Delyle Ridge Lookout

Hike-In	Collapsed
Elevation: 4394′	Kanisku National Forest

History

1934 – L-4 Cabin Built
1950’s – Abandoned
2008 – Collapsed in heavy winter snow

OUR NOTES

We loved this hike in to Delyle Ridge Lookout. The trail is really beautiful and very gentle – it was a perfect fall hike for our group. Now if ONLY we had made this hike about 20 years ago before it collapsed!

Gary Weber shared with us, “Delyle collapsed during the winter of 2007-2008. I don’t think I’ve been back there since then, the last pictures I have of it standing were from 1996. I was first there in 1970; it was still in somewhat decent condition then. It was sold in 1976 when the ranger at Sandpoint was getting rid of all the lookouts on the district – except Lunch Pk. The door, windows, and shutters were all that was removed. Sometime after that, someone built a box on one side for hacking falcons.”

He also shared his photos with us. From his first visit in 1970:

Gary Weber Collection

And from his last visit in 1996:

Gary Weber Collection

Standing here on the cliff overlooking the Clarkfork and the Cabinet mountains – whomever staffed this lookout couldn’t possibly have gotten bored with this spectacular view!

While it is a genuine disappointment that some forests don’t cherish their historic fire lookout towers more, we are still profoundly glad for the opportunity to visit these unique, historic sites.

To find scattered pieces and remnants of the past and stand in the very spot where dedicated watchmen once protected the wilderness allows us to truly put ourselves in the footsteps of history and feel a deep connection to the story of conservation.