I don’t know how long the Forest Service has been renting out fire lookout towers to the general public when they’re not being used for fire spotting, but I’m sure glad they’re giving us the opportunity. It used to be that if you wanted to see the world from one of these mountaintop perches, you had to get a job with the Forest Service and be assigned to one. And then you were in it for the whole season.
Now you can go to the Forest Service website and rent a night, or two nights, or several nights in a tower. It’s not as glitzy as a vacation at the Ritz, but I can guarantee the views are way better than anything you’d get at any five-star hotel anywhere in the world.
It’s what you’d expect a fire tower to be inside, though. Ours had a propane stove and heater, but I don’t think anyone’s filled the propane tank since 1946. It also had a sink with a hand-pump water spigot, but I think the well went dry in the ’80s. But it was solidly built, and even in the hurricane-force winds, it didn’t creak or rattle. And it had a nice queen-size bed and a bunk bed, so it was much more luxurious than camping in a tent.
And it had a bathroom. Granted, the bathroom was not just at the bottom of the stairs, but also quite a ways down the steep trail, so I imagine anyone who worked the season in that tower is now in excellent physical condition.
And then there’s the road in. If you go to a fire tower, take your best four-wheel-drive. We have a 4Runner, and it was tough going even in that.
But if you can get a reservation in a tower, do it. I’m already back on the reservation site, trying to book some towers for next summer.
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