Surveyors Lookout

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 :)

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.

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.