Sproat Mountain Lookout
In September of 1939 a trail 10
miles in length was constructed from Arrowhead to the top of the ridge south of
Mount Sproat. At that time the area was in the Nakusp Ranger
District. A Nakusp Forest Ranger hired and supervised the
labourers to the completion of the project for a total cost of
$92.00.
The summer of 1940 was the first year that the
area was used as a fire lookout station. With no permanent
building on site the lookout man used a tent as his summer
residence and work station and kept in contact with forest
service staff via a two-way A.M. radio.
In 1946 the Arrowhead Ranger District was
established and the operation became the responsiblity of the new
Forest Ranger District. In 1948 an 8ft x 8ft prefabricated
lookout building and cabin were purchased for $600 and $400
respectively. The buildings were transported by packhorse to the
lookout site and erected in the summer of 1949. The lookout
buildings remained in use until 1955.
The present prefabricated building was purchased
in 1955 and flown via helicopter to the lookout site. A Forest
Service carpenter crew erected the new building in the summer of
1956. During the summer of 1964 a road was constructed to the
lookout. The road is extremely steep as it approached the lookout
and suitable for four wheel drive vehicles only.
The Arrowhead Ranger District became defunct in
1968 with the result of the lookout being placed in the old
"Revelstoke Forest District" now the Columbia Forest
District, and today remains under the jurisdiction of the
District Manager in Revelstoke.
With the construction of the Akokolex-Dupont
Forest Service Road by Bell Pole Company Ltd. access to the
Sproat Mountain Lookout Trail was greatly improved. As this is a
radio controlled forest road extreme care should be taken while
traveling on the road. Trail users are encouraged to sign in at
the trailhead.
In 2003 the Revelstoke ATV club started to clear
out the old road to the lookout. They are in the process of entering into
an agreement to maintain the lookout and the old fire road. The agreement
requires that motorized vehicles do not go into the area prior to July 15 (exemptions
may be granted to club members for road maintaince work). Vehicles are
also required to be cleaned of vegetation prior to using the trail to prevent
the spread of noxious weeds. Of course vehicles must stay on the trail and
our strictly prohibited from entering the alpine areas around the lookout.
To get more information about the Revelstoke
ATV Club go to their web site.
Click on Sproat Mountain ATV trail to see the
trail in Google Maps
Click to see the trails in
Google Earth
For Google Earth click
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/dco/Google Earth/Trails_Rev_South/Sprout Mtn ATV
Trail.kml
Click for
Google Earth
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