  10. No record between 1993 and 2017
  11. 2017 RemovedVandals damaged the tower and the wooden cab was removed, per firelookout.com.Source: firelookout.com
  12. 2019 RemovedIdaho Fire Lookouts says the 1977 steel tower was dismantled.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  13. 2024 EventRestoration and rebuilding planned, with completion estimated for 2026, per Idaho Fire Lookouts.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  14. 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.

Lookout Mountain rises above the northern end of Priest Lake, in Idaho.1 The register says the mountain was first used for fire detection in 1921, and Idaho Fire Lookouts calls that early role a patrol point.2,3

The cupola cabin was completed in 1929.2,4 firelookout.com calls it an L-2 design.4 In 1939 a 50-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab went up, and the register calls it CCC-built.2,4

The mountain was abandoned as an active fire detection site in 1947.2 The register says the pole tower collapsed around 1965, and firelookout.com puts its fall in the 1960s.2,4

In 1977 the Idaho Department of Lands moved a steel tower from Packsaddle Lookout and topped it with a wooden cab.2 The register gives the cab as 12 by 12 feet, while firelookout.com gives 15 by 15 feet.2,4

The register says the cupola was restored in 1983 to 1992, and that the site was registered on December 20, 1993.2 Idaho Fire Lookouts places the restoration in the 1980s and says the cupola still stands.3

According to firelookout.com, vandalism in 2017 led to the removal of the wooden cab.4 Idaho Fire Lookouts says the 1977 steel tower was dismantled in 2019, and that a restoration was planned as of 2024, with completion estimated for 2026.3

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as hike-in and abandoned.3 The same site describes the final six miles of road to the trailhead as rough.3 SummitPost says the summit is reached by hiking a trail.1 A visit report dated April 11, 2006, in the register noted a large hole in the floor by the door.2 Check with the Idaho Department of Lands before you go, and do not enter the structure.

  1. Lookout Mountain (Priest Lake), SummitPost, http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/426505/lookout-mountain-priest-lake-.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Lookout Mountain Lookout (Boundary County), National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/lookout-mountain-lookout-boundary-county/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Lookout Mountain, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/northern-idaho/lookout-mountain/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Lookout Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/lookoutmtnp.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Lookout Mountain Lookout (Boundary County)
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout before repainting by volunteers
Lookout before repainting by volunteersPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout after repainting
Lookout after repaintingPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
August 2010
August 2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
New railing
New railingPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout Mtn. in 1930
Lookout Mtn. in 1930 (1930)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Lookout Mtn. in 1942
Lookout Mtn. in 1942 (1942)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Lookout Mtn. in 1958
Lookout Mtn. in 1958 (1958)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Lookout Mtn. in 1992
Lookout Mtn. in 1992 (1992)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, 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 what it is built of.

    • NHLR: Steel
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Wood

    Sources name different materials. Often one describes an earlier structure.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: design, height, 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. 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
  6. 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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