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A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Forest Service cabin or lookout

Lookout Butte Lookout

Forest Service cabin or lookout in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, Idaho County, Idaho. 22 miles from Riggins.

Reserve on Recreation.gov
Managed by
Forest Service Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests
Sites
1 1 lookout
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Idaho County

Overview

Lookout Butte has a history that spans nearly 80 years and has been home to three lookout towers. The first, built in 1923, was 45 feet tall with just a platform on which to stand. A cabin was put on the tower a couple years later. In 1935, a 50-foot tower was constructed. A new tower was built beside the old one in 1962, and this is currently available for rent.

The current 60-foot wooden tower offers panoramic views and the perfect setting for enjoying the area's tranquility and natural beauty. Guests can enjoy the scenery from the exterior catwalk or from inside the single-room cabin.

Recreation

Several primitive roads in the area are open to mountain biking and off-road vehicles. Other activities in the area include hiking through second-growth forest and birding.

Facilities

The lookout has room for up to four people and comes with two twin beds with foam mattresses and two cots. Other amenities include a propane stove and oven, a table and chairs, a broom, a bucket and a mop. A pit toilet sits downhill to the south of the lookout, and there's a campfire ring near the base. Guests should be prepared to haul supplies up five flights of stairs. Guests are required to bring their own drinking water. Other recommended supplies include food, sleeping bags or bedding, coolers, cookware and utensils, dishes, warm clothing and rain gear, flashlights, extra batteries, first aid kit, matches, toilet paper, garbage bags and the combination for the lookout and gate. Click here for more information about this lookout.

Natural Features

The lookout sits at 5,869 feet in elevation with breathtaking views of the Selway Crags in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area, the Seven Devils Mountain Range, Coolwater Ridge, Pilot Knob Lookout and the Lochsa and Selway River drainages.

Nearby Attractions

Guests can take a sightseeing drive from Lowell to Selway Falls and back. This 42-mile drive offers opportunities to appreciate the pristine beauty of the Selway River, a Wild and Scenic River, as well as picturesque Selway Falls.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • camping
  • hiking
  • historic & cultural site

The land around Lookout Butte Lookout

The ringed pin is this cabin or lookout; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in. The federal record’s point for it sits at a very different height from the one the agency describes, so the pin may be off: trust the directions above over the map.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Nearest campgrounds

Camping near

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated February 25, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.

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