Absolutely beautiful! The dirt road took me 22min, but a more cautious driver would take longer for sure Definitely wouldn’t want to make the drive without 4WD The sunset was perfect Wasps were annoying, but since we arrived at 7pm they were only out for around 30min. We ate dinner after sunset so they didn’t bother us then. Make sure you bring toilet paper, headlamps, a lantern, bed sheets, and a trash bag Blankets are probably better than a sleeping bag because it’s so hot at night Bringing your things up in backpacking backpack is super helpful, the walk would have been rough without that

The tower was excellent and the views were beautiful! bring binoculars! The road is really intense. It took us >60mins to travel 5 miles, and we had to repeatedly get out to move rocks that we thought might damage our car. You definitely need an AWD in at least 2 places because of bits of the road being washed out. The more clearance and ruggedness your car, the greater peace of mind you'll have. Advice for the tower - There are two cots in the tower, so bring 2 more if you are sleeping 4. - The walk from the car to the tower is steep and strenuous and you'll arrive at the tower sweaty and tired. The less stuff you bring the better. - There is no lock on the tower, so bring a bike cable lock if you want to lock it whilst you are out. - There is cell phone service. - There is a good picnic table outside. - The drop toilet is good. - There aren't hiking trails, we walked along the road in the day time to amuse ourselves. - Wasps will harass you whilst eating/cooking outside. - You may encounter (or hear) deer hunters. The tower was lovingly restored by Historicorps. I am going to look into volunteering with them.

What an amazing experience. The four nights in my opinion are the ONLY way to experience this tower. Especially with that hike up, worth it to carry up your stuff and settle in for a longer lovely time. I traveled to Hirz as a solo female traveler and found it very peaceful and safe. I did have a full flat tire my departing morning (due to tire age+ripping the roads combo) and luckily the flat landing parking area there at the base of the hike made it a simple swap. If you are uncomfortable with wasps please be aware they are really present here, but were all friendly to me - despite annoying. One nearly crawled into my mouth while eating and I drank a dead one in my morning coffee on accident! Wild. WHAT TO BRING: I would suggest bringing a combo cable lock (like a bike lock) for the cat walk as traditional u-shaped locks will prove difficult to lock upon leaving the tower to go explore. Binoculars to spy the water skiers at the base of the mountain. And a quality bluetooth speaker to blast the Dune OST.

The views made this trip so worth it! Amazing 360 views of the river and mountains!! The off-roading is no joke! AWD/4x4 is a must! Plan to pack lightly!! The .25mile ~700ft elevation hike is very tough while trying to carry a lot of gear! Plan to bring an extra lock, to lock the hatch at the top of the stairs. Didn’t see much wild life, but there were some pesky wasps. One of the hatches on the windows in the lookout is broken, so it is stuck open. Really enjoyed my stay here!! hope to be back in the future!

What an amazing experience! Highly, highly recommend this fire lookout. Also, here are a few things I learned from my first trip: 1) there are only two twin beds. I read somewhere that there were two additional mattresses if needed, but no - it's the two twins and that's all. BYOB of course (bring your own bedding) 2) others say this but I want to reconfirm that AWD or 4x4 is required to get up the dirt road. There are a few tricky spots but overall not too bad. Also, don't trust google maps. Look for a brown sign with a fire lookout image - that's the correct turnoff. 3) pack a backpack to make that final 1/4 mile hike. I didn't do this and walked up with multiple loose bags - lesson learned. It's steep and slick with stone. 4) bring a PEN to sign the guest book! I was sad I didn't have one in my bag(s) but didn't want to walk back to the car. 5) don't forget a headlamp or light of some sort. No electric, no water, etc. 6) Definitely wake up to watch the sunrise! This is one of my fav trips EVER and I've been to a lot of cool places. This is in my top 3 for sure.

It was 104 degrees when I got there and you do have a bit of a trek up hill with two switchbacks. But! Once you get there the view and is amazing. I was very comfortable inside the Tower itself. It has a non flush toilet and a picnic table nearby. Be wary of strong winds.

Stunning location; well-maintained as well. The road was quite an adventure, definitely would not do without 4WD. Google maps road is incomplete; found this map helpful to follow - https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/legacy-media/shasta-trinity/Hirz%20Mountain%20Lookout%20ROG.pdf

Absolutely amazing!

This was an amazing experience and an incredible place. The drive up 35N04 is almost exactly 5 miles, and you want a somewhat high clearance 4WD vehicle (Audi Q5 did well). The last hike up to the lookout from the parking area is not to be underestimated. It is about a quarter mile with probably 400ft of vertical, and there is a clear trail / old road up but it is a challenge. There are sections where the trail is small-medium rocks and others where it is soft scrabbly dirt. We brought a camping wagon and full size cooler -these are not feasible to bring up to the cabin. You should plan on carrying everything up and down, but the hike is very doable without excessive load. We did several trips back to the parking area bringing a days food to a small cooler at the lookout.

5 stars for the unmatched view and solitude. This is a truly special stay. The only downside was a mouse inside/on the cupboards, so I'd recommend bringing a bear canister for all food.