Forestry Lookout

Forestry Lookout is a tall, wooden structure found in Mystery Lake.

Overview[]

Forestry Lookout sits on a hill between the Destroyed Lookout to the west and Derailment to the east.

It contains bunk beds, a wood stove, a radio, and food. It is possible a hunting rifle, hatchet, or prybar can spawn here. The Forestry Lookout is a possible vista location.

There is no loading screen when the player enters the building. Instead, the door swings inside so the player can enter. Do not forget to close the door again after entering to help maintain warmth.

The interior is usually warm enough to keep the player from freezing during daytime, but temperatures may drop below zero during nighttime or blizzards. Warm clothing, a fire, and/or warmth from the bed may be useful to avoid freezing.

A trail leads to the lookout from the bottom of the hill. The entrance to the path sits beside a small billboard sign.

In the story there's a lockbox under the bed that requires Hank's Lockbox Key to open. The key is found on a corpse near a campfire in the Unnamed pond, but the corpse & campfire only spawn after completing the Bear hunting main quest. Inside the lockbox, there will be a piece of paper with a three number code that opens a bunker northeast from the Logging camp. The entrance to this bunker, also known as Prepper's cache, is a hatch found behind a large bolder and near a corpse.

Reaching the Tower[]

The Forestry Lookout is notoriously elusive and the average traveler could easily find themselves caught in the cold of the Destroyed Lookout, the intact lookout taunting from the adjacent hill. But simply turning left before the Derailment and walking up the hill will find you at the foot of the path that takes you up the mountain. It will be hard to miss if you look for the wooden fence.

Safe house[]

While offering an overview of the landscape in good weather, the Forestry Lookout does not make an ideal long-term base because traveling up and down the hill is time-consuming and increases fatigue. This means that by the time the player reaches the bottom of the path, the warmth meter may be depleted already. There is a wood stove and a bit of wood inside to provide warmth and cook food, but, after a few fires, fuel will need to be collected at the base of the mountain and carried up. Both the Camp Office and the Trapper's Homestead make more adequate bases.

Possible loot[]

Game History[]

The Forestry Lookout once stood in the space the Destroyed Lookout now occupies.

Trivia[]

Forestry Lookout is now visible from many parts of the map along the railway.
Forestry Lookout is a Fire Lookout Tower, structures built all over America and parts of Canada beginning in the early 20th century.
In Story mode, a note in the tower and the name on a lockbox under the bed seem to be a nod to the game Firewatch, much of which takes place in a watchtower. Firewatch also features a theme of isolation in a vast wilderness, similar to The Long Dark. "Hank," the name on the lockbox, is a nickname for Henry, the protagonist of Firewatch, and the note in the tower mentions a woman frequently talking on the radio, a major component of the referenced game's plot.