FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Pend Oreille County, Washington

Salmo Mountain Lookout

Colville National Forest tower with a 1964 R-6 cab on a 10-foot base; the site has had four lookouts since 1927, was last staffed in 1976, and was refurbished by 2022.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Reached by a forest road that TrailChick says runs to the summit; the cab sits on National Forest land. No source we read says whether the cab is open for visitors to enter.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
A 2018 visit report says the road suits a pickup or a car with a little extra clearance.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2018)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerR-6 flat cab on a 10-foot treated timber towerThe designs: R-6, L-4
Built of
Wood
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
6,747 ft (2,057 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Pend Oreille County, Washington
Coordinates
48.96824, −117.10291
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-salmo-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 4.3 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. 1927 BuiltFirst lookout on the site: a pole tower with platform on the south summit (TrailChick says late 1920s)Sources: firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  2. 1929 BuiltLog cabin built on the south summit, pole platform on the north summitSources: firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  3. 1933 BuiltAbout 1933, a 30-foot L-4 cab on the south summitSources: firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  4. No record between 1933 and 1964
  5. 1964 Replaced by a new structurePresent R-6 cab on a 10-foot treated timber tower; the 2018 tDAR study gives 1965Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  6. 1976 Last staffedLast staffed year per the register and TrailChickSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  7. No record between 1976 and 1995
  8. 1995 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 24, 1995 as NHLR US 132Source: nhlr.org
  9. 2005 RestoredSubstantial restoration work done, mostly by volunteers.Source: firelookout.org
  10. 2007 AlteredLightning protection, roof repairs, railing work and paintSource: trailchick.com
  11. 2009 RestoredNew lightning protection installed and nearly all repairs done to prepare for the Cabin Rental Program; entry delayed again by staff turnover.Sources: firelookout.org, firelookout.org
  12. 2016 EventGrant made to complete repairsSource: trailchick.com
  13. 2016 RestoredPassport In Time crew rebuilt the interior: three window sets, new ceiling and floor; roof sealed and exterior scraped for painting. Work to continue in 2017.Source: firelookout.org
  14. 2017 FireWrapped because of the Noisy Creek and Hughes fires, which also stopped planned restoration work.Source: firelookout.org
  15. 2017 RestoredPassport in Time program worked with the Forest Service and FFLA members on restorationSource: trailchick.com
  16. 2018 EventSerious vandalism, over $10,000 in damageSource: trailchick.com
  17. 2018 RestoredWork schedule reworked to repair the vandalized windows and frames; restoration for rental use to continue in 2019 and 2020.Source: firelookout.org
  18. 2022 EventForest Service project decision signed 02/17/2022 for access road improvements and refurbishment of the lookout; project page lists it as completedSource: fs.usda.gov
  19. 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.

Salmo Mountain rises in the Colville National Forest, in the northeastern corner of Washington, a few miles from the Idaho and Canadian borders.1 The site was first developed in 1927 with a pole tower and platform on the south summit.2 TrailChick dates that first tower only to the late 1920s.3 A log cabin followed on the south summit in 1929, and a 30-foot L-4 cab went up around 1933.2,3 The present R-6 cab, on a 10-foot treated timber tower, was built in 1964.1,2,3 A 2018 study gives 1965 for the same cab, so that date is not fully settled.4

The lookout was last staffed in 1976.1 In 2007 it received lightning protection, roof repairs, railing work and paint.3 A grant to complete repairs came in 2016, and in 2017 the Passport in Time program joined Forest Service staff and members of the FFLA on further restoration work.3 In 2018 the lookout suffered serious vandalism, with more than $10,000 in damage.3 A Forest Service project covering access road work and refurbishment of the lookout received its decision on February 17, 2022, and the project page lists it as completed.5

Hopes have run toward a rental. TrailChick reports that the lookout was hoped to become a rental, possibly with volunteer lookout duty.3 A 2018 study says the tower recently underwent rehabilitation aimed at a recreation rental.4 We found no source confirming that a rental has opened.

Today the tower can be reached by road. TrailChick says a driver can reach the summit on a forest road.3 The 2018 study places the tower on the border of the Salmo-Priest Wilderness.4 A 2018 visit report on the register says the road suits a pickup or a car with a little extra clearance.1 TrailChick, writing after its own 2018 visit, says the lookout's future remains uncertain.3 We found no source saying whether the cab is open to visitors, so check with the Forest Service before you go.

  1. Salmo Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/salmo-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Salmo Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Fire Lookout, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/salmo.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Salmo Mountain - TrailChick, TrailChick, https://trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/salmo-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. A View to Wilderness: The Salmo Lookout Tower and the Salmo-Priest Wilderness Area, tDAR (Digital Archaeological Record), https://core.tdar.org/document/444080/a-view-to-wilderness-the-salmo-lookout-tower-and-the-salmo-priest-wilderness-area (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Salmo Lookout, project #61362, USDA Forest Service Colville National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/colville/projects/61362 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

August 2018 photo
August 2018 photo (2018)Photo: Nicholas Muto, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Salmo Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Salmo Mtn. North in 1929
Salmo Mtn. North in 1929 (1929)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Salmo Mtn. South in 1929
Salmo Mtn. South in 1929 (1929)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Salmo Mtn. in 1931
Salmo Mtn. in 1931 (1931)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Salmo Mtn. in 1988
Salmo Mtn. in 1988 (1988)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, Dave Bula collection, and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Salmo Mountain Lookout
Photo: TrailChick Washington lookout guide (trailchick.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 year it was built.

    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1927
    • TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts: 1964

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

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: 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
  4. 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
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · 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. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: photos, links TrailChick (trailchick.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, coordinates, elevation, lookout type, years built). The guide's text is not reproduced; its card photos are listed with credit to TrailChick, for the project's photo mirroring. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  8. WillhiteWeb.com: Washington Fire Lookouts Gave us: links WillhiteWeb.com · No licence stated; names and page links only (the site's photos and text are not reproduced). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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.