Garver Mtn. Lookout Rental

Awesome experience. Nice road up. Must hike your gear and bedding 1/4 mi to the the tower. Drive thru gate can be unlocked with code. Yahk falls is good to visit on this trip to garver. 3 beds. And a pad for a floor bed. Unbelievable views. Some nearby hiking trails close to the tower. Bring binoculars. Some other towers can be seen on some of the other mt. Tops. Thank you Forrest service for the hard work in operating these towers so they can be enjoyed by the public. Coleman cookstove available. Bring the small propane bottles if you want to cook. Internet worked with roaming coverage in the tower. Neat old cabin accompanys the tower and is only for looks. Outhouse available.

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

My three kids, 9,7,6, stayed the night at the look and absolutely loved it. The view was beautiful and the stars were worth staying up for. As a note, there is a gate that you need to use the combination on. After you are through the gate, then you can drive to end of the road. Once the road ends, it is a 1/4 mi hike up to the lookout. Have fun!