Diamond Butte Lookout

We had such an amazing experience at the lookout and it was such an awesome way to celebrate the new year! This place is where to go when you want to be in the middle of nowhere and not see anyone else for a couple days. The heater (super warm), fridge, stove/oven, and lanterns all worked great, just had to find the valve outside to get the propane flowing. The sunrises/sunsets are phenom and you can see stars you may have never seen before! Be ready for a hike to bring your gear up, we used a wagon and it helped a bunch!! Also, a Luggable Loo is a must if you don't want to walk down to the toilet in the middle of the night! We did some hiking and just enjoyed our time in this beautiful area of SE Montana!! We hope to make it a yearly tradition!!

There are no cleaning supplies in the lookout so bring your own. They used to supply them but since the nice lady at the USFS office in Ashland retired a few years ago things have gone down hill.

There are no cleaning supplies in the lookout so bring your own. They used to supply them but since the nice lady at the USFS office in Ashland retired a few years ago things have gone down hill.

Love it! Thank you Ashland Ranger District for keep this location up! I had a great stay there and it feels like you are on an island in the middle of the plains.

Love it! Thank you Ashland Ranger District for keep this location up! I had a great stay there and it feels like you are on an island in the middle of the plains.

It was dirty and no firewood! Other wise it was fantastic as always!

It was dirty and no firewood! Other wise it was fantastic as always!

Great location and well stocked lookout. The reason for the low review is mainly the price. A couple of years ago it was 25 a night. Now it's 45 a night plus fees. 8 additional dollars just to make the reservation. To me thats a ridiculous price for something that is already owned and to be enjoyed by the public. Our tax money goes to supporting our public lands and is the whole reason that lookout is there even to begin with. Seems to me the Ashland Ranger district is now just getting greedy but I guess that is on par with what the Forest Service typically does.

Great location and well stocked lookout. The reason for the low review is mainly the price. A couple of years ago it was 25 a night. Now it's 45 a night plus fees. 8 additional dollars just to make the reservation. To me thats a ridiculous price for something that is already owned and to be enjoyed by the public. Our tax money goes to supporting our public lands and is the whole reason that lookout is there even to begin with. Seems to me the Ashland Ranger district is now just getting greedy but I guess that is on par with what the Forest Service typically does.

We last stayed May 2021 for 2 nights (See Review) but got to enjoy 3 nights this time. Not much has changed and it was great as usual! We think this it in the top 3 of all cabins and lookouts we have rented out of 36 so far.

The gate to the stairs is broken so you can't fasten like before. We did leave a couple pieces of wire to secure it from the angle support at the top. We didn't have a single visitor over 3 days though which is always surprising as fire lookouts get a lot of attention. This being in December and so remote we didn't expect company.

One thing we did notice is that there used to be puzzles, books, crayons and the like but they were all gone.

We did not use the wagon but the tires were about flat. Bring an air pump if you need to use.

The wind was so STRONG the first couple of days that the lookout actually shook for a second here and there. It also broke our kite which we always bring as the winds are great for that.

No mice.

If you are a light sleeper make sure to bring ear plugs like we carry as the propane heater cutting on and then popping is it cools down can be distracting.

We got to enjoy an 18 wheeler cattle truck coming down Sonnette Road. The headlights shining from the ridge and then the trailer with all the lights passing by was great. With so few vehicles is seemed like a parade vehicle or hay ride.

If anybody wants to donate a broom or two that would be great. The one at the lookout has a broken off top. The other could be left in the vault toilet to keep it nice.

Thanks to the person who left the flashing LED foam tubes. They were interesting although the batteries were near dead.

Word of caution! This time we came down 212 to Otter Creek Road to Taylor Creek Road to get here. Each way we ended getting flat tires from rocks. We weren't driving fast and drove even slower on the way out. Not sure what the deal was but we'll stick with Sonnette Road off 212 in the future.

We miss the lookout already!