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Fire lookout · Missoula County, Montana

West Fork Butte Lookout

A 1934 hip-roof L-4 cab in the Lolo National Forest, the last of its kind in western Montana, now rented overnight through recreation.gov.

Visit & stay

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

Sleeps
Up to 4 people
Getting there
Access by vehicle is available for a relatively short time during the summer months and is variable during the spring and fall.

Overview West Fork Butte Lookout is an ideal place for guests to experience the mountains south of Missoula from a unique vantage point. The facility provides near-360-degree views of the surrounding area. It is equipped with basic supplies and provides guests a base camp location from which to explore the area. Access by vehicle is available for a relatively short time during the summer months and is variable during the spring and fall. From December 1 - May 1 Forest Road 37 is closed, requiring hiking, skiing or snowmobiling roughly 7.5 miles to the facility. Outside of these dates the road may be muddy, snowy or icy - guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety and must bring several of their own amenities. Recreation Hiking trails are available in the area. Visitors often bring cross-country skis or snowshoes for wintertime fun. Snowmobiles are often used to reach the lookout in the winter, and there is a system of groomed trails to explore nearby. Fishing is available in Lolo Creek. Facilities The lookout can sleep up to four people and is equipped with bunk beds and mattress pads. The lookout also has a table and chairs, a propane cook stove and lantern, as well as a wood stove for heat. Cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils, cookware and other amenities may be available, but are not always guaranteed; call for availability, (406) 329-3814. A vault toilet is provided. Guests should bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes. Bedding and towels, propane fuel canisters, flashlights, matches, lighters, garbage bags, toilet paper and cleaning supplies are not supplied at the facility. Guests are responsible for cleaning the lookout prior to departure. Natural Features The 14-by-14' lookout is situated on a rocky knob with spectacular views of the surrounding area, including Lolo Peak, the Bitterroot Mountains and the Lolo Creek drainage. The lookout is close to the Montana-Idaho border and Lolo Pass. The surrounding forest is comprised primarily of lodgepole pine and larch. The area is home to elk, moose, deer and black bears.

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. Rented overnight via recreation.gov; Forest Road 37 closed Dec 1-May 1.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Road closed Dec 1-May 1; reach by hiking, skiing or snowmobiling about 7.5 miles in winter.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 ground house cab with a hip roof, built pre-1936The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,102 ft (1,860 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Missoula Ranger District, Lolo National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Missoula County, Montana
Coordinates
46.73546, −114.41510 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-west-fork-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 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. 1934 BuiltL-4 hip-roof ground house cabSource: firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1934 and 1996
  3. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered June 5, 1996 as US 173, MT 15, nominated by Gary Weber of the FFLASource: nhlr.org
  4. Date unknown RestoredExtensively renovated by the Montana Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association after its active fire-watch service ended; exact year not givenSource: nhlr.org
  5. 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.

West Fork Butte Lookout stands in the Lolo National Forest, about 20 miles southwest of Missoula.1 The U.S. Forest Service built the cab in 1934: an L-4 ground house with a hip roof.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register calls it "the only pre-1936 design hip-roof L-4 ground house lookout remaining in western Montana."2

The Forest Service kept the lookout staffed into the late 1980s.2 After it went out of active fire-watch service, the Montana Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association took on an extensive renovation.2 FFLA member Gary Weber then nominated it to the National Historic Lookout Register, where it was registered on June 5, 1996, as US 173, MT 15.2

Today the Forest Service rents the cabin overnight through recreation.gov. It sleeps up to four people on bunk beds, with a propane cook stove, a wood stove for heat, and a vault toilet outside.3 From December 1 through May 1, Forest Road 37 is closed, so winter visitors reach it by hiking, skiing, or snowmobiling roughly 7.5 miles.3 The rest of the year the road is open but can still be "muddy, snowy or icy," and guests are on their own for travel and supplies.3

  1. West Fork Butte, firelookout.com, http://www.firelookout.com/mt/westforkbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. West Fork Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/west-fork-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. West Fork Butte Lookout, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234389 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Photo of West Fork Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of West Fork Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of West Fork Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
West Fork Butte in 1943
West Fork Butte in 1943 (1943)Photo: the National Archives and Records Administration, Montana Memory Project, and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
West Fork Butte in 1943
West Fork Butte in 1943 (1943)Photo: the National Archives and Records Administration, Montana Memory Project, and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
West Fork Butte in 1956
West Fork Butte in 1956 (1956)Photo: the National Archives and Records Administration, Montana Memory Project, and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
West Fork Butte in 1957
West Fork Butte in 1957 (1957)Photo: the National Archives and Records Administration, Montana Memory Project, and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
West Fork Butte L.O.
West Fork Butte L.OPhoto: the National Archives and Records Administration, Montana Memory Project, and Gary Weber, 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.

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 location by 1.1 km (0.7 mi).

    • NHLR: 46.73546, −114.41510
    • recreation.gov: 46.73361, −114.40028

    The map uses the position from NHLR.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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: 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
  6. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · 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, agency, access, 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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