Ranger Stations were constructed in the early days of the U.S. Forest Service (1910 -1915). The Belknap Station was located in Fishlake National Forest and named after the second highest peak (12,143’) in the Tushar Mountains to the south.
The stations were built as part of a new management approach chartered with the management of millions of acres of newly created National Forests. Each of the simple one room structures were located a day’s horseback ride apart from each other. This allowed Rangers a place to stay each night while they patrolled their route through the National Forest.
Ranger Stations were intentionally built near mountain streams and grassy meadows to feed the horses that Rangers relied on.
As roads were improved and vehicles became more reliable, use of the guard stations also changed. Instead of an occasional visit, Rangers would spend many weeks, maybe even all summer, with their family at these remote outposts that gave good access to the mountain resources.
Eventually, roads and highways were upgraded, affording the forest managers quicker, easier, and more reliable access to the areas they managed. In time, the stations were no longer needed, and most stations, like Belknap, were abandoned and dismantled. All that remains now are the rock walls and concrete foundations. The last building of the Belknap station was hauled away in 1988.
Take a few minutes to walk around a short interpretive trail and immerse yourself in the life of a Forest Service Ranger of a hundred years ago.
