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Fire lookout · Flathead County, Montana

Porcupine Ridge Lookout

Also known as Porcupine Lookout

A 1939 two-story NPS frame lookout in Glacier's Waterton Valley, used for fire watch until about 1972 and now reached by a long backcountry hike from Goat Haunt.

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. Backcountry building in Glacier reached on foot from Goat Haunt. Sources do not say whether visitors may enter the cab; the register says backcountry rangers use it.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
About 9.6 miles on foot from Goat Haunt (4.2 miles to the lookout trail junction, then 5.4 miles), with river crossings and 17 switchbacks; a trip report describes a tour boat from Waterton, Canada to Goat Haunt.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1972)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingTwo-story NPS frame cab, standardized lookout design in the Rustic StyleThe design: National Park Service lookout
Built of
Wood
Built
1939
Height
14 ft (4.3 m)
Elevation
7,000 ft (2,134 m)
Agency
National Park Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Flathead County, Montana
Coordinates
48.91617, −113.93190
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-porcupine-ridge

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. 1939 BuiltProject began 23 May 1939 per the nomination file; register photos show it under construction in 1939 and completed by 1940Sources: npshistory.com, nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1939 and 1972
  3. 1972 Abandonedfirelookout.com says abandoned in 1972; the register says not used much for fire detection after 1972 but still used by backcountry rangersSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1972 and 1988
  5. 1988 Event1988 National Register nomination form prepared; the park found the lookout eligible under Criteria A and C (not a listing)Source: npshistory.com
  6. No record between 1988 and 2003
  7. 2003 RestoredLast rehabilitated; bears and other animals have tried to get in since.Sources: nwmt-ffla.org, nwmt-ffla.org
  8. 2017 Condition assessmentRemote assessment reached by boat to Goat Haunt and a hike with creek fords.Sources: nwmt-ffla.org, nwmt-ffla.org
  9. 2020 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 6, 2020 as US 1459Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2023 Condition assessmentAssessment: good condition; routine painting and a few shutters to replace.Sources: nwmt-ffla.org, nwmt-ffla.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.

Porcupine Ridge Lookout sits on a slope below the ridge that gives it its name, looking over the Waterton Valley in Glacier National Park.1 The park's nomination file places it in the Waterton River drainage, south of the Goat Haunt Ranger Station.2 The project began on 23 May 1939, and register photographs show the building under construction that year and finished by 1940.2,3

It is a two-story frame cab in the Park Service's standard lookout pattern. The nomination file calls it an example of standardized lookout design and of the Service's Rustic Style, and it counts the lookout as the last of eleven built in Glacier between 1929 and 1939.3,2

Its fire-watch work tapered off after 1972. The register says it was not used much for fire detection after that year, though backcountry rangers still use the lookout.3 A firelookout.com page says simply that it was abandoned in 1972.4 The sources agree on the year but not on how complete the change was.3,4

A 1988 National Register nomination form was prepared for the building.2 The park's letter says the lookout was not part of its multiple-resource submission, but that the park found it eligible for listing under Criteria A and C.2 The register recorded it on 6 November 2020 as US 1459.3

Visiting is a trip, not a drive.1 One hiker's report describes a tour boat from Waterton, Canada, to Goat Haunt, then about 9.6 miles on foot. The lookout trail is overgrown, with river crossings along the way and 17 switchbacks before the lookout. The report also says you will need a passport.1

The sources do not say whether the public may go inside the cab. The register describes it as still used by backcountry rangers, while one guide lists it as standing but abandoned, so its current use is unclear.3,1

  1. The Lookouts of Glacier National Park, SummitPost, https://www.summitpost.org/the-lookouts-of-glacier-national-park/564040 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Porcupine Ridge Fire Lookout, park letter and 1988 National Register nomination form, Glacier National Park (National Park Service), https://npshistory.com/publications/glac/nr-porcupine-ridge-lookout.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Porcupine Ridge Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/porcupine-ridge-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Porcupine Ridge Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/mt/porcupineridge.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Porcupine Ridge Lookout - August 2017
Porcupine Ridge Lookout - August 2017 (2017)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sun cresting over Mt. Cleveland in August 2017, Porcupine Ridge LO in foreground.
Sun cresting over Mt. Cleveland in August 2017, Porcupine Ridge LO in foreground (2017)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout soon after being completed in 1940. National Park Service
Lookout soon after being completed in 1940. National Park Service (1940)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Porcupine lookout with visitors, late 1940s. National Park Service
Porcupine lookout with visitors, late 1940s. National Park ServicePhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Porcupine Ridge under construction in 1939. National Park Service
Porcupine Ridge under construction in 1939. National Park Service (1939)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Porcupine Ridge L.O.
Porcupine Ridge L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum and the Montana Memory Project, via firelookout.com · source
Porcupine Ridge in 1973
Porcupine Ridge in 1973 (1973)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and the Montana Memory Project, 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, what it is built of, 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: 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
  4. Northwest Montana Lookout Association Gave us: design, dates, links Northwest Montana Lookout Association (nwmt-ffla.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, dimensions, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the NMLA page or PDF it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR and FFLA records (NMLA publishes none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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

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