Campsite #1 at Garver Mountain Lookout, MT

@KellyF8317137 · Camped on Sep 24, 2024 at Campsite #1

Awesome lookout with epic views. Be sure to look north as we saw a northern lights show for 5 straight hours!

@JammieS1927886 · Camped on Sep 9, 2024 at Campsite #1

Great lookout with an amazing view.

@DavidC2858387 · Camped on Jun 11, 2024 at Campsite #1

So good; rode up and then down trail 8 via MTB which was excellent.

@JohnH2789214 · Camped on Jul 31, 2023 at Campsite #1

Great views into Canada and Northern Idaho and Montana. The trail is actually closer to 1/2 mile from the end of road past the gate if you choose to drive it there is a nice flat turnaround spot there. The road up to the gate is really rough and past the gate it gets narrower with the bushes lining the "road" doing there best to scratch your vehicle up. Without mud or snow this isn't a bad go for a jeep or narrow 4x4, we made it slow in our Ford Explorer praying we didn't get a blowout in one of the tires. The forest service really should do some road maintenance at least to the gate and lay some new gravel down. There is an option of taking a longer trail from one of the pullout or just walk from the gate area. We only encountered 2 people who had hiked up when they left there mountain bikes at the gate to walk the bad road up. Views are great from the cabin and the outhouse isn't in bad shape. There is a great trail that heads down the NE side of Garver mountain, just look for the "water" signs until you get on the path. Only wildlife we saw were birds, squirrels, deer, and a jackrabbit.

@LeeV2340299 · Camped on Jul 9, 2022 at Campsite #1

Great view and area as you would expect in a lookout. As some of the previous reviews mentioned there is an ongoing roof leak that needs to be delt with. The vaulted toilet is very near capacity. I would refrain from using the wood stove in the lookout as the stove pipe is being held together with bailing wire.

@DavidM1864120 · Camped on Sep 30, 2021 at Campsite #1

The gate was closed and locked. We tried our code but it didn't open the gate. We stayed the last day of the season so we weren't sure if they locked the gate prematurely. We hiked anyways and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was only about a two mile hike from the gate to the lookout - not 3+ miles. The leaky roof needs to be addressed otherwise the lookout won't last. There's tarps to cover the soaked bed so that was a good work around. The views are impressive! Our ATT phones would slowly send and receive texts and pictures.
No surfing the web though. The wood stove was the first I've ever used - one door for the ashes, lift the top to load wood (small pieces) and one big door for the cooking oven. Yes, you could cook a pan of lasagna or we heated pre-made breakfast burritos. I imagine a pan on top would boil water.

@DavidM571 · Camped on Sep 30, 2021 at Campsite #1

The gate was closed and locked. We tried our code but it didn't open the gate. We stayed the last day of the season so we weren't sure if they locked the gate prematurely. We hiked anyways and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was only about a two mile hike from the gate to the lookout - not 3+ miles. The leaky roof needs to be addressed otherwise the lookout won't last. There's tarps to cover the soaked bed so that was a good work around. The views are impressive! Our ATT phones would slowly send and receive texts and pictures.
No surfing the web though. The wood stove was the first I've ever used - one door for the ashes, lift the top to load wood (small pieces) and one big door for the cooking oven. Yes, you could cook a pan of lasagna or we heated pre-made breakfast burritos. I imagine a pan on top would boil water.

@JarredR983 · Camped on Aug 29, 2021 at Campsite #1

Awesome experience. Nice road up. Must hike your gear and bedding 1/4 mile to the the tower. Drive thru gate can be unlocked with code. Yahk falls is good to visit on this trip to garver. 3 beds. And a pad for a floor bed. Unbelievable views. Some nearby hiking trails close to the tower. Bring binoculars. Some other towers can be seen on some of the other mt. Tops. Thank you Forrest service for the hard work in operating these towers so they can be enjoyed by the public. Coleman cookstove available. Bring the small propane bottles if you want to cook. Internet worked with roaming coverage in the tower. Neat old cabin accompanys the tower and is only for looks. Outhouse available.

@JarredR4959675 · Camped on Aug 29, 2021 at Campsite #1

Awesome experience. Nice road up. Must hike your gear and bedding 1/4 mile to the the tower. Drive thru gate can be unlocked with code. Yahk falls is good to visit on this trip to garver. 3 beds. And a pad for a floor bed. Unbelievable views. Some nearby hiking trails close to the tower. Bring binoculars. Some other towers can be seen on some of the other mt. Tops. Thank you Forrest service for the hard work in operating these towers so they can be enjoyed by the public. Coleman cookstove available. Bring the small propane bottles if you want to cook. Internet worked with roaming coverage in the tower. Neat old cabin accompanys the tower and is only for looks. Outhouse available.

