Camp Out at the Hornet Lookout
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About this place
Have you ever wanted to rent a mountain for a night? For $20 a night (plus a $9 fee) and a one mile hike up about 800 feet, you can stay in a historic fire lookout and have the whole mountain- and amazing view- to yourself!
Reservations for Hornet Lookout are obtained via Recreation.gov, and can be made up to six months in advance. Consider a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle with some clearance if available, as the forest service roads aren't always well maintained.
Although the hike is short, it is all switchbacks up to the top and you need to carry enough water to last for your entire stay (including cooking and cleaning).
Plan this trip as you would a backpack (minus the tent or hammock) and consider the shelter a bonus. There is an outhouse, and the lookout has a couple of cots, a wood burning stove (more for cooking than heating), a propane stove, a few pots and pans, and some other basic supplies.
Be sure to bring warm clothes and bedding because it does get quite cold in the wee morning hours, even in the middle of summer.
Inside the lookout is a ladder that leads up to the cupola. There isn't much room for maneuvering up there, but the views are amazing!
You can book it here: Recreation.gov.