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Castle Butte Lookout is a unique cabin perched on a rocky point, 6,659 feet above sea level. It offers breathtaking, 360-degree views of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the Seven Devils Mountains, the Great Burn area and the deep canyons of the North Fork Clearwater River's upper drainages.
A cabin was first constructed on this site in 1916 and was replaced in 1928 with a log cabin featuring a cupola. The current lookout was built in 1950.
Access to the lookout is via the Lolo Motorway, a primitive, single-lane road constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s. It is not recommended for large RVs, vehicles with low ground clearance or trailers. Guests should be prepared to walk about 100 feet up steep, rocky terrain to reach the lookout.
Castle Butte Lookout is equipped with a few creature comforts, but guests will need to bring some gear and supplies to help make their stay enjoyable. The panoramic view guarantees a memorable stay.
Hikers can follow the paths of the Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark on the historic Lolo Trail. The Lolo Motorway is popular with off-road vehicle enthusiasts.
Huckleberries are abundant in the summer, offering good berry picking opportunities.
Castle Butte Lookout can accommodate four people and comes equipped with two twin beds with foam mattresses, two cots, a table with two chairs, mop & bucket, a propane cook stove, propane lights, propane heater and propane. A pit toilet is located in a separate building outside. Click here for additional cabin details. The cabin does not have electricity or water. Guests should bring their own water supply as there is no close water source. Guests must provide their own emergency lighting, garbage bags, bedding, matches, toilet paper, cookware and cooking utensils. The cabin should be cleaned before departure.
The lookout is surrounded by a rocky landscape that quickly gives way to dense forests of lodgepole and ponderosa pines.
This unique facility offers an ideal vantage point to watch sunrises and sunsets, and gaze at the stars. Wildlife enthusiasts may spot eagles, bears, moose, elk, deer and mountain goats.
The Lolo Motorway stretches for 100 miles through scenic mountain landscapes. Summer visitors can see meadows and hillsides blanketed in colorful wildflowers. Travelers should be prepared for rough, sometimes treacherous conditions. No services are located along this road, so travelers should have plenty of gas, food and water for the drive.
From Missoula, MT: Take US Highway 12 West for about 65 miles. All roads from this point are gravel or dirt and a vehicle with high clearance is suggested. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 108 (Waw'aalamnime Rd), go about .5 miles, turn left onto Forest Service Road #566 (Doe Creek) which is a very narrow and winding road. Travel approximately 1 mile to an intersection with Forest Service Road #500 (Lolo Motorway), turn left onto the Lolo Motorway. Travel west approximately 18 miles. Turn left onto Forest Service Road #561 (Castle Butte Rd) and travel south about 1.5 miles to the Castle Butte Lookout. Estimated driving time from Missoula is 3 hours.
From Kooskia, ID: Take US Highway 12 East for approximately 17 miles and turn left onto Forest Service Road 101 (Smith Creek Rd). All roads from this point are gravel or dirt and a vehicle with high clearance is suggested. Travel approximately 21 miles, then take a slight right onto Forest Service Road 500 (Lolo Motorway) at the Mex Mountain junction. Travel approximately 33 miles, turn right onto Forest Service Road 561. Turn right onto Forest Service Road #561 (Castle Butte Rd) and travel south about 1.5 miles to the Castle Butte Lookout. Estimated driving time from Kooskia is 5 hours.
From Kamiah, ID: Take US Highway 12 East for about 1 mile and turn left at the end of the bridge over the Clearwater River onto Woodland Road. Drive about 1 mile and turn right onto Glenwood Road (Forest Service Road 100). Drive for about 23 miles to Road 103 at the Musselshell junction. All roads from this point are gravel or dirt and a vehcile with high clearance is suggested. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 103 (Gravey Creek Road) and travel 11 miles to Beaver Dam Saddle. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 104, travel for 1 mile. Take a left onto Road 500 (Lolo Motorway) travel approximately 20 miles to Forest Service Road 561 (Castle Butte Road). Turn right onto Forest Service Road #561 (Castle Butte Rd) and travel south about 1.5 miles to the Castle Butte Lookout. Estimated driving time from Kamiah is 4 hours.
Amazing place to stay with a beautiful "cabin" and view. Beware though, driving time was several hours longer than Google estimates due to road conditions. (On a winding dirt road for at least two hours, very steep to get to the top). Absolutely would reccomend.
Amazing views, this lookout is perched on top of a pile of loose boulders with a "road" that goes all the way around it. Took our Jeep and camp trailer up there in late July. It was unstaffed at the time, but the views and experience were amazing.
This is a great place, though as another reviewer has written the last 12 miles or so of road (Lolo motorway) to the lookout is extremely bad. It's not your typical forest road with significant exposed rocks, ditches etc., so you will need a vehicle with higher ground clearance (SUV or better) and it will take time. The climb up the forest road is totally fine, it's the final road over the saddle that's the issue. The lookout is a great place to stay and can be booked on recreation.gov. Some were able to get phone reception near the lookout, though I never got a decent signal.
