Details
Features
About this place
Skookum Butte Lookout is an old L-5 log and frame cabin once used as a fire lookout. Sitting on the border of Montana and Idaho, it is one of the last of its kind still standing in this region and listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.This hike is short in distance, but pretty steep, so it may take a while. The 360 degree view from the top is worth every step of the way!
The hike begins on an old jeep road and has no amenities. It crosses through a marshy field and quickly starts climbing upward with switchbacks. Cross over an old spur logging road before ascending into thick forest. Continue on the steep switchbacks through dense evergreens until the rocky outcrop starts to appear through the trees.
This is where the hike gets fun! Choose your path up the boulders to the old lookout cabin. You can go inside, but beware of broken glass and nails in and around the cabin. Years of weathering and abandonment have left the site in disrepair.
Enjoy the panoramic view of both Montana and Idaho, and when you are finished, return the way you came.
Note: In the winter months, Elk Meadows Road 451 is closed to vehicles for snowmobile use.
Leave No Trace
