It does, however, have several different approaches and a couple of these have viable options for forming a loop. The distinctive comb of the Blackhead Range, the third through fifth highest Catskill peaks, can be seen to the north, and to the northeast Kaaterskill High Peak adds another of the Catskills' most recognizable shapes. To the fire tower from here: just 3 miles! A friend of mine who eats mountains for breakfast described the ascent of Hunter as “relentless.” Utsayantha Mountaintop Park, Delaware County. Hunter Mountain: Hike to the fire tower - See 456 traveler reviews, 213 candid photos, and great deals for Hunter, NY, at Tripadvisor. The approximate GPS coordinates for the fire tower itself are 41.481384, -73.944646, so when in doubt follow the trail that looks to head that way and you should be good. From the east, at Stony Clove Notch, the Devil's Path climbs to the junction with another short trail, the Hunter Mountain Trail, which in turn climbs to the junction with the Spruceton and Becker Hollow trails at the pre-1953 tower site. He received his Ph.D. in botany in 1971 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse. Later that decade it improved the Spruceton Trail to better allow the equestrian use it already permitted. A 4,000 foot Catskill peak and one of the Northeast 111 in an easy day hike up to a great When the Catskill Park was created in 1885, one of the state's earliest missions was the control and suppression of forest fires which had long ravaged the land and damaged local crops and property. In 1996, Hunter and the other four towers were added to the Historic Lookout Register, and then to the National Register the following year. After it fell into disrepair in the 1990s and was recommended for removal by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which had operated the tower, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Due to Hunter's dominance of the northern Catskills, many of the peaks in that region can be seen. His counterpart in Maine, E.E. [8] DEC finally closed the tower in 1989. Rusk Mountain is a peak located in the towns of Jewett and Lexington in Greene County, New York, United States. Less recognizable from this angle are the Devil's Path peaks to the east. Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. Since the entire Catskill range is below tree-line, 360-degree views are extremely rare. The seasoned tower operator has logged many hours at Coot Mountain, Deer Run, Flat Rock, Panther Hill, Shannondale, and Summers-ville fire towers. Due to Hunter's dominance of the northern Catskills, many of the peaks in that region can be seen. from the City College of New York, and an M.S. Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located in Rusk Mountain Wild Forest, Greene County. One observer's son recalls that the state built his father a garage to protect his truck from the porcupines. The plateau to the south and west averages 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level. About the Resort. It is mostly located in Greene County, with some of its lower slopes in Delaware and Ulster counties. You are in a different world where the deciduous trees disappear leaving only pines, the winds are heavier and the air is cooler. U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Fire Observation Stations of New York State Forest Preserve MPS, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, New York, "Phoenicia Journal; Great Views, and a Peek Into the Past", "DEC Announces Completion of $48,000 Rehab of Hunter Mountain Fire Tower". See 26 photos and 2 tips from 114 visitors to Hunter Mountain Fire Tower. Just past the kiosk and little footbridge, you’ll see an informative sign at the start of the trail. Although it is the second highest peak, Hunter has not enjoyed the same popularity as Slide Mountain. Ring, wrote back to one of his inquiries highly recommending the use of strategically placed observation towers similar to the nine his state had already installed. If you have never been this high on a mountain then you are missing out, it is very cool. Soon, you will pass a trail register (please sign). Likewise, it can be seen from many of the surrounding mountains, the village of Hunter and the upper slopes of the ski area. It added a hitching rack, drinking barrel and mounting chute at the summit near the tower, corresponding with similar facilities elsewhere along the trail and at the trailhead. From the east, at Stony Clove Notch, the Devil's Path climbs to the junction with another short trail, the Hunter Mountain Trail, which in turn climbs to the junction with the Spruceton and Becker Hollow trails at the pre-1953 tower site. Hunter Mountain Fire Tower trail loop in Catskills Park, NY climbs to the second-highest peak in the Catskills. It is the highest fire tower still standing in the state and the second-highest in the entire Northeast. The original tower on Hunter Mountain-constructed of logs-was built in 1909, and was the first of three fire towers constructed in the Catskills that year. Hunter Mountain. [5], The FFGC realized that informal observation towers already in existence on some summits were excellent places to station trained observers, who could see vast portions of the range and report the location of new fires quickly via dedicated telephone lines. It was one of the first fire lookout towers in the Catskills. The tower is located near the center of the small clearing left by early 20th-century logging operations. Explore the trails in the Catskill Mountains! Due to its location