Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout
1Heads up1 fire 40 mi away
- 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
Perched atop a forested mountain, the historic Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout offers a unique recreation experience -- one of few fire lookouts in the region available for overnight rental. Constructed in 1950 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) atop Sheep Mountain at an elevation of 9,600 feet, the lookout was historically occupied as a fire lookout until the early 1970s. The lookout is available for rental from June 15 through October 20; however, access to the facility may be limited depending on snow accumulation. Guests are advised to call ahead to confirm access to the facility. Keep reading
Limited amenities are provided; please be prepared to pack in supplies and gear for a comfortable stay. Visitors are advised that this facility has always been a popular destination for recreational visitors to come and enjoy the views and historical nature of the area, therefore, solitude from other forest users may not be an option at this facility.
Recreation
The area surrounding the lookout offers endless opportunities for ATV riding, mountain biking, hiking, fishing or hunting. The lookout is also ideal for visitors who simply want to relax and enjoy stargazing, wildlife viewing, mountain streams and abundant wildflowers.
Facilities
This facility is primitive in nature. While a single vault toilet and one set of bunk beds are available, there is no running water, indoor plumbing or electricity. Basically, what is available are four sturdy walls, sound roof, no neighbors and commanding views from the lower quadrant of the Bighorn Mountains all the way out to South Dakota's forests. It is recommended that guests bring all their water and accommodations needed for overnight camping. This is a "pack-it-in, pack-it-out" facility; guests will need to carry out all trash and clean the facility prior to leaving.
Natural Features
Besides offering the unique experience of staying in a historical fire lookout, Sheep Mountain Lookout will provide visitors with panoramic views from the mountain peaks in the Cloud Peak Wilderness all the way out through the Powder River Basin. On a clear day, visitors can see to Devils Tower National Monument. Due to the high elevation, guests should be prepared for high altitude conditions including high winds. Summertime temperatures average 70 degrees, but can drop as low as 30 degrees at night or during thunderstorms.
Nearby Attractions
The town of Buffalo, Wyoming, is located within a 45 minute drive for amenities such as grocery stores, swimming pool, historic downtown and a museum.
What the agency tells you
This facility is accessed via a single lane gravel road passable by most vehicles during dry summer days. However, due to sudden changes in weather conditions, it is recommended to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
Entry is by combination lock: contact the Ranger District at (307) 684-7806 during business hours for the combination.
No electricity or drinking water is available.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Please bring garbage bags; this is a pack-it-in, pack-it-out facility.
Please clean the cabin before leaving; cleaning supplies are provided.
Practice 'Leave No Trace' outdoor ethics skills.
The Sheep Mountain Lookout is a popular destination for forest visitors; expect frequent vehicle activity and visitors.
During the frequent summer lightning storms, stay in the lookout and do not touch metal furnishings; the lookout is equipped with lightning protection systems.
Click here for more information on the Bighorn National Forest.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…is primitive in nature. While a single vault toilet and one set of bunk beds are available, there is no…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…and one set of bunk beds are available, there is no running water, indoor plumbing or electricity. Basically, what is…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
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 Sep 10, 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.
| SHEEP MOUNTAIN FIRE LOOKOUT | Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout | lookout | 2,570 ft | $50 |
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
Pole Creek CabinBighorn National Forest · 3.1 mi
Lost Cabin CampgroundBighorn National Forest · 3.8 mi
Muddy Guard CabinBighorn National Forest · 5.0 mi
Circle Park CampgroundBighorn National Forest · 6.5 mi
South Fork (Wyoming)Bighorn National Forest · 6.9 mi
Tie HackBighorn National Forest · 7.1 miFrom Buffalo, Wyoming, take State Highway 16 west approximately 30 miles. Turn right on Forest Developed Road (FDR) 28 and travel 6 miles north of U.S. Highway 16. FDR 28 will dead-end at the lookout.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Buffalo, WY
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout is in Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Harriet Hageman (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →