Kalispell Rock Lookout Site

In 1927, a small firefinder cab was placed on top of the summit boulder. According to a man I met whose grandfather worked at the lookout, the small cab was elevated several feet above the boulder by a post. The post hole is still in the rock today. Down below the rock was the log cabin used as the living quarters.

Around 1934, the lookout was no longer used, according to the Kresek inventory.

In 1936, the lookout on Kalispell was Wyatt B. Morehead according to a brief mention made in the Colville Examiner that he put out three small lightning fires in his district.

The cabin has somewhat survived all these years. The log walls were etched with the marks of many visitors, including one who had visited every year from 1948 to 1983. Kresek gave appreciation in his book to Pete Van Gelder who helped restore and protect this and other cabins in the area. (page 201)

The road up the East branch of LeClerc Creek passes two options for obtaining Kalipsell Rock. I used the west approach which utilizes a closed road for much of the route (see map). At the final switchback of the road, continue up the road a few minutes until the bushwhack looks bearable. The trail is on the ridge top, visible just above the road but does require some off-trail (unless you can find a connector trail, that may have once existed). Once on the ridge trail, just follow it north. This is an old road and motorcycle trail that was definitely starting to overgrow in places in 2023. When you reach the final ascent ridge, here there is a trail split. The motorcycle trail goes right along the southeast side while the hiking trail goes left on the southwest side. Follow the hiking trail up to the summit ridge, then it goes east up to the highpoint and rock. Very little maintenance had been done on the trail so know the route. Climbing the rock to the top is a short class 3 endevor with a short exposed section. Nothing hard at all, in fact you can scoot on your butt if you like, but some might not like the minor exposure.