Black Mountain Lookout

The Black Mountain road is a short but scenic drive to an abandoned fire lookout tower perched on top of a rock formation at the summit of Black Mountain, with panoramic views all around. It starts passing through the middle of a Boy Scout camp before ascending steeply up the mountain, ultimately toping out at a small parking area at the base of the lookout tower. Though the lookout appears to not have been staffed in years and the main building is locked, you can climb the stairs to the catwalk surrounding it and see the entire valley spreading out below you, looking across to Laramie Peak.

The trail surface alternates between rutted dirt and rough rocks, with several small granite slab obstacles with ledges around a foot high. The overall difficulty is on the hard side of moderate. Stock SUVs with good clearance should be able to make it up fine, but careful tire placement will be needed. Some of the rocks can be quite sharp, so watch your sidewalls. While this road doesn't appear to be regularly used for camping, there are a couple of nice level patches along it that would make excellent campsites with great views. This road also accesses the Harris Park trailhead and a network of hiking trails around Laramie Peak, so you could spend days exploring the area.