Cougar Peak Lookout

Our second visit here. The cabin is comfortably furnished with the basics for a great experience. Most comfortable mattress of any lookout bed we've experienced. One opening window on each side allowed for rapid cooling. Locks worked adequately. Diary writers have mentioned flat tires. The forest service road is indeed long and at times rocky, however for two years in a row we've had no trouble & I think driving slowly is the key for avoiding tire damage. We witnessed the largest hatch of aphid-like insects I've ever seen that had us either indoors w/windows closed for a good part of one day, or enjoying time below the cabin where the insects were not in swarms. We enjoy the solitude of Cougar Peak LO going to bed when dark & rising when daylight arrives, hence no problem with night-time insects that others have mentioned. Saw mule deer, grouse, ground squirrels, chipmunks, western tanagers & other small birds. Interesting to see the vegetation changes in three years (?) since the fire. Many burned trees remain standing, shrubs coming in lushly. Thanks USFS for making this cabin available & thank you previous users for keeping it clean & in good repair.

long up hill drive but worth it, parking was tight at the look out but there is more at new restrooms. Overall a 5 star

Hot, hot weekend. Lots of flies and smoke. Still, the grandsons had a great time and that’s what mattered. The cots were very comfy and appreciated. The road up is long and a high clearance vehicle would be a good idea.

We had an awesome overnight stay at Cougar Peak! Hiked a ways out the ridge toward Graves Peak and took tons of photos of the blooming fireweed and the sunset. Too cloudy to see either stars or Northern Lights or Perseid meteor showers at night, but still so beautiful. We brought BLTs and huckleberry pie to eat….. yum. Lookout was super clean, and I brought my cordless vacuum to “leave it better than we found it”. LOL New outhouse is very clean and well stocked with TP. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

We had a great time! The step closest to the building was broken. Also the vent on the side of the lookout wouldn’t stay closed for us. Overall it was a great getaway. The views were stunning!! We cleaned up the place & left our chopped wood in the lookout. Looking forward to coming back in the future. (Google maps kept trying to send us down the wrong road, luckily we knew to not trust it)

Incredible view

The watchtower itself was wonderful. Beautiful views, a full sized bed, a wood stove we didn't need to use, and others had left some camp chairs and cleaning supplies. The vault toilet was a little walk away, but it was a beautiful walk and it was clean. The 14 mi of gravel and shale-covered roads were slow and a bit intimidating amd took about 75 minutes to drive. High clearance is helpful, but maybe not necessary. Good tires are a must. The elevation was glorious, and although it was a 95+ degree day in Thompson Falls, it was about 80 at the watchtower. A great experience!

The 14 mi road is totally fine if you have good tires. Took about an hour to do. Lookout is so cute, really cozy for two people. Cell service (AT&T) is great up there. There was plenty of firewood uptop. And do the little hike to grave peak. It was beautiful!

Had a great time! The the area is mostly fire damaged trees, but great views into the valley and a nice hike right from the lookout area. The drive up is never-ending though. Rock punctured a tire on the way down. Just a heads up to be prepared when out and about.

A great lookout experience! Take your time on the drive up and enjoy the views; it will take a little over an hour once you are on the Forest Service Road. The lookout itself was very clean and as expected. The short walk from parking can be a little tricky on the shale rock, but take your time and you'll be fine. There was an iron cooking grate, but wasn't really usable as such; I brough a grate from my home bbq and fashioned a cooking area by stacking the never-ending supply of shale rocks. The old outhouse seen in pictures is now stuffed to the ceiling with left behind firewood; the nearby vault toilet was clean and welcome. Our critter experience was lots of butterflies, birds of all types (including grouse with 5 or so youngsters), 5 mule deer (4 were bucks), and chipmunks and field mice (some of which scratched their way around the outside walkway at night, no big deal). Our Verizon coverage was great; we watch a World Cup game on the YouTubeTV app with no issues! Cougar Peak will now be at the top of our list for lookout stays in NW Montana and North Idaho!