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Fire lookout · Idaho County, Idaho

Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)

Also known as Eyeful Tower Lookout, Eyeful – Dreher

A 1949 L-4 tower from Sawyer Ridge, retired by the Forest Service in 1987 and faithfully rebuilt as the private "Eyeful Tower" beside the Drehers' home.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. On the Drehers' private property; tours available only by pre-arrangement, per NHLR.

Original site: Sawyer Ridge

Visit & stay

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

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2026)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cab, 14x14 ft, on a 41 ft treated timber towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1949
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,273 ft (2,217 m)
Agency
Bruce and Nancy Dreher (private owners); originally Nez Perce National Forest
Land
Unknown
Location
Idaho County, Idaho
Coordinates
45.68402, −115.95545
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-sawyer-ridge-at-eyeful-dreher

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 3.5 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. 1949 BuiltErected on Sawyer Ridge, Nez Perce National Forest, as a 41 ft timber tower with L-4 cab.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  2. No record between 1949 and 1972
  3. 1972 Last staffedDavid Emmons staffed the tower in 1972 and transferred out at season's end; the only named staffer found.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  4. No record between 1972 and 1987
  5. 1987 MovedPurchased by Bruce and Nancy Dreher and moved to their private property overlooking the Slate Creek Ranger Station.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1987 RemovedDeclared surplus to Forest Service needs and sold.Source: nhlr.org
  7. 1987 RestoredRebuilt and renamed the "Eyeful Tower"; NHLR describes it as a careful, accurate rebuild. No source states the Drehers' motive for buying it (the original note that it was bought to save it from demolition was unsupported and removed).Source: nhlr.org
  8. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered February 24, 1996, as NHLR US 163 / ID 13, nominated by Idaho registrar Gary Weber.Source: nhlr.org
  9. Date unknown MovedMoved from Sawyer Ridge to Eyeful – Dreher.Source: FFLA
  10. 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Crews put up this tower in 1949 on Sawyer Ridge in the Nez Perce National Forest, a 41-foot timber structure topped with a 14-by-14-foot L-4 cab and catwalk.1,2 David Emmons staffed it in 1972, transferring out at the end of that season — one of the few staffing details that survives in the public record.2

By 1987 the Forest Service had declared the tower surplus to its fire-detection needs.1 Bruce and Nancy Dreher bought it — Bruce had retired from the Forest Service himself — and had it taken down and rebuilt next to their home overlooking the Slate Creek Ranger Station.1,2 They renamed it the "Eyeful Tower," and the National Historic Lookout Register describes the result as a careful, accurate rebuild. The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Idaho list still shows the original Sawyer Ridge site itself as gone, with no tower standing there today.1,3

The lookout was added to the National Historic Lookout Register on February 24, 1996, as US 163 / ID 13, nominated by Idaho registrar Gary Weber.1 Sources give the elevation as either 7,273 feet (NHLR, at the Dreher property) or 7,303 feet (idahofirelookouts.com, for the original ridge site) — close enough that it may just reflect the two slightly different locations.1,2

Today the tower stands as a private, drive-up property. The Drehers have offered tours by pre-arrangement, but it is not open to casual visitors, and nothing in the record describes current access or rental status.1,2

  1. Eyeful Tower Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/eyeful-tower-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Sawyer Ridge, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/sawyer-ridge/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Idaho Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sawyer Ridge Lookout (now at Eyeful – Dreher)
Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: location, county, elevation, 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: name, type, status, register numbers, dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. 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.