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Fire lookout · Lincoln County, Montana

Yaak Mountain Lookout

Site of lookout structures since 1915, the present 1958 R-6 tower was last regularly staffed in 1988 and is now a seasonal Kootenai NF rental.

Visit & stay

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

Season
mid-June through late September
Sleeps
Up to 4 people
Getting there
Access is available via primitive roads, and high clearance vehicles are recommended.

Rules

  • Pack out all trash

Overview Yaak Mountain Lookout rests atop its namesake peak at an elevation of 4,977 feet within the Rocky Mountains in the Kootenai National Forest. The lookout tower has been used as an observation point for spotting forest fires since 1958. The lookout is typically open from mid-June through late September. Access is available via primitive roads, and high clearance vehicles are recommended. This rustic retreat offers a few amenities, but guests will need to bring most of their own gear and supplies. Recreation Yaak Mountain Road is for non-motorized use only, with the exception of guests who reserve the lookout. Hikers can hike along this road, as well as explore the remnants of the structures that stood here before the current lookout. Anglers can fish for rainbow trout in the Kootenai River. The Yaak River and its many tributaries provide habitat for cutthroat, rainbow, brook and bull trout. Facilities The lookout sits atop a 45-foot tower and has a catwalk encircling the cabin. It can accommodate up to 4 people and comes equipped with 2 twin beds and 4 mattresses. Other amenities include a propane stove, heater, lights, table and chairs, fire extinguisher and cleaning gear. An outhouse with vault toilet is located a short distance away. No electricity or water is available. Guests must bring their own supply of water for drinking, cooking and washing. Items such as cooking gear, bedding, lanterns or flashlights, matches, extra toilet paper, first aid supplies, trash bags, dish soap, and towels are not available. Guests are expected to pack out their trash and clean the cabin before leaving. Natural Features The lookout is located in the Yaak Area, which features mountainous and heavily forested terrain, as well as several lakes scattered at varying elevations. Guests can enjoy outstanding views of the town of Troy, especially for 4th of July fireworks, as well as the Kootenai and Yaak River valleys and the surrounding mountains. Kootenai National Forest supports populations of deer, elk, moose, grizzly and black bears, wolves and mountain lions (bear safety). A variety of smaller mammals and birds can also be found. Nearby Attractions Yaak Falls is a popular destination just a short drive northwest from Yaak Mountain. Spring and early summer are the best times to visit, when the snowmelt finds its way over the falls.

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. Primitive, high-clearance roads to a gate on Forest Road 4407, then 5.3 miles to the lookout; gated road also open to hikers.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Road 4407 is closed to motorized use except for lookout guests; open to hikers.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerR-6 flat cab on 41-foot treated timber towerThe designs: R-6, L-6
Built of
Wood
Built
1915
Height
41 ft (12.5 m)
Elevation
4,959 ft (1,512 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Lincoln County, Montana
Coordinates
48.56025, −115.92150
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-yaak-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. 1915 BuiltFirst structure: a 45-foot pole platform.Source: firelookout.com
  2. 1919 RebuiltFrame cupola cabin built, about 1919.Source: firelookout.com
  3. 1930 Rebuilt50-foot pole tower with L-6 cab and separate log cabin living quarters built in the 1930s.Source: firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1930 and 1958
  5. 1958 BuiltPresent 41-foot treated timber tower with R-6 flat cab built.Sources: firelookout.com, recreation.gov
  6. No record between 1958 and 1988
  7. 1988 Last staffedLast year of regular staffing per NHLR; occasional staffing recorded in 1995, 1998, and 2000.Source: nhlr.org
  8. No record between 1988 and 2015
  9. 2015 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterAdded to the National Historic Lookout Register, January 3, 2015.Source: nhlr.org
  10. 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.

Yaak Mountain has carried some kind of fire-watch structure for well over a century. The earliest was a 45-foot pole platform put up in 1915, followed around 1919 by a frame cupola cabin.1 In the 1930s crews replaced that with a 50-foot pole tower topped by an L-6 cab, along with a separate log cabin for living quarters.1 The tower standing today dates to 1958: a 41-foot treated-timber tower carrying an R-6 flat cab, built by the Kootenai National Forest to replace the aging 1930s setup.1,2

The lookout was staffed regularly until 1988, after which the Forest Service brought it back into service only occasionally, including seasons in 1995, 1998, and 2000.3 By the time of its National Historic Lookout Register listing, no Osborne fire finder remained in the cab, though the register's reviewer noted it could still see sporadic staffing.3 It was added to the Register on January 3, 2015.4

The tower has since gone into the Forest Service's recreation rental program and is open to overnight guests from mid-June through late September.3,2 Sitting at about 4,977 feet, the tower has a catwalk around the cab, sleeping space for up to four people, a propane stove and heater, and an outhouse nearby; there's no electricity or running water, so guests bring their own.2 Getting there means driving primitive, high-clearance roads to a gate on Forest Road 4407, then following that road about 5.3 miles to the lookout.2 Hikers can also walk in along the road, past the remnants of the earlier structures that once stood on the mountain, though the road itself is closed to motorized use except for registered guests.2

  1. Yaak Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/mt/yaakmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Yaak Mtn. Lookout Rental, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234387 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  3. Yaak Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/yaak-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  4. Yaak Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/yaak-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

SummitPost.org Photo
SummitPost.org PhotoPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Yaak Mtn. in 1948
Yaak Mtn. in 1948 (1948)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Gary Weber, via firelookout.com · source
Yaak Mtn. L.O.
Yaak Mtn. L.OPhoto: the Fire Lookout Museum 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.

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, height, 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. 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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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