Granite Butte Lookout

Love it here, but be prepared for lots of visitors who like to come up the steps and look around, sometimes without asking!

We snowshoed in along the road. It was a fairly easy hike, but with our packs and some food breaks it took us about 4.5 hours. We decided to take the ‘hardest’ last bit of the hike up, but in snowshoes it was actually not too difficult. The last stretch getting up to the tower was extremely windy, but the tower itself was very cozy. They’re stocked with pillows/blankets, lanterns, matches, pots/pans, dishes, aluminum foil, cards, and other misc games/reading material. There were also a few partly used propane tanks around, and some leftover food stuffs. We did some snowshoeing around the area and up to Granite Butte (highly recommend!) On our way out, we took the Continental Divide Trail instead of the road, and it would have been lovely, but it was very windy and we were in the middle of a snow storm. Starting from the head towards the tower, it’s a bit long of an uphill hike and much of the trail is exposed to the wind. The descent however felt worth it! Also with some snack breaks, it took us just under 3.5 hours.

Awesome location with some great views. We must have been super lucky because we reserved the two days without a bit of wind. Super nice weather for late December.

Great place to weather a winter storm! I'm sure the summertime is less... blustery...

We skied (cross country and skinned) to the lookout following the road. The road was drifted deeply in spots and gets enough wind that we were breaking trail the whole way until we met up with the snowmobile trail at mile 3 where the road was more sheltered in the trees and the trail more packed down. The last 3/4 mile is completely exposed, extremely windy, and the steepest part of the trail. The wind at the top is extreme - there is little snow at the top but what is there is hurled against you with such force that it stings! Wearing ski goggles and face masks do not make you a wimp! The lookout was well stocked with newspapers, firewood, ax, matches - it took about 3hrs for the lookout to warm up enough to feel comfortable and we were up every few hours at night to add more wood but we stayed plenty warm. We didn't dare open any of the shutters for fear of breaking the windows or loosing our heat which was a bummer. On our ski out the wind was so extreme that we we decided to duck into the trees behind the outhouse and bushwhack our way down to the road which turned out to be a pretty nice route to go. You only have to walk 15 feet into the trees and the wind is almost non-existent but you'll want snowshoes or fatter ski's than cross country since the snow is about 3ft deep. It was quite the adventure - just be really, really prepared for all sorts of adverse weather!

**The latch on the outside of the lookout door was broken when we arrived so we found the door open when we got there. The door handle/latch isn't strong enough to keep the door shut on it's own so once inside we had to use the ax handle to keep it shut. I reported it to the FS.

We did the hike to Granite Butte. Was really cool. Be aware that there is a lot of people that come to the lookout by car and hiking. We didn't really mind and all were nice.

It was out first time in a lookout and our experience was amazing! The sunsets and sunrises lastest hours and across the whole sky! We will definitely be back and cannot wait!

Tower has had recent renovations that make it very strong and stable, even in the frequent high winds. Thoughtful items and notes left by previous visitors abound. Incredible stars. Very difficult road, take the vehicle high-clearance recommendations seriously! We had numerous visitors during our stay, which is different than any other lookout tower I've stayed in before, including several curious people who arrived by car/truck, and multiple groups of hikers completing the Continental trail. We shared all our fruit and treats with the hikers, water, gave them tours, which was much appreciated. If I ever visited in September again I would prepare in advance to host hikers because no doubt its an annual situation.

Minus the wind it was great!