Deer Ridge Lookout

Very clean. two beds with mattresses. fire pit down below. got a call a day before with the code. We had a great time!!

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:
We had no issues accessing the lookout, the code worked as expected. The road was rough in places, but was no problem for my lifted Volvo XC70. I expect a stock Subaru Outback would be fine to get up here and maybe a sedan or the like if you're careful, though the last 50 ft are very rough, you might just have to park slightly further away.

The lookout:
We had no issues getting into the lookout, the code worked well. It was clean and ready to use. The height of this tower is a standout feature, as it was the tallest lookout tower on our trip at 40'. The interior of the lookout has been well looked after and was in excellent condition. The main table for cards and whatnot is a dining-room-style table and worked well. The beds were some of the comfiest on our journey. The toilet was relatively nearby and easy to access. The toilet itself was clean and well stocked with TP for us. Views at this lookout are not 360 degrees, but more like 270, as it's at the end of a ridge, but what views you do have are great. We did bemoan the lack of window screens, or at least our cat did, as it meant she had to wear her harness the whole time, so we could open the windows to keep it cool in there.

Clean, well maintained lookout. Easy drive to base and fairly close to town. View was great, though a little smoky. No extras like flashlight, garbage bags, paper towels so bring everything you need. No cooking in lookout so plan accordingly. Great experience and very clean!

Double check the directions - super quick if you get them right! Huckleberries and strawberries! Nice and relaxing.

Lookout was great. Clean and upkept

Such a beautiful lookout stay! Accessible even for most regular vehicles. Such a beautiful facility and everyone who has stayed there has taken care to keep the lookout cleaner than they found it. There’s a pulley system which was SUPER handy. You might want to bring some leather gloves to help prevent rope burn while belaying your belonging back down. The top staircase could use some attention making sure it’s attached to the structure where the top of the stairs meet the lookout deck. Windows on all sides to air it out, so even on a 94 degree day we were able to cool the lookout down nicely.

Great views. Cool lookout. Highly recommend

Easy to get to and beautiful inside. Narrow stairs and alot of them. You will want to pack light and avoid large coolers because the of the stairs and how narrow they are it is tricky. No table down below so bring chairs. There is a pack rat and he will come visit. Do not leave anything out you don't want stolen or chewed up. He visited us in the middle of the night and got the dogs all wound up. He built a nest in our Blackstone case with tp he found. We really enjoyed this lookout. Had a family drive up and we took them up to see inside. They had no idea they could rent them. The parking area is large and we set up corn hole to play. Exhausted by the time we left from going up and down the tower so.many times. Husband brought a pully and wench he purchased to help get the goods up to the tower.

If you’ve never stayed in a fire lookout- this is the perfect one. Great location- easy drive up and all the wonders of the 360 views with sunrise and sunset! A rustic night in comfortable accommodations.

The road to the tower and the tower itself was excellent. Definitely one of the nicer towers we stayed in.

The outhouse was a different story. If you’re not afraid of spiders then it wasn’t an issue. The outhouse had about 300 black widows who kept to themselves but was still unnerving with your trousers down.