Lookout Mountain anchors a group of peaks located in the northwest corner of the White Cloud Mountains, not far from Stanley Idaho. The peaks are mostly forested, and are just under 10,000 in elevation. Lookout Mountain was not quite included in the White Cloud wilderness, but is surrounded by wilderness, with the trail acting as a non-wilderness corridor to the summit. Consequently, the trail is open to motorized traffic, so hikers will have to share. The easiest access is via the well-maintained Rough Creek trail, which goes all the way to the summit of Lookout Mountain. The trailhead has ample room for parking, and is easily accessible by passenger car.

After a little over three hour drive from Boise, I hit the trail around 9:30am. Temps were in the low 30’s, but I warmed up quick while hustling up the trail. The lower section is pleasant forest hiking, then the views gradually began to open up as I got higher. Once at the trail junction on the ridge, I could see way more evidence of dirt bike traffic, with several rutted spots, off-trail tracks, and short-cutted switchbacks. Quite the bummer.

It took me just over two hours to hustle along the five miles of trail to reach the summit of Lookout Mountain. After a cloudy visit a few years ago, it was great to check out the blue sky views of the Sawtooths and surrounding White Clouds. I enjoyed a PB&J from the deck, and eyed my next objectives to the north, Prospect Point (9867’) and East Prospect Point (9602’).

From Lookout Mountain, I headed cross-country north along the ridge toward Prospect Point. It was pretty open terrain, with minimal brush to deal with. The ridgewalk was pretty easy, so it took less than 90 minutes to reach the rocky summit outcropping and scamper up to the top. Views were great, especially toward the Salmon River Mountains to the north.

Next up, I planned to tackle the out-and back traverse to East Prospect Point. It was pretty easy going at first, but further down the ridge I faced a few different rock ribs that forced me to drop off the ridge to the south. This route-finding added a little excitement to the day, and I eventually made it to the summit of East Prospect Point. There was no sign of prior visitors, but I imagine a hunter or two had been through these parts before. I enjoyed the views for a while from my third summit of the day, and enjoyed a rest while soaking in the views.

With three summits in the bag, I still had to make my way back up the ridge to Prospect Point. Uphill on the way back is never fun after a full day, and my pace slowed down. It felt good to get back to the highpoint and head downhill. But the work wasn’t over, as I attempted a creative descent route to avoid some marshy areas that blocked a direct descent. It wasn’t too bad, but definitely time consuming after a long day. I made it back to the trailhead at about 6pm.

All in all a great day in my favorite mountain range. Hard to complain about a 3 peak outing on a sunny fall day. Round trip was 13 miles and 4600’ of elevation gain, in 8.5 hours car to car.

Map of my route, about 13 miles and 4600' elevation gain round trip. I went counterclockwise.	Rough Creek Trailhead sign.	Nice scenery early in the hike.	Rough Creek drainage.	First view of Lookout Mountain from the west.
Nearing the summit of Lookout Mountain.	View north of Prospect Point, East Prospect Point, and Robinson Bar Peak.	Sawtooths behind the lookout.	The ridge from Lookout to Prospect.	Nearing the summit of Prospect Point.
Looking back south on Lookout Mountain from the summit of Prospect Point.	View toward East Prospect Point from Prospect Point.	Old snag on the ridge, Salmon River Range to the north.	Northern White Clouds from the ridge.	Rock Wren close up.
East Prospect Point summit area.	Me on the summit of East Prospect Point.	Working my way around a cliffy section.,	Open area on the way down to the trailhead.	Final view looking up the west slopes of Prospect Point.