Monument Peak Lookout — Attraction in Neihart

I've never seen so many flies in my life. There will literally be about 400 flies that will get into the lookout each day and will die in there by nightfall. You're not going to want to cook inside, you're really not going to want to sleep inside either due to the flies and the sounds of them in the attic (don't open that attic hatch, I imagine there are tens of thousands of dead flies up there). The bed inside is nasty as can possibly be, the mattress is old and decrepit with a makeshift nasty pool noodle topper that somebody put on top. It has all the earmarks of bed bug city - I doubt very much that most people would be brave enough to attempt to sleep on it.

There is very little shade around the lookout, but there are enough trees surrounding you to block 90% of the views. You will have to hike to find good lookout spots. There is no wildlife to speak of at the top, nor are there any huckberries within 2 miles of the lookout, so you won't have to worry about bears, unless you leave a bunch of food out to attract them. We saw one juvenile black bear 14 miles down the forest service road. One small bunny and one groundhog/marmot. Other than that just giant flies, bees and then tons of bats at night.

Firewood is abundant, there are lots of dead pines that are easy to tear apart, but you will have to hike dowhill about 75-100 yards and haul it back uphill. The winds shift a lot, so I built up the firepit on all sides to keep people from getting sprayed with embers as the winds shift. During the days there is no wind to speak of (that's when the flies come). In the evenings the winds pick up and whip through the clearing pretty good. There is a lot of light pollution from Great Falls, so astrophotography was challenging, but it is doable. The milky way was ever so slightly visible the nights I was there. Compared to other lookouts I've stayed at, I'd rate the views here at 4 out of 10. I would never come back to this lookout, but if I did, I would bring tents and avoid the inside of it altogether.

There is a trailhead for daisy spring which is 4 miles down an ORV trail (no vehicles over 50" wide on the trail). It is all downhill and when you get to the spring you will have to trudge through thick grass/brush to make your way down to it. It's not more than a small trickle of water, enough to wet yourself down with and prepare for the 4 mile hike back (all uphill). There are huckleberries about 2 miles down the trail and there are some decent, but very squat patches off the trail above/below. Each bushebmight yield 12-15 berries, so you can pick, but you will be squating low to get at them and it will take a significant amount of time to pick a gallons worth. There are also some patches of wild strawberries to be found along the sides of the trail on the way down...

The road getting here is for high clearance vehicles only. Great 360 views. We were fortunate enough to have the Norther Lights come out one of the nights we rented the tower. We could lay in our bunks and watch the show all night. There is a time-lapse video on YouTube I put up. its a dark ski area so star gazing is very good from here also. Bring a telescope are bino's. Lots to see in the sky overhead. It can get hot in the tower when the sun comes out. The wood shutters are heavy and hard to raise and lower by ones self. Great Falls is to the North and one can watch the planes going in and out all night from there and the Air base...

Great views. Beautiful mountaintop meadows to explore. The road leading up is a little rough the last 3.5 miles, and the number of flies that get in around the lookout windows is like something out of a horror movie. If you rent the lookout, just be prepared to spend some time cleaning up the flies (there were thousands of dead and dying flies on the floor, window sills and behind the beds), and leave the door open during the day if you are inside, because they crawl through the cracks around the windows, faster than you can fight them. Beware the horse...