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Regional List

The following information, a list of all the fire towers built during the 20th century in the Adirondack Park. Information provided by AARCH and Bill Starr, former Forest Fire Observer and Fire Tower Historian.

Existing Towers, Public Land

  • Mt. Arab – Town of Piercefield, St. Lawrence County – Adopted and restored by the Friends of Mt. Arab (with DEC assistance).
  • Azure Mountain – Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County – Adopted and restored by the Friends of Azure Mountain (with DEC assistance).
  • Belfrey Mountain – Town of Minerva, Essex County – Open to public, maintained by NYS DEC.
  • Black Mountain – Town of Dresden, Washington County – Used for communications purposes by NYS Police.
  • Blue Mountain – Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County – Adopted and restored by the Blue Mountain Fire Tower Restoration Committee (with DEC assistance).
  • Gore Mountain – Town of Johnsburg, Warren County – Used for communications purposes. Tower not open to the public.
  • Hadley Mountain – Town of Hadley, Warren County – Adopted and restored by the Hadley Fire Tower Committee (with DEC assistance).
  • Hurricane Mountain – Town of Elizabethtown, Essex County – Adopted and restored by Friends of the Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower (with DEC assistance).
  • Kane Mountain – Town of Caroga, Fulton County – Adopted and restored by the Canada Lake Protective Association and NYS DEC.
  • Lyon Mountain – Town of Ellenburg Depot, Clinton County – Land recently came into Forest Preserve and fire tower is now owned by New York State, maintained by DEC, and open to the public.
  • Owl’s Head Mountain – Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County – Restoration by DEC and Friends of Owl’s Head Fire Tower.
  • Pillsbury Mountain – Town of Arietta, Hamilton County – Adopted and restored by the New York chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association (with DEC assistance).
  • Rondaxe (Bald) Mountain – Town of Webb, Herkimer County – Adopted and restored by the Friends of Bald Mountain (with DEC assistance).
  • St. Regis Mountain – Town of Brighton, Franklin County – Adopted and restored by Friends of the St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower (with DEC assistance).
  • Snowy Mountain – Town of Indian Lake, Hamilton County – Restored by DEC and open to the public.
    Spruce Mountain – Town of Corinth, Saratoga County
  • Vanderwacker Mountain – Town of Minerva, Essex County – Restored in 2004 by NYS DEC, Americorps volunteers of the Student Conservation Association and the Friends of Vanderwacker.
  • Wakely Mountain – Hamilton County – Restored and reopened to the public in 2018.
  • Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain – Town of Chesterfield, Essex County – Adopted and restored by Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine (with DEC assistance).
  • Woodhull Mountain – Town of Webb, Herkimer County – Fire tower restoration approved but awaiting funding and volunteer efforts.

Existing Towers, Private Land (some with public easement access)

Note: Some of these are accessible to the public. See Views from on High: Fire Tower Trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills by Jack Freeman (Adirondack Mountain Club, 2001) for more information.

  • Adams Mountain – Town of Newcomb, Essex County – Land owned by the Open Space Institute and fire tower and cabin and was restored for public use by NYS DEC and local volunteers.
  • Buck Mountain – Opened by Town of Long Lake in 2023.
  • Cathead Mountain – DEC uses tower for communications purposes. No public access.
  • Goodnow Mountain – Land owned by SUNY ESF and fire tower restored and open to the public.
  • Loon Lake Mountain – Town of Franklin, Franklin County – Tower and cabin abandoned, some efforts underway to create public access and allow restoration.
  • Meenagha Mountain
  • Mount Morris
  • Palmer Hill
  • Salmon Lake Mt.
  • Stillwater Mountain – Town of Webb, Herkimer County – Tower restored and managed by the Friends of Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower and the NYS Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA). Public access allowed outside of fall months.
  • Swede Mountain – Town of Hague, Warren County – Managed and maintained by Warren County. Public access allowed outside of fall months.
  • Tooley Pond Mountain – Near Wanekena, St. Lawrence County – This tower was re-erected at Cathedral Rocks by the New York State Ranger School students, staff, and alumni.
  • Adirondack Experience – Blue Mountain Lake, Hamilton County – Originally on Whiteface Mountain.
  • Adirondack History Center Museum – Elizabethtown, Essex County – Composed from portions of the towers that formerly stood on West and Kempshall Mountains.

Towers Removed

  • Ampersand Mountain
  • Bald Mountain
  • Beaver Lake Mountain
  • Boreas Mountain
  • Cat Mountain
  • Catamount Mountain
  • Crane Mountain
  • Debar Mountain
  • Dunn Brook Mountain
  • Fort Noble Mountain
  • Hamilton Mountain
  • Kempshall Mountain – Parts of this tower were used for the tower at the Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown
  • Makomis Mountain
  • Moosehead Mountain
  • Moose River Mountain
  • Mount Electra
  • Number Four
  • Ohmer Mountain
  • Pharoah Mountain
  • Prospect Mountain
  • T-Lake Mountain
  • Tomany Mountain
  • Tooley Pond Mountain – This tower was taken down but re-erected at Cathedral Rocks by the New York State Ranger School at Wanakena.
  • West Mountain – Parts of this tower were used in erecting a tower at the Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown.
  • Whiteface Mountain – This tower was taken down but re-erected at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.
  • Whites Hill