Lake of the Woods Lookout

We were up there this fall in early October - we had clear weather - GORGEOUS!! so we watched sunrises and sunsets each day.

Do NOT count on the solar lights or showers working. BRING STRING LIGHTS w BATTERIES as most of the LED solar lights were dead. It is DARK DARK DARK at night - very cool too! I would NOT engage any propane system in the tower for heat or for cooking (we never saw a heater) - so plan accordingly - we brought camp stoves and cooked outside (the Carbon Monoxide alarm was dead too so we just played it safe). If you bring your pups, clean up after them. We picked up about 10 poo piles when we arrived. The outhouse is actually nice. There are GEOCACHES around and this is a very interesting geological area. If you are a rockhound, you won't be disappointed. Finally, it would be nice if the sign at the bottom of the hill was reworded to: "TRESSPASSING: STAY OUT unless you have a permit for the TOWER." We had a visitor on a motorcycle and he wouldn't leave after we asked nicely - he made is point by walking around and peering about for about 15 minutes; we let him be as to not escalate anything. He had a gun on his bike; 4 women in our group.

Great place if you have a 4WD high clearance vehicle that you don't mind paint scratches. Cell service lasted 1 hr. a day in the evenings. Very sturdy lookout during high winds. Nice view from toilet. Took Bear Camp Rd. from Merlin to 33 to 3336, then the route in the instructions home. Lobster Cr. Rd and 33 are very washboard. 3340 North of tower was in worse condition than 3336, but surprisingly paved South of tower. Road from gate was doable with 4WD engaged. We had 1 day of rain, and got to see the harvest moon. The view is wonderful. Check out Devil's Half Mile if you're into geology. Skip Lake of the Woods Lake (wetland).

Great place if you have a 4WD high clearance vehicle that you don't mind paint scratches. Cell service lasted 1 hr. a day in the evenings. Very sturdy lookout during high winds. Nice view from toilet. Took Bear Camp Rd. from Merlin to 33 to 3336, then the route in the instructions home. Lobster Cr. Rd and 33 are very washboard. 3340 North of tower was in worse condition than 3336, but surprisingly paved South of tower. Road from gate was doable with 4WD engaged. We had 1 day of rain, and got to see the harvest moon. The view is wonderful. Check out Devil's Half Mile if you're into geology. Skip Lake of the Woods Lake (wetland).

Incredible location, a bit hard to get to in an old Saab but I still made it work! Would recommend coming with a high clearance vehicle to be on the safe side. Site itself was well-equipped although the solar panels/lights weren’t working, but I brought my own light so it wasn’t a big deal. Views are fantastic and the stars are amazing, I can only imagine they’re even better when there’s not smoke everywhere! Definitely hoping to come back in an SUV when it’s not wildfire season

Incredible location, a bit hard to get to in an old Saab but I still made it work! Would recommend coming with a high clearance vehicle to be on the safe side. Site itself was well-equipped although the solar panels/lights weren’t working, but I brought my own light so it wasn’t a big deal. Views are fantastic and the stars are amazing, I can only imagine they’re even better when there’s not smoke everywhere! Definitely hoping to come back in an SUV when it’s not wildfire season

We enjoyed our visit. The sunset and sunrise were stunning along with the stars at night. Pit has the best pooping views ever :). Very quiet and peaceful. We brought our dogs and brought their dog backpack to bring them down the stairs. They made it going up just fine but didn’t like going down. Using backpack was a safe way to transport. We will definitely be back along with visiting other lookouts if we can score a reservation.

We enjoyed our visit. The sunset and sunrise were stunning along with the stars at night. Pit has the best pooping views ever :). Very quiet and peaceful. We brought our dogs and brought their dog backpack to bring them down the stairs. They made it going up just fine but didn’t like going down. Using backpack was a safe way to transport. We will definitely be back along with visiting other lookouts if we can score a reservation.

My 20 year-old daughter and I were thrilled by our stay at Lake of the Woods lookout. Everything was pretty much as described, except the solar lighting was disconnected (this was noted by a previous visitor in the guest book) and the solar shower looked like it had been out of commission for some time. The double bed will accommodate two sleeping bags; additional guests, if any, must sleep on the floor. There is no propane heater, so you will need a three-season sleeping bag (at least that was our experience in mid June). The Ranger in Gold Beach was super-helpful! She traced the route to the lookout on her large top bag and gave us precise directions, including milage between each turn. I ended up buying a copy of the map for ~$14 and I'm glad I did. The route to the tower is criss-crossed by several small roads and any markers that might have once existed have been vandalized. We almost certainly would have gotten lost without (1) the Ranger's directions, (2) the Forest Service map, and (3) a GPS that does not rely on cell-phone coverage. The tower is about 20 mi off the grid, which was nice. We made it up without any problem in a two-wheel drive (rental) pickup truck. You do not need 4-wheel drive to make it to the gate if the ground is dry, but you do need some extra ground clearance for the final steep/rough mile up from the gate to the tower. That said, there is an old joke that goes something like this: "Q: What is the difference between a 4x4 and a rental car? Answer: A rental car will go anywhere."

My 20 year-old daughter and I were thrilled by our stay at Lake of the Woods lookout. Everything was pretty much as described, except the solar lighting was disconnected (this was noted by a previous visitor in the guest book) and the solar shower looked like it had been out of commission for some time. The double bed will accommodate two sleeping bags; additional guests, if any, must sleep on the floor. There is no propane heater, so you will need a three-season sleeping bag (at least that was our experience in mid June). The Ranger in Gold Beach was super-helpful! She traced the route to the lookout on her large top bag and gave us precise directions, including milage between each turn. I ended up buying a copy of the map for ~$14 and I'm glad I did. The route to the tower is criss-crossed by several small roads and any markers that might have once existed have been vandalized. We almost certainly would have gotten lost without (1) the Ranger's directions, (2) the Forest Service map, and (3) a GPS that does not rely on cell-phone coverage. The tower is about 20 mi off the grid, which was nice. We made it up without any problem in a two-wheel drive (rental) pickup truck. You do not need 4-wheel drive to make it to the gate if the ground is dry, but you do need some extra ground clearance for the final steep/rough mile up from the gate to the tower. That said, there is an old joke that goes something like this: "Q: What is the difference between a 4x4 and a rental car? Answer: A rental car will go anywhere."

Amazing views/sunset/sunrise. Well maintained roads to the lookout. Will stay again!