Drake Peak Lookout in the Fremont National Forest. (Terry Richard/The Oregonian) These are some of the national forest lookouts in Oregon that are available for public rental during prime summer/fall ...

DOUGLAS COUNTY — The day presents a fair challenge. Snow swirls above the forest sprawling south to Pikes Peak and to the far-off mountains in every other direction. Thin clouds gather in spots across ...

Washington was once home to hundreds of fire lookouts — great towers that would stand above the trees, offering 360-degree views of the surrounding wilderness. The towers were used by spotters, who ...

In the early 1900s, thousands of lookout stations were built across the Western U.S. to spot wildfires. The bare-bones dwellings atop mountains from Montana to California numbered around 5,000 by the ...

While enjoying the evening campfire at the base of Yaak Mountain Lookout in northwestern Montana, Phil and I were complaining about three days of sunny weather. That's when the rumble of thunder ...

Dixie Butte Lookout, Grant County. (Terry Richard/The Oregonian) Fire lookout cabins and towers are mostly on public land, so their locations are open to visitors (unless the area is closed due to ...

If you had a treehouse as a kid — or just really, really wanted one — Treehouse Point in Fall City is a childhood fantasy come true. The event center and bed-and-breakfast on four wooded acres is ...

Scouts riding in small planes can spot smoke from thousands of feet above. Infrared technology can map blazes from miles away. But sometimes, for fire detection, nothing beats a human being, peering ...

A cabin in Confederate Gulch near Canyon Ferry Reservoir and Granite Butte Lookout outside of Lincoln are two new sites that will be added to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest rental program ...

Atop a lonely peak in the southern reaches of the Santa Fe National Forest sits an old fire lookout tower — decommissioned, inaccessible and weathering in the New Mexico sun. The Friends of the Santa ...