Kristie Wolfe’s Airbnb properties include a giant potato, a dreamy treehouse in Hawaii, and a 1950s-era fire lookout in the woods. For her next project, she’s thinking bigger than ever.
Wolfe recently announced the launch of MoonPass Lookouts, a unique Airbnb experience set in the woods of Wallace, Idaho. The 55-acre property will include five private fire lookouts with glass ceilings – the perfect way to experience dark night skies in the Pacific Northwest.
“A fire lookout was always high on my list of builds that I wanted to undertake,” Kristie told Territory Supply. “It wasn’t until I happened to stop in Wallace, a charming town with a rich historical background, during a perfect winter – and had the best lasagna of my life – that everything fell into place.”
It’s not the first lookout under Wolfe’s watch, she also owns the Crystal Peak Lookout in Fernwood, Idaho, but it will be her first crowdfunded project. For a limited time, you can sign up at MoonPass Lookout’s website to reserve a launch invite and get an exclusive discount on your stay.
“Crowdfunding has allowed me to engage people, bring them together, and make them part of the journey,” said Kristie. “It’s also an exciting way to reward a core group of guests with early access and discounts.”
Fire Lookouts Redefined
Unlike many retired forest service lookouts, the towers at MoonPass will have modern comforts like solar power, kitchens, bathrooms, and wood-burning stoves. Each tower will have plenty of privacy, and a pond, hiking trails, fire pit, and other on-site activities will bring a communal feel to the experience.
Wolfe hopes to create an “immersive” setting that’ll help guests unwind, embrace their surroundings, and enjoy a unique experience they’ll remember forever.
“My primary goal is to create a space where guests can disconnect from the stresses of everyday life and reconnect with themselves, their loved ones, and nature,” Kristie said. “I want to build an entire experience rather than just offering a unique place to sleep.”
A Historic Stay
The fire lookouts are a fitting symbol for Wallace, a town partially destroyed by the “Great Fire of 1910,” a two-day inferno that blazed through three million acres of forest in Idaho and Montana, killing 86 people, mostly firefighters. Response to the fire would influence forest management policies that are still in use today.
Finding available land with such a historic backdrop in her home state checked off all of Kristie’s boxes as she searched for the perfect place to design her next property.
“I was already well versed with The Great Fire of 1910, and I realized that this was the ideal location for my vision,” said Kristie. “In spring, I started searching for land and eventually found 55 acres on Moonpass Road –complete with a perfect name!”
The forests recovered in the century since the fire, but MoonPass guests can still explore traces of the past. Some five miles from the towers is an abandoned mine shaft where forest ranger Ed Pulaski saved most of his 45-man crew during the ordeal. A renovated fire lookout museum will also be on-site.
Kristie Wolfe’s Epic Airbnbs
Since launching her Airbnb business nearly 10 years ago, Wolfe’s amassed more than 3,000 reviews for her unique properties, which typically cost between $200 to $400 per night. She built her first tiny home in 2011, and a few years later she purchased land in Fern Forest, Hawaii, where she and her mom built a chic jungle treehouse on a budget.
Her eclectic portfolio also includes a six-ton “potato hotel” on 400 acres of Idaho farmland, a custom-designed hobbit house in Chelan, Washington, and The Cocoon Cottage, a gorgeous prefab hut on Oregon’s Tenmile Lake.
“Each of my properties is distinct, but I always consider the guest’s stay from the moment they get into their car or land at the airport,” said Kristie. “I want to surprise and delight guests multiple times during their stay with unexpected details they won’t find on the Airbnb listing page.”
Construction of MoonPass Lookouts is expected to start in the fall of 2023 and will open to guests in spring 2024. Visit their website to learn more and join the list for an exclusive discount when they open next year.
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