FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Boundary County, Idaho

Smith Triangle

Smith Triangle lookout in Boundary County, Kaniksu NF; built 1934 or 1937 (sources differ), staffed 1934-36, destroyed in the 1950s; hike-in site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Destroyed in the 1950s; no source describes what remains at the site

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as hike-in; no source describes access today

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabDisputed: 20-foot L-4 tower (firelookout.com) or small cabin (Idaho Fire Lookouts)The design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
Kaniksu National Forest
Land
Unknown
Location
Boundary County, Idaho
Coordinates
48.92300, −116.59808
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 10 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-smith-triangle-2

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.9 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. 1934 Built20-foot L-4 tower, per firelookout.comSource: firelookout.com
  2. 1934 StaffedHoward Green listed as lookout personnelSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1935 StaffedEd Johnson listed for 1935-1936Sources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  4. 1937 BuiltSmall cabin, per Idaho Fire Lookouts (conflicts with the 1934 tower)Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  5. 1950 DestroyedDestroyed in the 1950s; sources give the decade onlySources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  6. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Smith Triangle was a lookout in Boundary County, Idaho, seven miles southwest of Porthill, in the Kaniksu National Forest.1,2 Its elevation is listed as 5,922 feet.1,2

The sources disagree on what was built. firelookout.com describes a 20-foot L-4 tower dated 1934.1 Idaho Fire Lookouts describes a small cabin dated 1937, and the statewide list gives the type as "Ground" rather than "Tower."2,3 No source explains the difference, so each version is given as its source states it.1,2,3

Both sites list Howard Green for 1934 and Ed Johnson for 1935 and 1936.1,2 Both also say the lookout was destroyed in the 1950s.1,2

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as hike-in and destroyed.2 No source describes what remains there, such as footings or a foundation, and none says whether the public may visit.1,2,3

  1. Smith Triangle Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/smithtriangle.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Smith Triangle Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/northern-idaho/smith-triangle-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Idaho fire lookout list, FFLA (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Sources

  1. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: 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
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, 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.