FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Lewis & Clark County, Montana

Stonewall Mountain

Also known as Stonewall Lookout

Helena-Lewis and Clark NF lookout north of Lincoln, MT; build date disputed (1941-1950 sources); current frame cab from mid-1990s; staffed in summer; standing; 4x4 road open July-October.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Unpaved road about 18 miles from Lincoln; a 4x4 is required; open July through October and closed in winter (DangerousRoads). The cab is an active staffed lookout.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Road is totally unpaved, rocky and steep in spots; the cab is staffed in summer. The advice not to climb it is editorial, not from a source.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of summer seasons since 2016 (KRTV, undated feature))

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingL-4 tower in 1945 (firelookout.com); current frame cabin on a 10-ft concrete base, built mid-1990sThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1941
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
8,270 ft (2,521 m)
Agency
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, USDA Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lewis & Clark County, Montana
Coordinates
47.04391, −112.70320
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-stonewall-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 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. 1941 BuiltNewspaper item says a lookout house and tower for fire control were built after a CCC camp opened at Rimini in June 1939Source: montanalookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1945 BuiltEstablished with a 10-ft pole L-4 tower (firelookout.com); DangerousRoads gives the same yearSources: firelookout.com, dangerousroads.org
  3. 1950 Built1965 recovery note describes a tower built in 1950, reported removed in 1964Source: montanalookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1951 StaffedNewspaper item names lookout Monte Supola at Stonewall MountainSource: montanalookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1953 StaffedNewspaper item names lookout Richard Sandman at Stonewall MountainSource: montanalookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1963 Last staffedStaffed until 1963 (firelookout.com); DangerousRoads repeats thisSources: firelookout.com, dangerousroads.org
  7. 1964 RemovedReported removed in 1964 (1965 recovery note); firelookout.com says torn down soon after staffing endedSources: montanalookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  8. No record between 1964 and 2008
  9. 2008 EventDecember 2008: roof of the cab blown off and carried about 70 yards from the lookoutSources: montanalookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  10. 2009 EventLookout was receiving repairs from winter damage during the 2009 season; no source calls this a restorationSource: firelookout.org
  11. 2009 RestoredLookout was receiving repairs for winter damage during the 2009 season.Sources: firelookout.org, firelookout.org
  12. 2016 StaffedSeasonal observer has spent summers at the lookout since 2016 (KRTV)Source: krtv.com
  13. 2017 FireWith a wildfire threatening, fire crews wrapped the lookout in fire-resistant materialSource: montanalookouts.weebly.com
  14. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Stonewall Mountain's lookout stands about six miles north of Lincoln, Montana, in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.1 The summit is given as 8,270 feet in one source and 8,284 feet in another.1,2

The sources do not agree on when the first tower went up.3,4 A March 1941 newspaper item, reprinted on Rex's page, says a lookout house and tower for fire control were built on the mountain after a Civilian Conservation Corps camp opened at Rimini.4 Firelookout.com gives 1945 for an L-4 tower, and a 1965 recovery note quoted on the same page describes a tower built in 1950 and reported removed in 1964.3,4

Newspaper items name a lookout there in 1951 and 1953.4 Firelookout.com says the station was staffed until 1963 and torn down soon after.3 A frame cabin on a 10-foot concrete base was proposed around 1990 and built in the mid-1990s.3

In December 2008 the cab lost its roof, which was moved about 70 yards.4 A 2009 chapter report describes repairs made after winter damage.5 In July 2017, as a wildfire neared, crews put a protective, fire-resistant wrap around the lookout.4

A KRTV feature says a seasonal observer has spent summers at the lookout since 2016.1 Firelookout.com says it is staffed in summer, and firelookout.org lists it as standing.3,6

The road to the summit is unpaved, rocky and steep in places, and runs about 18 miles from Lincoln.2 A 4x4 is needed.2 DangerousRoads says the road is closed in winter and open from July through October.2 Because the cab is staffed in summer, please do not climb it.

  1. Montana fire lookouts: Alone on a peak watching for wildfires, KRTV, https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-and-regional-news/montana-fire-lookouts-alone-on-a-peak-watching-for-wildfires (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. How to drive the unpaved road to the lookout at Stonewall Mountain in Montana, DangerousRoads, https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/14235-stonewall-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stonewall Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/mt/stonewall.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stonewall Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://montanalookouts.weebly.com/stonewall-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Fire Lookout Association 2009 chapter reports, Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-az-2009.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. Montana lookouts list, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/mt/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Stonewall Mtn. L.O.
Stonewall Mtn. L.OPhoto: the Helena NF, Lois Crepeau, and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Stonewall Mtn. L.O.
Stonewall Mtn. L.OPhoto: the Helena NF, Lois Crepeau, and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Stonewall Mtn. in 2014
Stonewall Mtn. in 2014 (2014)Photo: the Helena NF, Lois Crepeau, 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: elevation, what it is built of, design, height, agency, ownership, 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
  3. 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
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. 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
  6. 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.