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Fire lookout · Lincoln County, Montana

Garver Mountain Lookout

A 1929 fire-watch site in the Yaak with its original log cabin still standing, a 1963/64 flattop tower that replaced it, staffed until 1979, now a Kootenai NF rental.

Visit & stay

You can rent this lookout for overnight stays through recreation.gov.

Season
up to four people

Overview Garver Mountain Lookout is perched on top of Garver Mountain at an elevation of 5,874 feet. The lookout is located in the Yaak area of the Kootenai National Forest, characterized by its minimal services and rugged beauty. This destination is ideal for visitors with an adventurous attitude, looking for a plethora of outdoor activities. Garver Mountain Lookout has been used as an observation point for detecting forest fires since 1929. The first lookout was a one-story log cabin, which is still on the site. The current lookout was built in 1963 and is available for rent for up to four people. Recreation Garver Creek is located near the lookout and offers opportunities for trout fishing. Day hiking is another popular pastime in the area around the lookout. The Lookout is situatied along the Pacific Northwest National Scenic trail, and through hikers may visit you in the lookout. Facilities The current lookout is 144 square feet and 40 feet tall. The lookout is equipped with 2 twin beds with 4 mattresses, a wood stove, table, chairs, shovel bucket and cleaning gear. Due to vandalism, however, these items are not guaranteed. The lookout tower is a short but steep hike from the end of the road parking. The lookout is not wired for electricity and water sources are limited. There is a pit toilet located outside. Although there are a few amenities provided, guests will need to bring their own supplies such as drinking water, sleeping bags, pillows, toilet paper, matches, food and cooking utensils, to ensure a comfortable stay. Natural Features The Yaak area is home to grizzly bears, wolves, elk, deer and a variety of smaller mammals and birds. The Yaak River and its many tributaries provide habitat for cutthroat, rainbow, brook and bull trout. There are also several lakes scattered at varying elevations for hikers and fisherman to enjoy.

Book on recreation.gov

Rental details from recreation.gov, checked 19 Oct 2026. Rules, fees and seasons change, so confirm on the booking page before you go. Data source: ridb.recreation.gov

Access

Open to the public. Open to the public as a Kootenai National Forest Recreation.gov rental; short steep hike from end of access road, combination lock requires calling the Three Rivers Ranger District ahead

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Short but steep hike (about 1/4 mile per firelookout.com/rec.gov directions) from the end of a rough road; also on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2026)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower14x14 ft R-6-style flattop cab on a 30-foot treated timber tower with catwalk; original 1929 one-story log ground house still on siteThe design: R-6
Built of
Wood
Height
6 ft (1.8 m)
Elevation
5,820 ft (1,774 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Lincoln County, Montana
Coordinates
48.92871, −115.79447
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-garver-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. 1929 BuiltFirst structure: a one-story log ground house used for fire detection, still standingSources: nhlr.org, recreation.gov
  2. 1932 Built48-foot pole tower with 6x6 ft wood cab and catwalk added above the 1929 cabinSource: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1932 and 1963
  4. 1963 Replaced by a new structureRecreation.gov and firelookout.com date the present 30-foot timber tower with 14x14 ft flattop cab to 1963Sources: recreation.gov, firelookout.com
  5. 1964 Replaced by a new structureNHLR instead dates the present tower and an accompanying helispot to 1964; sources disagree by one yearSource: nhlr.org
  6. No record between 1964 and 1979
  7. 1979 AbandonedUsed for fire detection until 1979, per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  8. No record between 1979 and 2000
  9. 2000 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterAdded to the National Historic Lookout Register May 12, 2000Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2002 Opened as a rentalCabin and lookout restored and placed into the Kootenai National Forest rental systemSource: 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Garver Mountain Lookout

Garver Mountain Lookout rises above the Yaak area of the Kootenai National Forest in Lincoln County, Montana, at an elevation of about 5,874 feet.1 The site's fire-watch history starts in 1929, when the Forest Service put up a one-story log ground house that still stands there today.2,1 Three years later, in 1932, a 48-foot pole tower with a 6-by-6-foot wood cab and catwalk was added above it.2 That tower served until the present 30-foot timber tower with a 14-by-14-foot flattop cab and catwalk went up alongside a new helispot; the National Historic Lookout Register dates this to 1964, while Recreation.gov and firelookout.com both give 1963.2,1,3

The lookout was used for fire detection until 1979, when it was taken out of service.2 For years afterward both structures sat idle before the Forest Service and volunteers restored the cabin and tower, with the Kootenai National Forest adding the site to its recreation rental system in 2002.2 It was later added to the National Historic Lookout Register on May 12, 2000.2

Today Garver Mountain Lookout still stands and is open to the public as a rental. It sits along the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, so through-hikers occasionally pass by or stop in.1 The current 1964 tower is 144 square feet with two twin beds, four mattresses, a wood stove, a table and chairs, though the Forest Service warns that due to past vandalism these furnishings aren't guaranteed to be there.1 There's no electricity and only limited water, with a pit toilet outside; renters reach the lookout by a short but steep hike from the end of a rough access road, and must call the Three Rivers Ranger District ahead of time for the door's combination lock code.1 The older 1929 log cabin remains nearby in relatively good condition, a visible record of the site's longer history.2

  1. Garver Mtn. Lookout Rental, Kootenai National Forest, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234426 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Garver Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/garver-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Garver Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com (Rex Kamstra), https://www.firelookout.com/mt/garvermtn.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Garver Mountain Lookout in 2013.
Garver Mountain Lookout in 2013 (2013)Photo: Luke Channer., via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013 cabin interior
2013 cabin interior (2013)Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2013
2013 (2013)Photo: Luke Channer, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Garver Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Garver Mtn. in 1947
Garver Mtn. in 1947 (1947)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Garver Mtn. L.O.
Garver Mtn. L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.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.

    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1929
    • recreation.gov: 1963

    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, what it is built of, 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: 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. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Gave us: ownership, access, rental details, links Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association: lookout rentals Gave us: rental details, links Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals list (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only (state, name, booking link, manager, closure note), no prose copied. The FFLA says it is not involved in managing any rental program. · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  5. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: design, height, dates, 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
  6. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  8. 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.