US Forest Service · California
Calpine Lookout in California. Ringed marker is this site; the other dots are the 1330 public campsites we map in California.
Calpine is a forest fire lookout tower that was constructed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and is one of three remaining examples of the enclosed windmill-style lookout in California. The lookout was actively used every summer until 1975. It is a three-story structure with external stairs. The top room or observation cab is the only rentable space at this time. This is a popular rental facility that is booked almost every night of the year.
Motocamp routes the vehicle you are actually in and picks up the road surface on the way. Download the state and it keeps working with no signal.
Start a 14-day trialSource: Recreation.gov, dated 2026-02-25, fetched 2026-09-07. Official listing.