The Garnet Mountain Fire Lookout Cabin is a popular Forest Service rental just southwest of Bozeman in the Gallatin Canyon. Perched atop Garnet Mountain, the cabin sleeps 4 people and offers 360° views of the surrounding peaks. It is accessible via a 4-mile hike or ATV via the Rat Lake Trail.
The Views
Staying at this cabin is all about the views. You can see down the Gallatin Canyon, across to Storm Castle Peak, as well as the southern shore of Lava Lake.
Amenities
The Garnet Mountain Fire Lookout is a primitive one-room structure that sleeps four. There’s a table with four chairs and a wood-burning stove. There is no electricity and there’s an outhouse a short walk from the front door. There’s also some dishes and some random cooking supplies, including a two-burner propane-fired stove.
Below the main room of the cabin there should be firewood for the stove, as well as a splitting maul to chop the rounds. The supply of wood in the summer can be short. When you leave, be sure to cut at least one day’s supply of wood for the next guest. Anybody arriving to a cold cabin will appreciate having wood ready to go.
Things To Bring
The cabin comes with much of what you’ll need, but there’s a couple of crucial items to not be without.
Water
There is no water source near the cabin. If you’re hiking, you’ll need to bring all the water you need for your stay, as well as for the hike up and down.
This number might vary slightly depending on whether your dog is with you, you need water for cooking, or how warm the weather is while hiking, but for a one-night stay consider bringing at least 200 oz of water per person just for drinking. Plan more if you need the water for other things.
Propane and Stove Mantels
There’s a two-burner stove to use for cooking as well as propane-fired lanterns. If you’ll be relying on those things, bring along some propane (the 1 lb green Coleman cans are great) as well as some mantles for the lanterns.
Toilet Paper
It appears that the outhouse is not fully weatherproof. Be safe, bring your own toilet paper to the cabin.
Hatchet and Saw
The supply of wood below the cabin could be low. Bring your hatchet and saw, or whatever you typically use to process wood when you’re camping. This could come in handy in the case that you need more wood, or can just be nice for making kindling.
Getting There
Garnet Mountain Trail
You’ll find the cabin at the end of the trail, detailed here.
Rat Lake Trail
A bit longer route to the cabin, but accessible via ATV.
Considerations
Lightning
It appears that both the cabin and the outhouse are grounded to handle lightning strikes. Copper attached to lightning rods on the roof runs through and around the cabin and down into the earth below. Check the weather before your stay and determine if you’re comfortable staying in the cabin during a storm.
Privacy
If you don’t have the cabin rented, assume that somebody else does. If you’re hiking the trail and get to the cabin at the top, give the tenants space and consider not climbing the stairs and peering in the windows.
