Hirz Mountain Lookout

I was unable to get to the Lookout. I knew the road would be in bad shape but because of the roads were also very steep it was too risky to traverse. I've been able to drive many other road with similar descriptions on rec.gov, so be careful out there! If you get stuck, there's no service. Also, there should be a warning about the Google maps location (which will lead you astray if you're dumb enough like me to follow it). Beautiful area ! Hope to go back if I can ever rent a jeep.

The tower was excellent and the views were beautiful! bring binoculars!

The road is really intense. It took us >60mins to travel 5 miles, and we had to repeatedly get out to move rocks that we thought might damage our car. You definitely need an AWD in at least 2 places because of bits of the road being washed out. The more clearance and ruggedness your car, the greater peace of mind you'll have.

Advice for the tower
- There are two cots in the tower, so bring 2 more if you are sleeping 4.
- The walk from the car to the tower is steep and strenuous and you'll arrive at the tower sweaty and tired. The less stuff you bring the better.
- There is no lock on the tower, so bring a bike cable lock if you want to lock it whilst you are out.
- There is cell phone service.
- There is a good picnic table outside.
- The drop toilet is good.
- There aren't hiking trails, we walked along the road in the day time to amuse ourselves.
- Wasps will harass you whilst eating/cooking outside.
- You may encounter (or hear) deer hunters.

The tower was lovingly restored by Historicorps. I am going to look into volunteering with them.

What an amazing experience. The four nights in my opinion are the ONLY way to experience this tower. Especially with that hike up, worth it to carry up your stuff and settle in for a longer lovely time. I traveled to Hirz as a solo female traveler and found it very peaceful and safe. I did have a full flat tire my departing morning (due to tire age+ripping the roads combo) and luckily the flat landing parking area there at the base of the hike made it a simple swap.

If you are uncomfortable with wasps please be aware they are really present here, but were all friendly to me - despite annoying. One nearly crawled into my mouth while eating and I drank a dead one in my morning coffee on accident! Wild.

WHAT TO BRING: I would suggest bringing a combo cable lock (like a bike lock) for the cat walk as traditional u-shaped locks will prove difficult to lock upon leaving the tower to go explore. Binoculars to spy the water skiers at the base of the mountain. And a quality bluetooth speaker to blast the Dune OST.

The views made this trip so worth it! Amazing 360 views of the river and mountains!! The off-roading is no joke! AWD/4x4 is a must! Plan to pack lightly!! The .25mile ~700ft elevation hike is very tough while trying to carry a lot of gear! Plan to bring an extra lock, to lock the hatch at the top of the stairs. Didn’t see much wild life, but there were some pesky wasps. One of the hatches on the windows in the lookout is broken, so it is stuck open. Really enjoyed my stay here!! hope to be back in the future!

To start...the trip to get there is no joke. You'll want a high clearance vehicle, and while the hike up is short, it is very steep. Carrying the gear up was a workout!

Once we got there, it was worth the hike. The space is nice and clean, and the views are amazing.

We did have a couple of issues: 1) The door to the vault toilet had been torn off it's hinges, so there is no functioning door. Fortunately, it faces away from the tower, and you have a beautiful view of the lake while sitting and doing your business...
2) There is no way to secure the room. There is no lock. Unfortunately, we were burglarized while we were out on an excursion one day. Had a wallet and several small random items stolen. You could secure the place if you had a chain and a padlock with you. I would recommend that, or at least don't leave any valuables unattended

What an amazing experience! Highly, highly recommend this fire lookout. Also, here are a few things I learned from my first trip:
1) there are only two twin beds. I read somewhere that there were two additional mattresses if needed, but no - it's the two twins and that's all. BYOB of course (bring your own bedding)
2) others say this but I want to reconfirm that AWD or 4x4 is required to get up the dirt road. There are a few tricky spots but overall not too bad. Also, don't trust google maps. Look for a brown sign with a fire lookout image - that's the correct turnoff.
3) pack a backpack to make that final 1/4 mile hike. I didn't do this and walked up with multiple loose bags - lesson learned. It's steep and slick with stone.
4) bring a PEN to sign the guest book! I was sad I didn't have one in my bag(s) but didn't want to walk back to the car.
5) don't forget a headlamp or light of some sort. No electric, no water, etc.
6) Definitely wake up to watch the sunrise! This is one of my fav trips EVER and I've been to a lot of cool places. This is in my top 3 for sure.

Definitely need AWD, I made it up fine in my Subaru Forester. Two twin beds and a large picnic table located under the lookout. We pack everything in so we don’t have to do the hike to the car and back multiple times. Only issue was that the toilet/outhouse door hinge is broken and it’s not very clean but other than that great experience and amazing view.

It was 104 degrees when I got there and you do have a bit of a trek up hill with two switchbacks. But! Once you get there the view and is amazing. I was very comfortable inside the Tower itself. It has a non flush toilet and a picnic table nearby. Be wary of strong winds.

Stunning location; well-maintained as well. The road was quite an adventure, definitely would not do without 4WD. Google maps road is incomplete; found this map helpful to follow - https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/legacy-media/shasta-trinity/Hirz%20Mountain%20Lookout%20ROG.pdf

Absolutely amazing!