Lemon Fire Lookout sits above the Slocan Valley not far from Lemon Creek in the BC Western Kootenays. The lookout is in quite good shape as it is maintained for its new purpose as a Columbia Wireless communications shack. Legend has it that the lookout was operated as an AirBnB called Sky Castle for an unknown length of time in the early 2000s. If this legend is true, its history, save the name, has been scrubbed from the web. The observation floor is unlocked and open to the public. Every direction boasts epic views, especially the Valhalla Mountains to the west.
Access:
There is an old deactivated service road up to Lemon Lookout but the lower half now rests on private property with no admittance. As a bypass, Ponderosa FSR can be used for a portion of the journey. Ponderosa itself is deactivated and only high clearance vehicles can complete the journey. It is theoretically possible to pass with an SUV as was tested by our family as we painstakingly counted 39 removed culverts. Each one is seared into memory as it scraped the vehicle bottom.
Around 3-4km up Ponderosa FSR there is a place to pullover and start hiking. A short bushwhacking section links from here to the old Lemon service road.
