North Mountain Lookout

The lookout is usually completely booked. Click "Show More" for date availability explanation. Built in 1965, North Mountain Lookout is one of the original 656 fire lookouts in Washington, now the only rentable tower you can drive to! Local artisans have furnished the tower with period pieces including an insulated lightning stool (but the tower has lightning arresting equipment installed). Enjoy 360-degree views of the Cascade Range while reliving a piece of history! The space The North Mountain Fire Lookout is a 14'x14' cabin space perched on top of a tower with three stories' worth of stairs to climb. Inside, a queen mattress with a mattress protector provides a soft place to sleep; bring your own sheets, sleeping bags, and/or blankets as you desire. The summit of the North Mountain is actually the southern reach of a long north-south ridge paralleling the Sauk River to the east. The ridgeline to the south obscures any view of nearby Darrington, but does not obscure the 360-degree view of nearly every mountain peak in the North Cascades. Weather can contribute to either a spectacular or a disappointing stay. The U.S. Navy often flies (usually between noon to 2pm on weekdays) their EA-18 Growlers near/over/across/below(!) the ridgeline, so be aware of the possibility of tremendous noise in a few seconds' time. Other things to note The appearance that "dates aren't available" on AirBnB is both deceiving and frustrating. We understand the frustration of trying to figure out from this site what dates are available. We hope the following two descriptions will answer your questions. 1) Nights become available 90 nights before the night in question. Availability begins shortly after midnight. The last reservable date in 2025 will be 11 Oct. Thursday nights are not reservable. 2) AirBnB does not reveal to you the difference between dates which have been "blocked", "reserved", or "unavailable" (when due to scheduling rules, such as the 3-month rolling window). When a date moves from "unavailable" to "available", a few minutes or hours may pass before it is reserved by someone. Thus, for everyone else checking afterward, the date will still appear "unavailable" but it is "reserved" already and you won't be able to tell. People who check this site every day during the day will probably always see this situation, thus resulting in the impression that "nothing ever becomes available". Experience tells us successful renting occurs shortly after midnight on most nights.