At the summit of a few mountains in the Catskill Mountain Region stand the five remaining fire towers of the area’s original nineteen towers. As the name suggests, the towers where once used for a 360 degree viewpoint to spot forest fires and pinpoint their locations. New technology began to prove the fire towers irrelevant and slowly the towers began to go out of use. The Red Hill Fire Tower was the last close in 1990 and then the towers where left to deteriorate.
That is, until 1997, when activists in the area started fighting for the towers, recognizing the historic landmarks they are and the tourist value they could bring to their towns. With the efforts of these people, The Catskill Fire Tower Restoration Project was implemented that year in cooperation with The Catskill Center for Development (founded in 1969) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Catskill Fire Tower Project restored what towers they could and had reopened all five restored towers by 2001.
The first tower reopened in 1999 on Overlook Mountain, eleven years after it closed in 1998. The tower was built on Gallis Hill in 1927 but moved to Overlook Mountain in 1950, technically making it the newest of the Catskill fire towers. The mountain is located in Woodstock, New York and is a six mile round trip hike. About two miles up the old carriage path that is now the hiking trail, hikers will find the ruins of the Overlook Mountain House, a very beautiful site but hikers are cautioned to please view from the outside for their safety. At the end of the hike visitors can climb the 60 foot tower and enjoy the view of the Hudson River Valley, the Ashokan Reservoir, and Devil’s Path.
The next tower wasn’t reopened until June 3, 2000; this being the Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower in the town of Hardenburgh. The tower is at the summit of the mountain, at an elevation of 3,723, making the mountain one of the Catskill High Peaks. The Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower is the first fire tower of the Catskills. It was built in 1887, back before the land was taken over by the state. Originally, the land was home to the Balsam Lake Club, a sportsman club, which both built the tower from wood found on the mountain and staffed it during dry seasons. This was in an effort to protect the club from forest fires. In 1901 the tower, as is liable to happen to a wooden tower on the top of a mountain, was struck by lightning and burned down. The tower was rebuilt by the club four years later in 1905 and another four years later was taken over by the state, in 1909. The state added a road, a cabin, and telephone lines this year and in 1919 a steel tower in replace of the wooden one. This tower was also replaced in 1930 by a new 47 foot steel tower that closed in 1988. The tower was one of the five restored and is open to visitors today with a six mile round trip hike.
On July 15, 2000 the Red Hill Fire Tower was reopened, joining Overlook and Balsam Lake. The tower was built on Red Hill in the town of Denning, New York, and is part of the Sundown Wild Forest. The tower was the last tower to be staffed, finally closing in 1990 before being reopened for the public. Climbing the nine flights of stairs to the top of the 60 foot tower, visitors can lookout to see some of the Catskill High Peaks to the west and north and the Rondout Reservoir to the south. The hike is a very short three mile round trip hike with a 996 foot elevation gain form the DEC parking lot to the summit, at 2,990 feet.
Towards the end of the summer of 2000 the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower was reopened on August 7. The tower shares a mountain with Hunter Mountain Ski Resort, which works in favor of less avid hikers who can cut the original seven mile round trip hike into a four mile round trip hike by enjoying a beautiful, relaxing chairlift ride to the top of the ski slopes. In 1909 the original, forty foot, wooden tower was built. Then in 1917 the wooden tower was replaced with a sixty foot steel tower placed at 4,000 feet elevation, just a third of a mile from the 4,040 foot summit of Hunter Mountain. The tower was relocated to this true summit in 1953. This qualifies is as one of the Catskill High Peaks as well as not only being the highest in elevation of the Catskill Fire Towers, but of any fire tower in New York State!
Finally, on June 9, 2001, the Tremper Mountain Fire Tower was the last of the five towers to reopen to the public. The steel tower stands 47 feet tall as a 2,724 foot elevation. Incredibly, the restored tower there today is still the original Tremper Mountain Fire Tower that was built in 1917 and was in use for 54 years before it was retired in 1971. The tower can be reached by a fairly difficult six mile round trip hike. Those you continue to the top of the tower are rewarded with a view of the Burroughs Range, Stony Clove, Deep Notch, and Devil’s Path.
The Catskill Mountain Fire Towers not only add to the rich history of the Catskill Mountain Region, they continue to provide the area with wonderful hiking opportunities. Many hikers even complete the Fire Tower Challenge, which includes the twenty three Adirondack Fire Towers as well as the Catskill ones. The challenge is completed by hiking all five Catskill peaks to the fire towers and 18 of the 23 Adirondack peaks with fire towers. Hikers can then send in a form to receive an “official full-color patch.”
Many of the hikes are very family friendly though certainly none are too challenging for a child with the right attitude. With open space at the summit, including picnic tables, pack a picnic lunch and stay for a while. The cabs of the towers are open from Memorial Day to Columbus Day where “summit stewards”, a special name for the kind volunteers, will sit and answer any questions. When the cabs at the top are not open, visitors are still welcome to climb the stairs to the upper platform and enjoy the view. Hiking is free and fun for all ages, so take the day and go explore some of what the amazing Catskill Park has to offer!
http://www.adk-gfs.org/Documents/fire_tower_brochure.pdf
http://catskillcenter.org/fire-tower-project