next to the pass through which most travelers from the north enter the range, it has been called the "gateway to the Adirondacks". [7], Two decades later, DEC initiated a $48,000 renovation program. When i search your website with key word fire tower because i love something to look forward to once at the top and it pulled 8 hikes with fire tower. [11] Catskill forest historian Michael Kudish reports that a small shed near the cabin was removed in the early to mid-1990s. A short yellow-blazed spur from the steep Becker Hollow Trail comes in from the north as well, but it is infrequently used. Click here for larger-size photo. Search Submit Search. It is one of the peaks on the divide between the Delaware and Hudson watersheds. It remained open and accessible to the hiking public, however. At approximately 4,040 feet (1,231 m) in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains. In 1953, it and the cabin were moved one thousand feet (305 m) northwest along the ridge to the mountain's true summit, where it remains today (footings of the original tower are still visible at the trail junction where it stood). There was still very little snow. It does, however, have several different approaches and a couple of these have viable options for forming a loop. Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, spelled Pokamoonshine on U.S. Geological Survey maps, and sometimes known as just Poke-O, is a minor peak of the Adirondack Mountains. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned. About the Resort 2020/21 Winter … Halcott Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It's a 4,000 foot peak in the Catskill mountains in upstate New York. Fire towers started gaining popularity in the early 1900s as the primary way for spotting wildfires. Beacon and we finished Red hill yesterday. The observer's cabin, with a small protected porch, is just to the southeast. Hunter Mountain (Elevation 4,040 feet) This tower has the unique distinction of being located at the highest elevation of any fire tower in New York State. [10]. The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. The Hunter fire tower is at an elevation of 4,039 feet. The distinctive comb of the Blackhead Range, the third through fifth highest Catskill peaks, can be seen to the north, and to the northeast Kaaterskill High Peak adds another of the Catskills' most recognizable shapes. Go to the page for Graham Mountain for more hikes which include Balsam Lake Mountain1 [1], Eight years later it was replaced with a more permanent steel 60-foot (18.3 m) tower, the current structure, by what was then the Conservation Commission. Hunter Mountain: Hunter Mountain Fire Tower - See 455 traveler reviews, 213 candid photos, and great deals for Hunter, NY, at Tripadvisor. [9] The only ones available are from the fire towers. The fire tower is sturdy, rebuilt not long ago with the help of local jeep clubs that hauled workers and supplies to the top of the mountain, and provides an unbeatable 360 degree view as far down as New York City on a clear day. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned. Access your exclusive Epic Pass holder savings, including 20% off food, lodging, lessons, rentals, and more with Epic Mountain Rewards Create Account Shopping Cart, It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned. Slide Mountain Loop; It is located in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County. The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located at 4,040 feet in elevation, making it the highest Fire Tower in New York State. The mountain can be hiked as an out-and-back or as a loop. 2. The picture on the right shows the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower. It was one of the first fire lookout towers in the Catskills. The following year, forest rangers built the first Hunter Mountain fire tower, a 40-foot (12.2 m) structure made from three trees, on level ground near the summit. Jul 19, 2016 - Hunter Mountain Fire Tower in Greene County, New York. [1], Eight years later it was replaced with a more permanent steel 60-foot (18.3 m) tower, the current structure, by what was then the Conservation Commission. ! For every sharp incline there was a … [1] Local committees raised money for their repair, and on October 7, 2000 DEC formally reopened the Hunter tower to the public as observation towers with interpretive materials, including an alidade in the tower cab. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) Division of Lands and Forests is starting a project to rehabilitate the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower before its 100th birthday. Hunter Mountain Fire Tower. Horses and riders may use it, and it can be traveled in the winter with snowshoes or cross-country skis. At 3,680 feet in elevation, it is the 20th-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains and considered a member of the Catskill High Peaks. The summit is on a small corner of private land. Easy 0.8 mile RT hike on a wide access road to a firetower with a nice view. Most of the towers have been dismantled, but the five remaining towers have been renovated and opened to the public for observation: the aforementioned Hunter Mountain tower, the Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station, Overlook Mountain Tower in Woodstock, Tremper Mountain Fire Tower in the town of Denning and Red Hill Fire Tower in the town of Shandaken. