Great time at the fire lookout. Do not use Google Maps; use the directions from this website's PDF of the map. Next time, I'm bringing an axe to chop firewood instead of buying some on the way up. OK cellphone reception from the cabin area. We traveled up in a Prius and had difficulty getting over some of the ruts in the road but we made it up there. Next time I'm coming up, I'm renting a car with higher clearance to save my anxiety while driving up to the top of the mountain. Great two nights for peace and quiet!

When they say firewood is available on site, they mean several cords of wood are onsite… because the forest Ece toy burned, and many hazard trees have been felled and sawn into rounds. There are still a lot of hazard trees around, so I decided not to hike around the lookout at all. If you want somewhere that is QUIET this spot brings it. The only noises I heard was a handful of airplanes, a few gunshots, and maybe one vehicle passed a day. I would come back. There is an ADA-friendly vault toilet at the bottom of the hill, near the picnic table, big fire ring with grate, and locked equipment shed. Up the hill (not far, less than 50 yds) is the lookout building with little bbq in front. There is no ramp to the door, there are stairs. The lookout has a front room and there’s a door to the back room which has the three sides of windows. Cute little building if you’re into older things. Overall a good spot to go sit on a mountain. Down the hill on the Ukiah side the Eel River is right by the road. Would love to come back and look for a clean swimming hole or creek. The road on the Ukiah and the Upper Lake sides is pretty decent hard-packed dirt. Yes you really could do it in a car, however I happened to do it in a pickup. While there are lots of ATV and dirt bike (OHV) roads, I didn’t hear any up by the lookout. I would go again :)

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