@BradleyD194987 · Camped on Aug 22, 2021 at Campsite #1

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

@BradleyD616 · Camped on Aug 22, 2021 at Campsite #1

I have a broad range of lookouts with which to compare one to the other. Unfortunately Garver was less than stellar in this sense. A relatively minor issue, but worth mentioning, is that the deck door does not have a counterbalance - you must lift the entire weight of it until it latches in place. Not a huge deal merely inconvenient for most everyone.

A quarter of the cabin (opposite the wood stove) was soaking wet from a persistently leaking roof. One of the beds was placed directly below the more aggressive leak. I happened to be bagging this particular lookout solo, so it's not as if I was going to get wet, but the bare minimum you should expect from staying in a lookout is a solid shelter as it is virtually 1 step above primitive camping in most cases. The windows were all intact however, the door functioned perfectly, and there were all the basic necessities left by other campers. Sadly the Osborne Fire Finder was removed. The vault toilet was... good grief, it was horrible. IT was piled within a foot of the toilet seat, no exaggeration. These issues can be corrected - I get that. The reality, however, is that they did need dealt with during my stay.

All that being said, I won't deny the vistas were completely stunning. I was fortunate to have reserved a night after a series of strong rains which knocked a significant amount of smoke down. It wasn't completely clear, but most of the disruption to the views was caused by clouds rather than smoke. The wind was gusting quite hard, but all the windows were sealed quite well. Very little sway to the tower at all.

Although I have stayed in worse this one suffered from some temporary (likely attributable to it being so close to the end of rental season) issues.

@ChristinaP891 · Camped on Jul 3, 2021 at Campsite #1

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

@Christina18556 · Camped on Jul 3, 2021 at Campsite #1

I only stayed one night and wished I'd booked two, although I discoived that outside of Yaak there are a couple of great little campgrounds good for a second night in the area. The last few miles of the road are slow going but doable in a high-clearance vehicle. The lookout is well-equipped, saving me some weight on trips up. I suggest bringing plenty of water up and then checking out supplies before returning to your vehicle. Otherwise, it was all I expected and then some. Staying in a lookout has been on my list for a while and I'll do it again!

@KurtS8216749 · Camped on Jun 17, 2021 at Campsite #1

My three kids, 9,7,6, stayed the night at the look and absolutely loved it. The view was beautiful and the stars were worth staying up for. As a note, there is a gate that you need to use the combination on. After you are through the gate, then you can drive to end of the road. Once the road ends, it is a 1/4 mile hike up to the lookout. Have fun!

@KurtS399 · Camped on Jun 17, 2021 at Campsite #1

My three kids, 9,7,6, stayed the night at the look and absolutely loved it. The view was beautiful and the stars were worth staying up for. As a note, there is a gate that you need to use the combination on. After you are through the gate, then you can drive to end of the road. Once the road ends, it is a 1/4 mile hike up to the lookout. Have fun!

@TraceyH808 · Camped on Sep 8, 2020 at Campsite #1

The trip to the Lookout is long. Make sure your vehicle has plenty of gas and you have what you need to camp minus going back to town. Once at the top - you’ll need to be prepared to walk/hike up another 1/2 - 3/4 mile, which is relatively steep. The views are beautiful and worth the trip!

@TraceyH7106951 · Camped on Sep 8, 2020 at Campsite #1

The trip to the Lookout is long. Make sure your vehicle has plenty of gas and you have what you need to camp minus going back to town. Once at the top - you’ll need to be prepared to walk/hike up another 1/2 - 3/4 mile, which is relatively steep. The views are beautiful and worth the trip!

@DuncanC456 · Camped on Jul 12, 2020 at Campsite #1

Beautiful views, solitude, etc. A wonderful respite. note that the FS road up to cabin is several miles beyond the community of Yaak to the left. The parking area is ONE mile past the gate, not THREE, as the directions indicate.

@DuncanC3037917 · Camped on Jul 12, 2020 at Campsite #1

Beautiful views, solitude, etc. A wonderful respite. note that the FS road up to cabin is several miles beyond the community of Yaak to the left. The parking area is ONE mile past the gate, not THREE, as the directions indicate.

@MarjorieU127 · Camped on Jul 5, 2020 at Campsite #1

It was an amazing experience and I'm grateful for the State parks and rec to allow us to rent them. Only complaint was leaking roof.

@MarjorieU38265 · Camped on Jul 5, 2020 at Campsite #1

It was an amazing experience and I'm grateful for the State parks and rec to allow us to rent them. Only complaint was leaking roof.