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek. While there is no maintained trail, a bushwhack to the summit is considered relatively easy, and required for membership in the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned. Severe fires during droughts in 1903 and 1908 caused thousands of dollars in damages and led to public calls for better fire control efforts. It was later expanded and published in book form as The Catskill Forest: A History. Arab Mountain. Less recognizable from this angle are the Devil's Path peaks to the east. It was hauled in sections up the dirt road from Spruceton (now the Spruceton Trail) with a team of horses. The picture on the right shows the next trail junction. Observers stood on an open platform and at first had to live in a nearby tent, until a cabin was built. Airplane flights supplemented the work of the observers, and the public showed greater vigilance in reporting new blazes. Hunter, like many other Catskill peaks, has a wide flat summit covered with forest. They are Balsam Lake Mountain, Hunter Mountain, Overlook Mountain, Red Hill Mountain, and Tremper Mountain. offers wonderful views of other 3500 foot peaks and the valleys between them. Media in category "Hunter Mountain Fire Tower" The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. **Because this is a hiking challenge, we ask that Challenge completers summiting Gore Mountain and Hunter Mountain do so on the trails (rather than a ski lift). As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park, a 700,000-acre (2,800 km2) forest preserve forever protected from many forms of development under New York state law. The central Catskill peaks around Slide Mountain, the highest Catskill peak, can be seen on reasonably clear days, and closer to Hunter fellow Catskill High Peaks West Kill and Rusk stand out to the southwest and west. The picture on the left shows the trail past the fire tower. The Red Hill Fire Observation Station consists of a fire lookout tower, cabin and pit privy located on the summit of Red Hill, a 2,990-foot (910 m) Catskill Mountain peak in Denning, New York, United States. Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. The Hunter Mountain tower is the second of three emergency communications sites that will significantly enhance emergency communications throughout Greene County reducing response times and improving safety for the county’s fire departments, EMS agencies and police officers. Top Searches Lift Tickets Season Passes Epic Mountain Rewards Weather Conditions Close Search Explore the Resort Expand. The name is believed to be a corruption of the Algonquin words pohqui, meaning 'broken', and moosie, meaning 'smooth'. [1]. [4] "In my opinion, one man located at a station will do far more effectual work in discovering and locating fires than a hundred men already patrolling," he said. There was still very little snow. In the 1990s, a DEC forester's recommendation in a draft planning document that another of the remaining firetowers be dismantled and removed as a nonconforming structure triggered (as he had hoped) a movement to save them. There have been other structures at the site. Hunter Mountain Fire Tower: Map, Driving Directions and Nearby Hotels (Search radius centered on Latitude 42.1772, Longitude -74.2297) Click here for larger-size photo. It was about 2 hours hiking uphill until we reached the hunter mountain fire watch tower. Local enthusiasts were able to raise money, matched by DEC, to restore the tower and adjacent observer's cabin to serve as a museum, with volunteers in the cab on some weekends. The Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station is located at the summit of the mountain of that name in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. At the top was an enclosed cab complete with a map, field glasses and the telephone.[1]. Our hometown is in the northeast section of Pennsylvania so that gets a little more of our attention. The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. Azure Mountain. The area around Hunter had historically been very fire-prone, [6] due to heavy logging (less than one square mile or 2.6 square kilometres of virgin forest remains on the mountain [7] ) and lightning strikes. Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl also runs the ski lifts in the summer for hikers who want a very easy way to Hunter Mtn Fire Tower. The following year, forest rangers built the first Hunter Mountain fire tower, a 40-foot (12.2 m) structure made from three trees, on level ground near the summit. Maps and Weather. Check out how visitors have captured the views from the top in photos. The old truck road, now the blue-blazed Spruceton Trail, is the most common route to the tower. Thanks again ! The tower is owned and managed by the town of Stamford. Along the way it picks up traffic from the ski area, which operates its summit chairlift in the summer months, via the Colonel's Chair Trail. In the Catskills, five fire towers have been restored: Hunter Mountain, Mount Tremper, Red Hill, Balsam Lake Mountain, and Overlook Mountain. It comprises a steel frame fire lookout tower, the observer's cabin and privy and the jeep road to the complex. Posted by Charles Bagley Wright 5sc on Join us for a free hike led by Catskill Mountainkeeper Forest and Lands Coordinator Bagley Wright and Agricultural Coordinator Pamela Greenlaw. In December of the latter year, James Whipple, head of the state's Forest, Fish and Game Commission (FFGC, a predecessor agency of DEC), began looking into what could be done. The Catskill Mountain fire towers were constructed to facilitate forest fire prevention and control