West Fork Butte Lookout

Stunning views! Ladder-free, so definitely a more kid-friendly fire tower choice. GPS makes it a bit confusing to find… keep going after “you’ve arrived” for a quarter mile or so, hang left, and look for the gated road! Such a well-preserved and special experience.

Stunning views! Ladder-free, so definitely a more kid-friendly fire tower choice. GPS makes it a bit confusing to find… keep going after “you’ve arrived” for a quarter mile or so, hang left, and look for the gated road! Such a well-preserved and special experience.

Overall the lookout was in good shape. It was about 20 degrees the night I went with quite a bit of wind, and it took over 12 hours to warm things up to a comfortable temperature. The woodstove is lovely, but small, so I had to be careful to stock it every 2 hours throughout the night in an attempt to warm things up. There were no broken windows, but snow had still blown in and piled up inside the lookout. Great experience, just be very prepared to keep yourself warm - even with layers under a down coat and down pants I spent most of my time huddled in my sleeping bag. Plenty of firewood in the shed down by the outhouse, hauling split logs up to the lookout is a great way to warm up! Parking area is right off the highway and the hike is a gradual but constant 7 miles up with approx 2,300ft of gain.

Overall the lookout was in good shape. It was about 20 degrees the night I went with quite a bit of wind, and it took over 12 hours to warm things up to a comfortable temperature. The woodstove is lovely, but small, so I had to be careful to stock it every 2 hours throughout the night in an attempt to warm things up. There were no broken windows, but snow had still blown in and piled up inside the lookout. Great experience, just be very prepared to keep yourself warm - even with layers under a down coat and down pants I spent most of my time huddled in my sleeping bag. Plenty of firewood in the shed down by the outhouse, hauling split logs up to the lookout is a great way to warm up! Parking area is right off the highway and the hike is a gradual but constant 7 miles up with approx 2,300ft of gain.

Quite chilly but great views!

Quite chilly but great views!

Are we the only people who didnt know? Once you enter the padlock combination you push DOWN on the hasp and it will pop open. We keep trying to pull it open and were about to give up! Cabin was very clean and orderly. Someone left both upper pads on the bottom bunks - genius! We augmented with camping pads but not sure we needed to. You really do have to go to the propane shed and open the valve in order to cook. There were plenty of matches, not sure if they are still dry enough to work, but the lighter seemed out of fuel. Plenty of TP in the cabin and in the rather disagreeable out house -much of it shredded by the creatures. Still it wasnt too terribly unpleasant, but not a plus by any means. No evidence of mice inside cabin. Chipmunks will get in your food as you unlock cabin. The windows are covered on three sides with the door uncovered and the view (least interesting by far) out the big windows of our cars, well stocked wood shed, and the toilet. We picked huckleberries 100+ yards down the blue trail #320 (the only real trail we could find) . West Fork Butte Trail #320 intersects Road 17122 IN 7 miles, per wooden sign. There is a reason no one raves about hiking from this lookout. The trail heads down hill in a pretty forest but we turned back due to lack of interest.We sat on our camp pads on the rocks for sunrise and sunset. Sublime. Smoke made for interesting sunset and did not register as a negative during our stay.

Are we the only people who didnt know? Once you enter the padlock combination you push DOWN on the hasp and it will pop open. We keep trying to pull it open and were about to give up! Cabin was very clean and orderly. Someone left both upper pads on the bottom bunks - genius! We augmented with camping pads but not sure we needed to. You really do have to go to the propane shed and open the valve in order to cook. There were plenty of matches, not sure if they are still dry enough to work, but the lighter seemed out of fuel. Plenty of TP in the cabin and in the rather disagreeable out house -much of it shredded by the creatures. Still it wasnt too terribly unpleasant, but not a plus by any means. No evidence of mice inside cabin. Chipmunks will get in your food as you unlock cabin. The windows are covered on three sides with the door uncovered and the view (least interesting by far) out the big windows of our cars, well stocked wood shed, and the toilet. We picked huckleberries 100+ yards down the blue trail #320 (the only real trail we could find) . West Fork Butte Trail #320 intersects Road 17122 IN 7 miles, per wooden sign. There is a reason no one raves about hiking from this lookout. The trail heads down hill in a pretty forest but we turned back due to lack of interest.We sat on our camp pads on the rocks for sunrise and sunset. Sublime. Smoke made for interesting sunset and did not register as a negative during our stay.

Beautiful views! This is lookout number nine for me and the most "rustic" that didn't bother me a bit, but just be prepared if you're used to the more lavished lookouts. It would be a good idea to bring a sleeping pad, as the previous reviews mentioned. A family of packrats is living under the lookout and will talk all night long! Make sure to close up your personal belongings inside the lookout before bed because there will be fresh mouse poop on all the surfaces when you wake up. Most of the lookout windows remain boarded up, which is disappointing because it obstructs the 360 degrees views that are typical at a lookout. Lolo hot springs are nearby, and the town of Lolo is an hour's drive from the lookout. Check out the brewery if you want an excellent huckleberry beer! I had two visitors during my stay, but I'd expect more as the huckleberries are beginning to ripen around the lookout.

Beautiful views! This is lookout number nine for me and the most "rustic" that didn't bother me a bit, but just be prepared if you're used to the more lavished lookouts. It would be a good idea to bring a sleeping pad, as the previous reviews mentioned. A family of packrats is living under the lookout and will talk all night long! Make sure to close up your personal belongings inside the lookout before bed because there will be fresh mouse poop on all the surfaces when you wake up. Most of the lookout windows remain boarded up, which is disappointing because it obstructs the 360 degrees views that are typical at a lookout. Lolo hot springs are nearby, and the town of Lolo is an hour's drive from the lookout. Check out the brewery if you want an excellent huckleberry beer! I had two visitors during my stay, but I'd expect more as the huckleberries are beginning to ripen around the lookout.