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Fire lookout · Missoula County, Montana

Skookum Butte Lookout

A 1928 L-5 log-and-frame ground house on the Lolo NF near the Idaho line; unstaffed since before 1965 and partly restored in 2019.

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. No rental or permit listed in the sources read; unclear whether the cabin interior is open to visitors

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
2011 visit report: trail in good condition with new water bars; directions signed
Staffing
Not staffed (as of per NHLR and firelookout.com, both undated)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 log and frame ground house with mortise-and-tenon log jointsThe design: L-5
Built of
Mixed
Built
1928
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,772 ft (2,064 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Lolo National Forest, Missoula Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Missoula County, Montana
Coordinates
46.66402, −114.39466
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-skookum-butte

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 3.9 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. 1928 BuiltBuilt as an L-5 log and frame ground house on the Montana-Idaho lineSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, missoulacurrent.com
  2. No record between 1928 and 1996
  3. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered June 5, 1996 on the National Historic Lookout Register as US 172Source: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1996 and 2011
  5. 2011 Condition assessmentVisit report: lean to the south, about half the shutters off, rot at the bottom logs of the cabSource: nhlr.org
  6. 2019 EventFFLA restoration grant of $500 for supplies: shiplap for shutters, subfloor and roof sheathing, window glass and maple flooring.Source: firelookout.org
  7. 2019 RestoredFirst restoration phase: stones reset under the southeast corner and rotten logs replaced, by Forest Service staff and 11 Passport In Time volunteersSources: missoulacurrent.com, firelookout.com
  8. 2022 RestoredMulti-year restoration project was completed, with chapter support.Source: firelookout.org
  9. 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.

Skookum Butte Lookout is a small square cabin of log and frame, built in 1928 on a boulder outcrop within yards of the Montana-Idaho border.1,2 The register says the lookout is one of only three remaining L-5 log-and-frame ground houses in Montana and northern Idaho. A 2019 newspaper report says two of those three are on the Lolo National Forest.1,2 The builders used mortise-and-tenon joints, which the newspaper calls unusual techniques. Each horizontal log has a peg on its end that fits into a groove along a standing log.2

It sits more than eight miles up Elk Meadows Road, west of Lolo, Montana.2 The sources disagree on its height. The register gives 6,772 feet (2,064 meters), while the 2019 report and a lookout-history site both give 7,215 feet.1,3,2 The history site also places it in Idaho County, Idaho, where the register puts it in Missoula County, Montana.1,3

The register notes that it has not been regularly staffed since sometime before 1965. The history site says it has not been staffed since the early 1960s.1,3 The National Historic Lookout Register listed it on June 5, 1996.1

By 2011 the building was in poor shape. A visit report dated September 4, 2011 describes a more pronounced lean to the south, roughly half the shutters gone, and rot at the bottom of the cab's logs.1

The push to save it got its green light in 2016.2 In 2019, historic preservation specialist Jack Poppen reset the stones under the southeast corner, and 11 volunteers from the Passport In Time program joined Forest Service staff to finish a first phase of repairs.2,3 The work focused on the south and west sides, which suffer the most weather damage.2 The Forest Service has money for such work through its Heritage Stewardship Enhancement Program, and the project secured $20,000 for supplies and hauling 22 logs to the site.2 Many volunteers are expected back next year, probably to replace the roof, if more money comes in.2

Today, the sources read here do not mention a rental or a public visiting program, and the register describes the lookout as not regularly staffed.1 The same 2011 visit found the trail in good condition, with new water bars.1 Whether visitors may go inside is not clear from these sources, so check with the Lolo National Forest before making the trip.1,2

  1. Skookum Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/skookum-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Skookum Butte: Volunteers save historic lookout for the ages, Laura Lundquist, Missoula Current, July 20, 2019, https://missoulacurrent.com/skookum-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Skookum Butte Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/mt/skookum.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Skookum Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Skookum Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout interior
Lookout interiorPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Skookum Butte L.O.
Skookum Butte L.OPhoto: Gary Weber, Rick Landry, Kyle Stetler, and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Skookum Butte in 2009
Skookum Butte in 2009 (2009)Photo: Gary Weber, Rick Landry, Kyle Stetler, and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Skookum Butte in 2011
Skookum Butte in 2011 (2011)Photo: Gary Weber, Rick Landry, Kyle Stetler, and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Skookum Butte in 2022
Skookum Butte in 2022 (2022)Photo: Gary Weber, Rick Landry, Kyle Stetler, 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: links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. 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
  4. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: what it is built of, design, 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
  5. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. 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.