Gird Point
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 3 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Gird Point Lookout offers a unique chance to camp on top of a mountain peak in a rustic, old-time setting. It sits high above the valley and provides panoramic views of three surrounding mountain ranges. Comfortably equipped, the lookout tower provides almost everything anyone would need to enjoy a variety of recreational opportunities available in the mountains of western Montana. Keep reading
Recreation
A variety of hiking and mountain biking trails are available in the area, as well as some off-road vehicle trails. The adjacent mountainsides have had several large fires in the last few decades and visitors will see a mosaic of recovering vegetation patterns. Hazardous snags still remain standing and hikers should use caution, especially during high winds. The lookout is known for its scenic views that can be enjoyed on just about any day of the year, regardless of current weather conditions. It provides a peaceful location to relax and enjoy nature. A variety of wildlife make its home in the area as well, providing ample sightseeing and wildlife viewing opportunities, from a vantage point at least 8 feet from the highest point in the region.
Facilities
The 14-by-14 lookout is equipped with two beds that can sleep up to four people. It has a table and chairs, a propane stove and lantern, basic eating and cooking utensils and pots and pans, as well as a wood stove for heat and cooking. Firewood should be available at the tower but supply cannot be guaranteed. An outdoor toilet is also provided. Guests will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, as well as propane fuel canisters. Bedding, including mattress pads, is not provided. Visitors should plan to bring bedding, towels, soap, matches, garbage bags, toilet paper and food, among other necessities. Guests are required to pack out all trash and clean the cabin prior to leaving. Basic cleaning equipment is provided. No smoking or open flames (candles) in the Lookout. No fireworks. The lookout can be accessed by vehicle and then a short hike over a moderate grade for the remainder of the route. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety. The historic L-4 cabin sits on top of an 8' high tower, with narrow steps and catwalk. This may pose a hazard for children and pets. Guests are responsible for their own safety.
Natural Features
The lookout is located 20 miles east of Hamilton, Montana, in the Bitterroot National Forest at an elevation of 7,702 feet. A 30-inch catwalk surrounding the glass-paneled room offers unobstructed views of the surrounding Sapphire, Bitterroot and Anaconda-Pintler mountain ranges. The 8-foot tower was originally built to watch for forest fires in the Hamilton/Skalkaho area, but it was later turned into a public recreation location. The lookout was restored beginning in 2001 and now has vintage 1940s furnishings.
Nearby Attractions
Highway 38 is also called the Skalkaho Highway. It continues into the Sapphire Mountains along a primitive and once widely used Native American trail. The scenic drive, which is closed during winter, was built to provide access between mining areas and agricultural communities in the Bitterroot Valley.
What the agency tells you
Water and electricity are not available at the tower
Propane fuel for cooking and lighting is not supplied
This facility is located in a remote area; before making a reservation, become aware of bear, water and weather safety
Everything else this campground posts · 6
All garbage and food must be packed out
The lookout remains locked; a week before your scheduled arrival, contact the Darby Ranger District at 406-821-3913 during office hours (Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) to obtain a key code
Call ahead to inquire about potential fire closures or restrictions
Learn more about the Bitterroot National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
The historic L-4 cabin sits on top of an 8 foot high tower, with narrow steps and catwalk. This may pose a hazard for children and pets. Guests are responsible for their own safety.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 20 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outdoor toilet is also provided.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…is also provided. Guests will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, as…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- Biking
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 362nd darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 2
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA GIRD POINT | 001 | cabin nonelectric | 20 ft | 4,123 ft | $30 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Black Bear CampgroundBitterroot National Forest · 2.9 miCrystal Creek CampgroundDeerlodge National Forest · 8.0 mi
Gold Creek CampgroundBitterroot National Forest · 13 mi
Blodgett CampgroundBitterroot National Forest · 17 mi
West Fork Of Rock Creek Cabin (MT)Deerlodge National Forest · 17 miBighorn Campground17 miFrom Hamilton, Montana, travel east on Highway 38 for about 7 miles. Turn north onto Gird Road/Forest Road 714 and continue for about 13 miles to the Gird Point Lookout Trailhead. The tower is approximately 1/2 mile hike from the parking area.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Hamilton, MT
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Gird Point is in Montana’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Ryan Zinke (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →