As much as I love tents and tarps (and tolerate bivy sacks) for shelter on my backcountry trips, once winter rolls around my favorite shelters are USFS rental cabins. Montana and many other states in the West are blessed with many of these cabins and lookouts, which can often be rented for as little as $25 per night. Often furnished with bunks, tables, propane cook stoves, and a woodstove for heat these accommodations are downright luxurious when compared with a cramped tent — especially when the conditions outside get, well, wintry. Going on a winter trip without having to worry about spindrift, staking a tent out in snow, and the many other chores is incredible. Not to mention the opportunity to pack in different types of foods and libations that would be difficult to pull off when limited to a tent and a Whisperlight!
These cabins and lookouts can be found on recreation.gov, but be forewarned that many book well in advance and most reservations open 6 months out. So start planning your winter trips in summer if you’re looking to live it up in style and comfort!
By Mark Wetherington
Mark Wetherington is a Staff Writer at Backpacking Light. He began backpacking in 2007 while a student at the University of Kentucky and obsessively explored the trails and landforms of the Southeast before moving to Montana in 2014. Since arriving in Big Sky Country, he has spent as much time as possible exploring the wilderness areas and other public lands of Montana, Washington, and Idaho via feet, bikes, and skis. Seeking “the next best place to wake up”—from alpine lakes, to hot springs, to abandoned fire lookouts—serves as his main inspiration for backpacking.
He is the co-author of "Backpacking Washington, 3rd Edition" published by Wilderness Press in 2020. His writing has also appeared in Backpacker Magazine, Backpacking Light, and TrailGroove Magazine.
Mark has worked in outdoor retail, libraries, and as a visitor services information assistant for the US Forest Service in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. He has been lucky enough to find a career working in public libraries and lives in Hamilton, Montana just a few miles away from trailheads to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
