FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Idaho County, Idaho

Spot Mountain Lookout

1972 R-6 cab on a 10-foot concrete base in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, after a 1922 log cabin and 1934 L-4; a 2010 abandonment note conflicts with current staffing.

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 only, in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The lookout is staffed as funding allows; no source says visitors may enter the cab.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Hike-in per Idaho Fire Lookouts; trail length is not given in these sources.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingR-6 flat cab with catwalk on a 10-foot concrete baseThe designs: R-6, L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1922
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
8,024 ft (2,446 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest (management has at times passed to the Nez Perce National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Idaho County, Idaho
Coordinates
45.78722, −114.85472
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-spot-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 4.1 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. 1922 BuiltTwo-story log cabin built by the Bitterroot National Forest, with windows on all sidesSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  2. 1934 Replaced by a new structureReplaced by an L-4 on a 10-foot pole towerSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  3. 1946 StaffedEarliest name on the known-staff list: Mr. and Mrs. Robert GarlandSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  4. No record between 1946 and 1971
  5. 1971 StaffedLast name on the known-staff list: Timothy ErvinSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1972 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  7. 1972 Replaced by a new structureCurrent R-6 flat cab on a 10-foot concrete baseSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  8. No record between 1972 and 2009
  9. 2009 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 24, 2009 as US 799, ID 77Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2010 AbandonedIdaho Fire Lookouts gives 2010 as the year it was abandoned; the same page carries an Actively Staffed tag. No source dates a resumption.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  11. 2017 FireEagle Creek Fire: the lookout crew was evacuated by helicopter before the tower wrapping was finished; a Keeping Watch photo caption says Spot Mountain was wrapped during the fireSource: cdil.lib.uidaho.edu
  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.

Spot Mountain Lookout sits in Idaho County, inside the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, overlooking the Selway River at 8,024 feet.1,2,3

The Bitterroot National Forest built the first lookout here in 1922, a two-story log cabin with windows on every side.1 An L-4 on a 10-foot pole tower replaced it in 1934.1,2,3 The current R-6 flat cab, on a 10-foot concrete base, went up in 1972.1,2,3

The known-staff lists on firelookout.com and Idaho Fire Lookouts run from 1946 to 1971.2,3 They begin with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Garland, and include Bynum Meeks in 1956 and Bob Reid in 1958.2,3 The 1969 entry names John and Claudia Jo Driscoll, though the Idaho Fire Lookouts page spells the surname Driscol.2,3 The last name on the list is Timothy Ervin, in 1971.2,3

The register says the site is staffed when funding permits, and firelookout.com says it is staffed in the summer.1,2

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists 2010 as the year Spot Mountain was abandoned, yet the same page carries an "Actively Staffed" tag.3 The Keeping Watch interview with Rhett and Mark Moak calls it an actively staffed lookout.4 The sources do not say when staffing resumed, or whether it lapsed at all.

The Keeping Watch page also describes Rhett Moak calling in the Lynx Fire. It also says the lookout crew was evacuated by helicopter during the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire before the wrapping was finished, and a photo caption says Spot Mountain was wrapped during that fire.4

The register notes that management has moved back and forth between the Bitterroot and Nez Perce forests, and that the Bitterroot is in charge now.1 It registered the lookout on April 24, 2009, as US 799, ID 77.1

Getting there is on foot, since Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the site "Hike-In Staffed."3

  1. Spot Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/spot-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Spot Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Forest Fire Lookout (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/id/spotmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Spot Mountain Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/spot-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Spot Mountain, Keeping Watch, Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning, University of Idaho, https://cdil.lib.uidaho.edu/keeping-watch/items/spot-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Spot Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Spot Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Spot Mtn. in 1922
Spot Mtn. in 1922 (1922)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Spot Mtn. in 1972
Spot Mtn. in 1972 (1972)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Spot Mtn. in 2015
Spot Mtn. in 2015 (2015)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, 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.

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, height, 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, 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.