FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Lincoln County, Montana

Robinson Mountain Lookout

Also known as Robinson Lookout

A 1929 gable-roof cupola cabin in the Kootenai National Forest, abandoned in 1948 and restored in 1983; a recent assessment found it in good condition. Current access is unclear.

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.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Nearly a 2-mile hike after remote forest roads; seasonal road conditions at high elevation (Campflare).
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabGable-roof cupola cabin, 12x14 ft, shake and frameThe design: Cupola house
Built of
Wood
Built
1929
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,404 ft (2,257 m)
Agency
Kootenai National Forest, U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lincoln County, Montana
Coordinates
48.96666, −115.41178
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-robinson-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 4.2 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. 1921 EventListed as a camp at the siteSource: firelookout.com
  2. 1929 Built12x14 ft shake and frame gable-roof cupola cabinSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, nwmt-ffla.org
  3. No record between 1929 and 1948
  4. 1948 AbandonedAbandonedSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1948 and 1983
  6. 1983 RestoredRestored to serviceable condition by the Kootenai National Forest; the register says it reopened as a KNF rentalSources: nhlr.org, nwmt-ffla.org
  7. No record between 1983 and 2000
  8. 2000 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterDate registered May 12, 2000Source: nhlr.org
  9. No record between 2000 and 2022
  10. 2022 Condition assessmentRestoration assessment: needs a little help.Sources: nwmt-ffla.org, nwmt-ffla.org
  11. 2026 Condition assessmentVolunteer condition assessment: good overall; future work on specific structural issues plus ongoing maintenanceSource: nwmt-ffla.org
  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.

Robinson Mountain Lookout stands at 7,404 feet in the Kootenai National Forest, a few miles south of the Canadian border.1,2 The association counts it among the few gable-roof cupola lookouts still standing. That design was once popular in Montana and northern Idaho.2 The National Historic Lookout Register says a few hip-roof cupola lookouts remain, and even fewer have gable roofs.3

The cabin is a 12-by-14-foot building of shake and frame, completed in 1929.3,2 One lookout guide also lists a camp at the site in 1921.1 The sources I could reach do not describe who staffed the lookout or which fires it watched. The register says the site was difficult to reach and often fogged in.3

The cabin was abandoned in 1948.3 It came back in 1983: the register says it was restored as a Kootenai National Forest rental, while the association says the forest restored it to serviceable condition.3,2 It was added to the register on May 12, 2000.3

A recent condition assessment by volunteers, with help from Ksanka Ranger District staff, found the structure in good condition.2 It will still need work on specific structural problems, along with continued upkeep.2

Current access is unclear.4 A campground listing run by a third party says the lookout is not on Recreation.gov, that it may be used without fees, and that reaching it takes a nearly two-mile hike after remote forest roads.4 Road conditions at that elevation change with the seasons.4 Check with the Forest Service before you go.

  1. Robinson Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/mt/robinsonmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. 2026 Projects, Northwest Montana Lookout Association, https://nwmt-ffla.org/2026/03/07/2026-projects/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Robinson Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/robinson-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Robinson Mountain Lookout Campground, Campflare, https://campflare.com/campground/robinson-mountain-lookout-006 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Robinson Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Robinson Mtn. L.O.
Robinson Mtn. L.OPhoto: the U.S. Forest Service and Rod Fosback, via firelookout.com · source
Robinson Mtn. in 2010
Robinson Mtn. in 2010 (2010)Photo: the U.S. Forest Service and Rod Fosback, 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: 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. 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.