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Fire lookout · Sheridan County, Wyoming

Black Mountain Lookout

Also known as Black Mountain (BHNF), Black Mountain (Big Horn)

CCC-built fire lookout on Bighorn NF's Black Mountain, finished 1939-40, in fire detection until 1980, closed to the public since 2024 for building repairs.

Closed

The site is closed to visitors. Building closed since 2024 for public safety. Special order published June 23, 2025 runs through Dec. 31, 2028 or until rescinded. Trail status after the order is not stated in the sources read.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Closed. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Trailhead reached from Dayton via Hwy 14 and FSR 16, then FSR 222. Trail #011 is motorized for vehicles 50 inches or less in width; the last 300 yards or so is hiking only. No facilities at the trailhead or the lookout. Trailhead page last updated May 13, 2025, before the closure order.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingL-4 cab, about 14 by 14 feet, with catwalk on a stone foundationThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1939
Height
Unknown
Elevation
9,383 ft (2,860 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Bighorn National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Sheridan County, Wyoming
Coordinates
44.74254, −107.38178
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wy-black-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 3.5 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. 1938 EventOctober 1938 announcement that a new station would replace the old one atop Lookout MountainSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1939 BuiltNHLR and the 2025 news report give 1939; firelookout.com gives 1939/1940Sources: nhlr.org, basinrepublican-rustler.com, firelookout.com
  3. 1940 BuiltCCC camp record of July 27, 1940: interior carpentry, staining and chinking done, entry ramp still being built, full finish expected about August 7; complete by October 15, 1940, not inspectedSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1947 StaffedLookout Keith Hasbrouck reported smoke in July 1947; ranger found it was dust from a rock crusher, not a fireSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1957 StaffedLookout reported 134 visitors in 1956 and 140 in 1957Source: westlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1957 and 1980
  7. 1980 Last staffedEarly fire detection program ended in 1980 per the 2025 news report; the sources give no date for the last watchSource: basinrepublican-rustler.com
  8. No record between 1980 and 2000
  9. 2000 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 1, 2000 as US 353, WY 9Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2014 RestoredRestoration effort begun with Tongue River Ranger District and a group the report calls Historic Core; the report does not say it was completedSource: firelookout.org
  11. 2024 ClosedBuilding closed to the public for public safety concernsSource: basinrepublican-rustler.com
  12. 2025 Condition assessmentHistoriCorps began a new evaluation of the lookout and other historic forest structures on July 23, 2025Source: basinrepublican-rustler.com
  13. 2025 ClosedSpecial order published June 23, 2025; closes the building to protect public safety until repairs are complete; in effect through Dec. 31, 2028 or until rescindedSource: basinrepublican-rustler.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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Black Mountain Lookout stands on the north end of the Bighorn Mountains in Sheridan County, Wyoming, inside the Bighorn National Forest.1,2 In October 1938 the forest supervisor announced a new station on Black Mountain to replace the old one atop Lookout Mountain and to give a better check on the range's west side.3 The Civilian Conservation Corps built it.1 The cab is an L-4 design about 14 feet square, with a catwalk, on a stone base.1,2

Sources disagree on the year. The register and a 2025 news report both say 1939.1,4 CCC camp records from July 27, 1940 say the interior carpentry, staining and chinking were done, while a rock ramp to the entrance was still going up and the building was not expected to be fully finished until about August 7. The lookout was complete by October 15, 1940, but it was not inspected because two men had already checked it.3

In July 1947 lookout Keith Hasbrouck reported smoke, but the ranger found it was dust from a rock crusher, not a fire.3 The forest also counted visitors: 134 were reported for 1956 and 140 for 1957.3 The lookout was part of an early fire detection program until 1980. The forest credits other detection methods, including flights, with making staffing remote towers unnecessary.4

A 2014 chapter report from the Forest Fire Lookout Association says the Tongue River Ranger District and a group it calls Historic Core began a restoration effort that year. The plan then was a rental program or an interpretive center.5 The report does not say the work was finished, and a 2025 news report says the closure order lasts until building repairs are complete.4

The building has been closed since 2024 over public safety concerns. A special order published June 23, 2025 keeps the building closed until repairs are finished. It runs through December 31, 2028, unless rescinded.4 HistoriCorps is evaluating the building again, starting July 23, 2025, and the forest says the scope and cost of repairs will follow from that review.4

The Forest Service trailhead page describes a motorized route for vehicles up to 50 inches wide, with roughly the final 300 yards on foot. It says there are no facilities at the trailhead or the lookout.6 That page was last updated in May 2025, before the closure order, so it does not show the current closure. The sources read do not say whether the trail itself is closed, so check with the Bighorn National Forest before going.

  1. Black Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wy/black-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Black Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wy/blackmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Black Mountain (Big Horn), Forest Lookouts (westlookouts.weebly.com), https://westlookouts.weebly.com/black-mountain-big-horn.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Black Mountain Lookout closed for repairs, Basin Republican Rustler, https://www.basinrepublican-rustler.com/content/black-mountain-lookout-closed-repairs (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Wyoming Chapter Reports, 2014, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-wy-mb-2014.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Black Mountain Lookout Trailhead, Bighorn National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/bighorn/recreation/black-mountain-lookout-trailhead (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Black Mountain Lookout
Black Mountain LookoutPhoto: Bighorn National Forest, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Black Mountain Lookout
Black Mountain LookoutPhoto: Jay Higgins NARA, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Black Mtn. in the 1940s
Black Mtn. in the 1940s (1940)Photo: the National Archives and Records Administration and Tonya Mathews, via firelookout.com · source
Black Mtn. L.O.
Black Mtn. L.OPhoto: the National Archives and Records Administration and Tonya Mathews, 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: 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: 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
  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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) 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, 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.