We parked back farther than the gate, but you can likely make it to gate with a decent vehicle. The lookout was open, and don't forget to look for the lookout tree in the trees near lookout. This lookout is in ok shape. You could backpack or snowshoe - depends on road conditions. It's not a bad place to camp. It's just not a common thing to do. It's a long way so we combined with Aeneas.