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Fire lookout · Clearwater County, Idaho

Wallow Mountain Lookout

A 1968 R-6 flat-cab tower on a 10-ft timber base in Idaho's Clearwater County; the rental program has lapsed and it may be staffed on an emergency basis.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go. Rental program has lapsed. Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the site Hike-In Emergency. No current road, gate or permit information in the sources.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Located 9 miles east of Canyon R.S. (Forest Fire Lookout). Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the site as hike-in.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower10-ft treated timber tower with R-6 flat cab (current tower, built 1968)The designs: R-6, L-4, D-6, L-6
Built of
Wood
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
5,890 ft (1,795 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests
Land
Federal land
Location
Clearwater County, Idaho
Coordinates
46.84310, −115.39381
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-wallow-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.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1932 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab on a log base replaced the 1920s D-6 cupola cabinSource: firelookout.com
  2. 1934 Built10-ft L-6 patrol tower on the site, after the 1932 L-4 cab on a log baseSource: firelookout.com
  3. No record between 1934 and 1968
  4. 1968 BuiltCurrent 10-ft treated timber tower with R-6 flat cabSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1974 StaffedDarcy Aldrich-Pederson named as known staffSource: idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1977 StaffedDiana Andrews named as known staffSource: idahofirelookouts.com
  7. No record between 1977 and 1995
  8. 1995 Opened as a rentalAdded to the Recreation Rental programSources: firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  9. No record between 1995 and 2020
  10. 2020 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered December 5, 2020 as US 1468, ID 160Source: nhlr.org
  11. 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.

Wallow Mountain Lookout stands in Clearwater County, Idaho, on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, about nine miles east of the Canyon Ranger Station.1,2 Sources disagree on its elevation: the register gives 5,890 feet, while the Forest Service list and two other sites give 5,981 feet.1,2,3,4

The site has had several structures. The first, from the 1920s, was a D-6 cupola cabin.2 In 1932 it was replaced with an L-4 cab on a log base, and a 10-foot L-6 patrol tower followed in 1934.2 The current tower, a 10-foot treated timber tower with an R-6 flat cab, was built in 1968.1,2

The tower joined the Recreation Rental program in 1995.2,3 Idaho Fire Lookouts lists two known staff members, Darcy Aldrich-Pederson in 1974 and Diana Andrews in 1977.3 The rental arrangement has since lapsed.2,3 Forest Fire Lookout says the tower cannot be rented at present, and Idaho Fire Lookouts says it can still be staffed in emergencies.2,3 A Forest Service list of Clearwater lookouts, however, still marks it as a rental.4

The National Historic Lookout Register listed the tower on December 5, 2020, as US 1468, ID 160, after a nomination by Brad Eells.1 A lookout list at firelookout.org shows it as standing.5 Idaho Fire Lookouts tags the site "Hike-In Emergency," which suggests a walk-in visit.3 No source describes a current road, gate or permit.1,2,3,4,5 Anyone planning a trip should check with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests first.

  1. Wallow Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/wallow-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Wallow Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Forest Fire Lookout (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/id/wallowmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Wallow Mountain Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com), https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/st-joe-clearwater-region/wallow-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Clearwater National Forest Lookouts, USDA Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/media/259185 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Idaho lookout list, Forest Fire Lookout (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Wallow Mountain Lookout - 2016
Wallow Mountain Lookout - 2016 (2016)Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Wallow Mtn. in the 1920s
Wallow Mtn. in the 1920s (1920)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Wallow Mtn. in 1997
Wallow Mtn. in 1997 (1997)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Wallow Mountain Lookout
Wallow Mountain LookoutPhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · source

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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 the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1968
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1920

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

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, 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: height, 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, 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

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