McCart Lookout
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 21 mi
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:27 UTC
- Sites
- 1In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
McCart Lookout is a historic tower located on McCart Peak, east of Sula. It has been restored to reflect a lookout of the 1940s, including the stove, furniture, dishes and other small touches. It offers a unique chance for visitors to camp on a mountain peak, on the border of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, in a rustic, old-time setting. The tower provides spectacular views of the surrounding western Montana wilderness. Keep reading
Recreation
The trail to reach the tower continues south and joins the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which extends 3,100 miles across the United States, from the borders of Mexico to Canada. While it might take about six months to complete, a variety of day hikes and points of exploration are available within the area of the lookout tower. Trails can be enjoyed on foot or on horseback. Backpackers also enjoy the terrain. Aside from hiking and horseback riding, the area is replete with wildlife and offers scenic views. A lookout journal is kept inside, providing instructions of what to do in case of emergency or a storm. Danger from lightning is largely abated due to a lightning rod implanted at the structure.
Facilities
McCart Lookout is a historic "L4" lookout located on Mccart Peak east of the Bitterroot Valley. The lookout is a one room cabin with a bed platform suitable for two people. Bedding is not provided. The lookout can accommodate up to four. Others are welcome to tent camp in the area. The lookout measures 14ft.X14ft. with a 30 inch catwalk around the outside. There is a wood stove for heat. You may have to saw your own wood from dead and down material found nearby. A bow saw and ax are provided. A two burner propane camp stove and lanterns are provided. Propane is not provided, you will need to bring your own propane canisters . Utensils for cooking and eating are provided. There is no water available near the lookout so please bring your own water . An outdoor toilet serves the lookout. You will need to provide your own toilet paper . The lookout is built on a 10 foot tall tower, with narrow steps and catwalk. This may pose a hazard for children and pets. Guests are responsible for their own safety. Remember, guests will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes, as well as propane fuel canisters for cooking and lighting. Guests are also responsible for their own bedding, towels, soap, toilet paper and garbage bags . The facility does not provide trash receptacles; all garbage must be carried out, and the tower must be cleaned by guests prior to leaving. Do not leave anything you bring, even if you think it will benefit other renters The tower is accessed by a moderate, 1.5-mile hike from the parking area. Snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles are not allowed on the trail, however, horses and other livestock are welcome. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities.
Natural Features
The tower is situated east of the Bitterroot Valley, at an elevation of 7,115 feet. It was named for William McCart, who settled the area but failed to complete his homestead entry to patent. It is poised on the edge of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness and offers beautiful views of the Pintler Mountains to the east and the Bitterroot Mountains to the west. The Bitterroot forest is home to many species of wildlife, from mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, black bear, mountain lions, and moose, to many varieties of smaller animals and birds.
Nearby Attractions
A variety of natural hot springs exist in the area, including the the Lost Trail Hot Springs, which is located about 13 miles northwest of the tower. It provides swimming and additional amenities, including a general store and lodging.
What the agency tells you
Drinking water is not available. Bring your own drinking water.
Bring propane canisters for stove and lantern.
Hay for stock must be certified weed free.
Everything else this campground posts · 10
All garbage and food must be packed out. Please bring garbage bags.
Bring your own bedding.
The historic L-4 cabin sits on a 10 foot tall tower, with narrow steps and catwalk. This may pose a hazard for children and pets. Guests are responsible for their own safety.
Motorcycles, E-Bikes, ATV's, and OHV's are not allowed on the trail.
This facility is located in a remote area; before making a reservation, become aware of bear, water and weather safety
Some cleaning supplies are provided but you should plan to bring your own in case they are not available during your stay. Please help keep the cabin clean.
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.
Learn more about the Bitterroot National Forest
Check in time is 2:00 PM; Check out time is 12:00 PM
The lookout remains locked; a week before your scheduled arrival, contact the Darby-Sula Ranger District at 406-821-3913 during office hours (Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) to obtain a key code
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outdoor toilet serves the lookout.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…for cooking and eating are provided. There is no water available near the lookout so please bring your own…”
- Store
- Nearby
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs
- Fire Lookouts/Cabins Overnight
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:27 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 13
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 · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at McCart Lookout closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 150 miles · 4
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- White Sands CampgroundClearwater National Forest · 63 mi · walk-up
- Poet Creek CampgroundNezperce National Forest · 65 mi · walk-up
- Granite Springs CampgroundNezperce National Forest · 68 mi · walk-up
- Bridge Creek CampgroundNezperce National Forest · 73 mi · walk-up
recreation.gov availability, read 16:27 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
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 MCCART LOOKOUT | 01 | cabin nonelectric | 2,651 ft | 180 ft | $30 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
East Fork CabinBitterroot National Forest · 2.7 mi
Martin Creek CampgroundBitterroot National Forest · 3.3 mi
Jennings Camp CampgroundBitterroot National Forest · 5.0 mi
Mussigbrod CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 8.4 miPintler CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 14 mi
Hogan CabinBeaverhead National Forest · 14 miFrom Missoula, Montana, travel south on Highway 93 for approximately 90 miles to Sula. Go east on Highway 472 for about 15 miles and then south on Forest Road 5765/McCart Road for about 6 miles to the Johnson Peak Trailhead. Hike about 1.5 miles to the lookout tower.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 25°F, day 51°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 8°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
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
McCart Lookout 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 →