Blue Mountain Fire Tower
US 109, NY 8

Lookout Details

Registry Numbers US 109, NY 8 (view other lookouts in United States, New York)
Date Registered July 6, 1995
Location Hamilton County, New York
Coordinates N 43° 52.326' W 074° 24.078' (view using Google Maps)
N 43° 52' 20" W 074° 24' 05"
N 43.872100° W 074.401300°
Elevation 3,759 ft (1,146 m)
Administered by NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Cooperators N.Y. Dept. of Environmental Conservation & New York Chapter, Forest Fire Lookout Association

Description

Blue Mountain Fire Tower may be best known and most visited fire tower in the Adirondacks. The site was used as a station in the land survey of 1870 and a wooden tower was built there in 1911. The present 35’ Aermotor LS-40 tower with 7’ x 7’ steel cab was constructed by NYSDEC in 1917 and remained active until 1990. The tower was rehabilitated in 1994 and staffed by volunteers of the Blue Mountain Fire Tower Committee.

Map

Change Basemap

Photos

1910s (P. Hartmann collection-courtesy Bill Starr)

1910s (P. Hartmann collection-courtesy Bill Starr)

1998 (Bill Starr photo)

1998 (Bill Starr photo)

Visit Reports

January 3, 2018: Laurie Rankin

Condition

Needs paint? Not Applicable
Shutters OK? Not Applicable
Condition of wood OK? Not Applicable
Stairs OK? Not Applicable
Glass intact? Not Applicable
Good condition? No
Comments: The fire tower was encased in rime ice on the date of this visit so it was difficult to determine condition. However, the NYSDEC does have plans to repaint and redeck the fire tower in 2018. In the Fall of 2017 all of the communications equipment and the building that was under the fire tower was removed and the tower was returned to its historical appearance by the NYSDEC.

Electronics and Enroachments

Are electronic sites enroaching on tower? No
Comments: All have been removed.

Access and Signs

NHLR sign posted? No
Directions to tower signed? Yes
Comments? Well marked, large parking area and well marked trail.In winter the trailhead is not plowed, but the shoulder of the highway is.

Staffing

Staffed? Yes
In an agreement between the Town and the NYSDEC, a summit steward is hired each summer to staff the tower, provide historical information and hiker education.

Opportunities for Volunteer Support

Volunteers staffing opportunities? Yes
Volunteer maintenance opportunities? Yes
Volunteers could supplement the work done by the paid summit steward in greeting visitors and in routine maintenance tasks.

Photos