| Hike-In | Abandoned |
| Elevation: 6844′ | Kanisku National Forest |
HISTORY
Burton Peak Lookout was built in 1933, a log frame 14×14 cabin.
The lookout was abandoned in 1967.
Burton Peak and its lookout cabin remain a popular destination hike in the Bonner’s Ferry area.
Our Notes:
We’ve heard the view here is incredible – we wouldn’t know. Our visit here was during a late summer cold snap that brought MUCH needed rain to our local wildfires but socked in the Selkirk Mountains, reducing our visibility greatly. It gave Burton Peak an extremely moody feel and we’d like to think the last lookout here must have experienced this closed in feeling on quite a few occasions.
The cabin itself seems sturdier than it looks – at first glance we didn’t think it would or could last another winter. But it does seem fairly hardy and well built, it could surprise us yet. The inside of the cabin still has the fold-up cots and two built-in desks but is otherwise bare. The walls are absolutely covered with visitors graffiti and it was impossible to tell which were old and which were recent.
We found two separate USGS markers, which we weren’t expecting, as well as quite a bit of older debris in the area. The outhouse has long been flattened by the elements but you could still read “Toilet” on the old sign.
Hoping to make it back to Burton Peak during better weather conditions – we really wanna check out that view!
So happy to find this post. My father, from Oklahoma, worked at Burton Peak at the age of 17 in 1945. He returned to Boundary county and worked as a lookout on Hall Mountain four years later. He wrote in a letter he wished he could “be back at Burton Peak with the rats” . I am writing his story as a lookout based oh his letters from 1949. These photos are wonderful.
Carol – thank you so much for commenting and sharing your story! We would LOVE to hear more about your dad and his time on Burton Peak (with the rats haha)