Sleep in a fire lookout tower
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Fire lookouts were built on summits so that one person could watch a whole forest for smoke, which means the view is the entire point of the building. The Forest Service now rents some of them out by the night, including lookouts built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Moderate£100 to £500 / $130 to $650An afternoonOutdoorsAlone or with othersUSMostly summer and early autumn
How to start
- Read the Forest Service's cabin and lookout rental page for the national forest region you want to visit.
- Search Recreation.gov for lookouts in that forest and reserve as soon as dates open, up to six months ahead.
- Read the listing for what is supplied, how you reach the tower and what you must carry in, including water.
Where to go
We opened this link on 7 October 2026 and found it to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. The hard part of a day out is the timing: the right season, tickets and getting there. The plan watches the calendar for you.
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