FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Idaho

Pilot Knob

Idaho lookout on the Nez Perce-Clearwater NF: camp from 1914, 10x10 cab 1922, L-4 cab on a 10-ft tower 1939; staffed each summer, drive-up.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Drive-up and staffed each summer. The Forest Service says the seasonal lookout does not mind visitors. Ask the Salmon River Ranger District before planning a visit.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2024)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Type unknown10-foot timber tower with an L-4 cab and a Bosworth fire finderThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1922
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests (Salmon River Ranger District)
Land
Unknown
Location
Idaho
Coordinates
46.72659, −114.64706
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-pilot-knob

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. 1914 EventLookout camp established; a July 1914 newspaper report says Tom Crossley set up a lookout station thereSources: idahofirelookouts.com, idaholookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  2. 1914 First staffedForest guard George E. Watkins reported on duty at the station in July 1914Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1916 EventWatkins and Levi Colgrove struck by lightning in August 1916; the telephone near their tent was destroyedSource: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1922 Built10x10 ft frame cabin with a hip roofSources: idaholookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1922 and 1939
  6. 1939 BuiltL-4 cab on a 10-foot timber tower; the register dates the cab design to 1932Sources: nhlr.org, idaholookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  7. No record between 1939 and 2024
  8. 2024 StaffedGary Dutcher finishes his 40th consecutive season at the lookoutSource: fs.usda.gov
  9. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Pilot Knob stands at 7,135 feet on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, well above the South Fork of the Clearwater River, in the country between Clearwater and Elk City.1,2,3

The site began as a camp in 1914.1,4 A July 1914 newspaper report, quoted by Forest Lookouts, says Tom Crossley had set up a lookout station there, with forest guard George E. Watkins on duty.5 A 10-by-10-foot frame cabin went up in 1922.5,4 In 1939 an L-4 cab was built on a 10-foot timber tower, and that is the structure that stands there today.5,4

The Register calls the cab a classic 1932 model and dates its construction to 1939.2 The 1932 date seems to refer to the cab's design rather than when it went up, so the two dates do not conflict.2

Lightning was a real hazard at the site. In August 1916 two men stationed at the lookout, George Watkins and Levi Colgrove, were struck by lightning and left unconscious, and a telephone near their tent was destroyed.5

Staffing has continued for decades.3 In October 2024 the Forest Service reported that Gary Dutcher had just finished his 40th consecutive season at the lookout.3 The same release says he does not mind visitors and is friendly when they come.3

The tower is still standing and still in service on the forest.2 The Register notes it is one of the few with a Bosworth fire finder, and Fire Lookout says it is staffed every summer.2,4 Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as drive-up and staffed.1 It is an active staffed post on the Salmon River Ranger District, so ask the district before you plan a visit.3 We found no source describing a closure, a move or a fire at the site.

  1. Pilot Knob – Idaho Fire Lookouts, Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com), https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/pilot-knob/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Pilot Knob Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/pilot-knob-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. On the Lookout: Celebrating 40 Years at Pilot Knob Lookout, USDA Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/nezperce-clearwater/newsroom/releases/lookout-celebrating-40-years-pilot-knob-lookout (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Pilot Knob Fire Lookout Tower, Fire Lookout (firelookout.com), https://firelookout.com/id/pilotknob.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Pilot Knob - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts (idaholookouts.weebly.com), https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/pilot-knob.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Pilot Knob
Pilot KnobPhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · source

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Sources

  1. Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com) Gave us: name, location, status, staffing, 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
  2. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.