Entry No. 14 — the Spokane file — filed under: offbeat-museum

Fire Lookout Museum

Ray and Rita Kresek turned their one-acre north Spokane home into a shrine to forest fire lookout towers, packing in roughly 19,000 artifacts: Osborne firefinders, a restored lookout cab, vintage ranger radios and telephones, dozens of weather instruments, and 2,100+ Smokey Bear collectables they bill as possibly the world's largest such collection. There are real towers on the grounds too, including a restored 1930s L-6 and a 1936 CCC-built guard station moved in from Usk. It started as one man's obsession with the lonely mountaintop watchtowers and grew into the definitive archive of a vanishing profession. Admission is free, the tour is led by the family who built it, and it runs by appointment only March through November (call ahead, 509-466-9171).

The move: Book an appointment and let Ray walk you both through the Smokey Bear hoard and the lookout-tower relics, then drive up to a real fire lookout for the view.

📍 Before you go Open March through November by appointment only; call (509) 466-9171 ahead. It is essentially a visit to the owners' home, so be courteous and flexible on timing.

• 📍 Spokane (north of downtown)
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 123 W Westview Ave, Spokane, WA 99218

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24