in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The Devil's Path is a hiking trail in the Greene County section of the Catskill Mountains of New York, sometimes described as one of the more challenging trails in the New York Tri-state area. We found the first half of the hike to be fairly simple. Any of the loops can be done in either direction. Hike to all five Catskills Fire Towers between July 11, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2019. Hunter Mountain has an elevation gain of 1,898’ feet and is considered a moderate hike spanning 8.16 miles round trip. from Cornell University (1968). See all the lists featuring Hunter Mountain Fire Tower, including Catskill Favorites, Upstate Adventures, My Side of the Mountain, u p s t a t e, and Catskills. This project will begin Monday, July 10, 2017 and should last about a month. A combination of factors has led geologists to believe the mountain is on the site of an ancient meteorite impact crater. The area has long been part of the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest, a New York-specific class of protected area that allows for slightly higher-impact recreational uses than wilderness. Severe fires during droughts in 1903 and 1908 caused thousands of dollars in damages and led to public calls for better fire control efforts. [3], But the Forest, Fish and Game Commission, DEC's predecessor, was hopelessly understaffed and could not even begin to focus on fire prevention. The observer's cabin, with a small protected porch, is just to the southeast. Welcome to the Eastcoasthiker trail head. The ski area's summit station, chairlift and trails are also visible. While much of the hike is above 3,500 feet, the beginning and end are below 3,500 feet. It is the southernmost fire tower in the Catskill Park. Its exact summit elevation has not been officially determined, but the highest contour line on the mountain is 3,520 feet (1,070 m). [1]. 170 Panorama Video from the Windy Hunter Mountain Fire Tower. Jan 8, 2020 - We hiked to the fire tower on Hunter mountain taking the Becker Hollow trail. Meet at the Spruceton Trailhead in Spruceton, near West Kill. It is located in western Ulster County, on the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds. The centerpiece of the 590-acre (240 ha) Overlook Mountain Wild Forest area of Catskill Park, the mountain is the site of one of the remaining five Catskill Mountain fire towers and the Overlook Mountain House, a hotel which was built at a higher elevation than any other in the range. Along the way it picks up traffic from the ski area, which operates its summit chairlift in the summer months, via the Colonel's Chair Trail. Today we still have manned towers with hardworking men and women spending countless hours watching for fires. It was one of the first fire lookout towers in the Catskills. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. It was about 2 hours hiking uphill until we reached the hunter mountain fire watch tower. Most visitors come from the west, 2.7 miles (4.3 km) away, where it leaves Spruceton Road and climbs vertically more than 2,000 feet (610 m) to the summit. Today. "Worth the trek." We woke up early Monday morning to head to Hunter Mountain to check out the views from the top and the famed fire tower on top of the mountain. **Please note: There is a fee for accessing this hike via the Hunter Mountain Scenic Skyride. The small community of Oliverea is near its base on that side. It is traversed by New York State Route 214, although in the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad went through it as well. His previous degrees included a B.S. Look for our more comprehensive Catskill trail map, Map 141 - Catskill (Northeastern), along with other companion Catskills maps, in … After it fell into disrepair in the 1990s and was recommended for removal by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which had operated the tower, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The area has long been part of the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest, a New York-specific class of protected area that allows for slightly higher-impact recreational uses than wilderness. Hunter Mountain: Hunter Mountain Fire Tower - See 455 traveler reviews, 213 candid photos, and great deals for Hunter, NY, at Tripadvisor. [12]. The fire tower is open to the public, and it affords excellent views in all directions. HUNTER MOUNTAIN & FIRE TOWER. Moreover, in general, camping is permitted anywhere in the Catskills under 3,500 feet in elevation, as long as you camp more than 150 feet from the trail and from water sources. [5], The FFGC realized that informal observation towers already in existence on some summits were excellent places to station trained observers, who could see vast portions of the range and report the location of new fires quickly via dedicated telephone lines. This loop offers outstanding views from the fire tower at the summit while bypassing historic sites along the way. The hikers' subreddit. Likewise, it can be seen from many of the surrounding mountains, the village of Hunter and the upper slopes of the ski area. After about half a mile, the trail crosses Hunter Brook on a wide wooden bridge and then makes a sharp right turn. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation. These climbs, however, lead to views across the Catskill range. [8] DEC finally closed the tower in 1989.[1]. Since 2011 the Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter of ADK has offered a new Fire Tower Challenge: the Winter Fire Tower Challenge.