Surveyors Lookout

I had a horrible experience with this booking. The lock combination code was never provided!! I could not get into the lookout. It is a 5 hour drive from Missoula to get there. I called every ranger station on the entire Idaho Panhandle National Forest both ahead of the reservation and in the days following and not a single person has answered the phone or gotten back to me. I spent over 3 combined hours on hold with representatives from Recreation.gov and they said that it was the responsibility of the local Forest Service employees to have provided the combination lock code in the "Reservation Details" portion of the standard confirmation email but they failed to do so. Also there was never provided an after-hours/ personal contact of a forest service employee to either the renter (myself) or recreation.gov booking system as many other Ranger Districts for the cabins and lookouts often do to address problems exactly like this one. I read through all the reviews for Surveyors Lookout and two other visitors from this Summer alone had the same experience. The recreation.gov representative stated that although they cannot handle the refund, that I should expect to get a full refund from the local forest service employees who have the authority to do so. That's still to be determined. I personally was on staff with the Forest Service for some years years including being on the Region 1 Historic Preservation Crew working on these same rental cabins for the public to use. I've rented many lookouts and cabins over the years and this is the first time I've ever had an experience like this. Hopefully it will never happen again.

Have stayed at most regional lookouts. This was the 3rd trip to Surveyors. It’s evident that the billionaire’s boys club would rather guild something else in DC than maintain these treasures.

Had a wonderful time, stars were amazing and the views are awesome. We brought our own inflatable mattress, which I highly recommend. Propane lanterns in the lookout don't provide much light so I would bring another source of light. Tower was very clean upon arrival and we made sure to leave it the same way, housekeeping is minimal :)

We did a roadtrip visiting and stay in 7 different fire lookouts 7 days in a row, bringing our cat along with us. If you want more information about that, find me on YouTube @JoelKalich.

Location and Access:
The largest issue, and a large part of the reason for 3 stars, is that we had to break into the lookout to access it, as the access code was not on the confirmation email, and the number on the listing rang forever without even going to voice mail. We probably could've called around to get the code, but by the time we thought to do that, we were already at the lookout and everyone had gone home for the night. The location of the lookout is fantastic, it was the most rural lookout on our trip. The road to get to it was decent, my lifted Volvo XC70 had no problem, and I'd expect a stock Subaru Outback to be OK if you drive slow, though the last 0.6 mi was pretty rough. We also had to clear a tree on the way up to the lookout.

The lookout:
This lookout looks like it would've been awesome to stay in 5 to 10 years ago. However, now, it's pretty rough. It's clear that, at some point, someone put A LOT of effort into making this a great place to stay, but it's currently very much in need of some TLC. The floor is coming up. The window screens are much appreciated, but could use replacement. The bathroom was not the cleanest, though it was well stocked with TP. Someone had gone against what the instructions say, and had turned off the gas to the heater and fridge. Due to my single night stay, I didn't have time to try to re-light them. This was the only lookout on our trip that had only a single bed platform, so I had to sleep on the floor, which was fine. It did include multiple mattresses. We also just chose to use our own stove instead of the included one, though we did manage to get the included one to light! If you're looking for a roughing-it experience, you'll be completely fine here, but don't count on the appliances, and bring screwdrivers!

Two stars only because of the beautiful location. Accommodations were LOUSY. This place could be great, but it’s clear that nobody cares to make it that way. We drove six hours to get here, and while the area is lovely, sleeping in a tent would be way better than this place.

Combination lock absolutely did not work. Had to unscrew it to get in. Mouse infested. Mattresses are… not good. Boards over the windows by the stove, so you can’t air out the heat. There would be a lovely cooling cross breeze at night if those windows were fixed. Instead, we sweltered in the heat.

We have stayed at several ranger cabins and one other lookout. This one was by far the worst choice. Would 10/10 recommend just bringing a tent and sleeping somewhere else in the area.

This lookout is uninhabitable. There were several pots and pans placed in the lookout by the previous renters to catch water from the leaking roof as it had recently rained. There was a strong mold smell to go with it. We could not spend more than 5 minutes in the lookout. Too bad because the location is very remote and took us 6+ hours to get there.

Overall a sturdy lookout in a great location. Plentiful huckleberries. Needs some cleaning and care, but we are very greatful to the FS for this lookout. Saw the craziest northern lights I've ever seen. Unfortunately this lookout needs a gate, as we were visited by 8 parties (7 ORV's and a truck) who wanted to walk around and see inside and stand on the deck or make phone calls. Then they proceeded to crank music and keep drinking on the summit parking area next to the lookout. We asked them to leave. Lookouts without gates attract visitors. They should raise the rates and build gates.

Great lookout! Feels remote! But was disappointed with how dirty the lookout was. Felt like the last month none of the other guest had taken care to clean it!

Road getting in is great. Just the last half mile is kind of tough. No service. Oven worked great, fridge did not.

Make sure you put away all food or the mice will keep you awake at night. We made the mistake of leaving a few items on the table and it was a party for them even after I got up and stored everything. The next night was better as we used the refrigerator and the storage cabinet.
We hiked the Scribner Falls Trail which leaves at the bottom of the spur road to the lookout or from the other end of the trail on Rd 201 but never actually saw the falls as they are hidden in a ravine down a spur trail. We also hiked up to Sawtooth Peak from Sawtooth Saddle. All trails are in good condition in the area. There is a good spring just before Sawtooth Saddle which flows from a pipe into a barrel. Saw a few friendly bow hunters out on the trails.

What a remote location; no human lights visible in all directions! This is not a location for everyone for a few reasons. First, the travel to this lookout is long; it took us 3 1/2 hours to go apx 48 mi from St. Regis to the tower. The dirt roads are narrow, in fact one 8 mi portion is really a jeep trail with few places to navigate oncoming vehicles, which thankfully were very few. Second, do not plan to stay here without bringing comfortable sleeping mats as the mats provided seem to be 1960's relics that are as hard as sleeping on the floor.
But if you're fine with these things it's an ideal spot for solitude, wildlife viewing, and hiking. Because of the effort to get to this lookout we suggest a multi-night stay. Nice to have the propane stove which we used just to make tea water on a cloudy cool morning. As the guidelines suggest, don't count on the propane heater to warm the cabin. It does provide a warmer spot right in front of it for dressing on a cold morning. There is no woodstove. We didn't use the lights. For being so late in the season (mid-Sept) we still found some edible huckleberries but left most to the resident grouse. Red crossbills were feeding on pine cones all around the tower; so enjoyable to watch and listen to.