Eldorado National Forest

Recreational Activities: Rental Cabins

Harvey West | Loon Chalet | Robbs Hut | Van Vleck Bunkhouse | Sly Guard

Robbs Hut

Since Robbs Peak Lookout is inactive, the Forest Service rents the bunkhouse as a mountain hut for year-round personal recreation use. The lookout cab is generally available for public use during the summer months.

• Location, Permit, and Key»
• Map and Information (pdf)

Specifics

Number of People: 1 to 6.
Fee: $65.00 per night.
Utilities: Propane lights, heat, and cookstove. No electricity.
Water: None, bring your own.
Season: Year-round. Reservations may be made 4-180 days in advance of your first nights stay.
Other: Pets are not allowed in the building and are best left at home.

Background: Lookout towers such as Robbs Peak Lookout have been used by the Forest Service for many years to spot forest fires. The present facility was constructed in 1934, and was an active lookout every summer until 1978. On active lookouts one person is employed from late June until early September. Searching for fires is an all-day and sometimes an all-night, seven-day-a-week job.

Activities: Mountain biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing are popular recreational activities for visitors to the lookout. For winter recreation, the tour to Robbs Peak is not recommended for beginner skiers.

Interior:

The Hut is equipped with a gas fireplace for heat, propane lights, kitchen range with oven, three sleeping platforms (3/4 width), mattresses, wool blankets, shovel, bucket, and cleaning supplies. The stove and permanently-mounted propane lights are served by piped-in propane. There is no water, electricity, or garbage service.

Exterior:

A charcoal barbeque and picnic table are on the stone deck by the lookout. There is also a fire ring, another picnic table, and a vault toilet building.

Other Information

Be prepared in case of emergencies and notify family or friends of your trip and when you expect to return.

Cell phone communication at the Hut is limited. The nearest phone is the outdoor pay phone at the Crystal Basin Information Station on Ice House Road, 13 miles southwest of the Hut. This station is open only in the summer.