Arrived to calm weather but then the winds kicked up. The bad: Lanturn had both mantles broken and pots and pans were pretty dirty. Limited silverware. There was also a 2 gallon jug of frozen pee out on the walkway. Please, bring your own pee pot and empty it in the latrine. Don't leave it out to freeze or others will need to take care of in once it thaws. There were no left over propane at the lookout (which often is available) so it was a good thing we brought plenty. Otherwise the wood was pleantiful and the place was clean. Always a winter adventure at the lookout!

Arrived to calm weather but then the winds kicked up. The bad: Lanturn had both mantles broken and pots and pans were pretty dirty. Limited silverware. There was also a 2 gallon jug of frozen pee out on the walkway. Please, bring your own pee pot and empty it in the latrine. Don't leave it out to freeze or others will need to take care of in once it thaws. There were no left over propane at the lookout (which often is available) so it was a good thing we brought plenty. Otherwise the wood was pleantiful and the place was clean. Always a winter adventure at the lookout!

We had a wonderful time at the lookout. It is well kept and provided a great getaway. A few visitors but all were respectful and didn't try to intrude. Be mindful of the yellow jackets that appear to be nesting in the wood pile and fly up and into the lookout. Could use a new fly swatter. Overall would stay again!

We had a wonderful time at the lookout. It is well kept and provided a great getaway. A few visitors but all were respectful and didn't try to intrude. Be mindful of the yellow jackets that appear to be nesting in the wood pile and fly up and into the lookout. Could use a new fly swatter. Overall would stay again!

Always a fun time. The wood stove has deteriorated significantly since our last stay in March 2020. The firebricks are falling apart which seems to prevent the stove both holding heat and drafting consistently. It took quite a while to heat things up. Also, the massive pile of quilts which were in situ last winter had vanished, which was sad.

Always a fun time. The wood stove has deteriorated significantly since our last stay in March 2020. The firebricks are falling apart which seems to prevent the stove both holding heat and drafting consistently. It took quite a while to heat things up. Also, the massive pile of quilts which were in situ last winter had vanished, which was sad.

I love fire lookouts, and have frequently visited another one that's harder to access. Granite Butte was a great experience to share with family members that can't make the hike into more remote lookouts. Gorgeous views, dry firewood, clean bathroom. It is as windy as everyone said. Access road was very dry and drive-able in mid-June after an average to above-average snow year. Now for the bad: I've lived in Montana my entire life and never experienced something like this outdoors. Sometime Friday night, someone intentionally felled about five trees over the access road. A small grey pickup truck without a topper came up to the lookout that night at about 9 PM, we waved and got no response. We figured they just lived nearby and came up for the cell service with a view, but in retrospect it could've been the chainsaw chimp seeing if anyone was up there. Luckily we had a pocket saw and there were able-bodied people in the group. But whoever did this should consider what would happen if a cabin resident had a health emergency, or if they were elderly and couldn't get out. Drive-up cabins are more likely to be used by folks who don't have the means to clear a road or hike multiple miles. I can't imagine what would make an anonymous prank like this seem worth it. If nothing else, it's a waste of good firewood, now those trees will rot. This was an incredibly senseless and disappointing move, and I very much hope it doesn't happen to anyone else. That said, if you're up there and see someone acting weird, consider taking down their plate. The only part of this story that matches my experience with Montanans is that a local family had noticed the trees on Saturday morning and were on their way with a chainsaw as we finished with the last tree. More good people than bad out there. I hope that whoever cut those trees comes to appreciate nature and other people. Or gets the **** out of Montana and never comes back.

I love fire lookouts, and have frequently visited another one that's harder to access. Granite Butte was a great experience to share with family members that can't make the hike into more remote lookouts. Gorgeous views, dry firewood, clean bathroom. It is as windy as everyone said. Access road was very dry and drive-able in mid-June after an average to above-average snow year. Now for the bad: I've lived in Montana my entire life and never experienced something like this outdoors. Sometime Friday night, someone intentionally felled about five trees over the access road. A small grey pickup truck without a topper came up to the lookout that night at about 9 PM, we waved and got no response. We figured they just lived nearby and came up for the cell service with a view, but in retrospect it could've been the chainsaw chimp seeing if anyone was up there. Luckily we had a pocket saw and there were able-bodied people in the group. But whoever did this should consider what would happen if a cabin resident had a health emergency, or if they were elderly and couldn't get out. Drive-up cabins are more likely to be used by folks who don't have the means to clear a road or hike multiple miles. I can't imagine what would make an anonymous prank like this seem worth it. If nothing else, it's a waste of good firewood, now those trees will rot. This was an incredibly senseless and disappointing move, and I very much hope it doesn't happen to anyone else. That said, if you're up there and see someone acting weird, consider taking down their plate. The only part of this story that matches my experience with Montanans is that a local family had noticed the trees on Saturday morning and were on their way with a chainsaw as we finished with the last tree. More good people than bad out there. I hope that whoever cut those trees comes to appreciate nature and other people. Or gets the **** out of Montana and never comes back.

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 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.