Region
Highlights
- It has been said that this is probably the most often climbed mountain in the Adirondacks. Some of the reasons are its brevity, its relatively easy ascent very suitable for families, and its excellent views.
Routes
83 summits • 2.2 mi • 365 ft gain • 1 hr 42 min
1 summit • 11.2 mi • 1,419 ft gain • 6 hr 7 min
1 summit • 2.6 mi • 311 ft gain • 3 hr 7 min
Latest summits
"With hope of a colorful sun set , we made the hike to make our day complete, not much of a sunset but got some nice color in the skies, great temps and no bugs Roger & Lisa" — ramjet1963 • Sep 23, 2023
"Very hot day!!! Wasn’t expecting the incline on the mountain def a tougher for my second home ever!! Fire tower at the top was an amazing view and the summit picture was breathe taking!!!" — darrincapriotti • Jul 26, 2023
"Hiked with Kelly today. Left the trailhead ar 11am with temps in the 70s and a heavy haze from the Canadian wild fires. Summited at 11:28. Had to be 50-60 tourist vacationers on the trail. Views were good but limited due to the smoke. The tower was open and we took turns climbing it. Returned to car at noon. We then headed back to Eagle Bay to find Stillwater Mtn near Big Moose." — garyogden • Jul 18, 2023
"Completed the Fulton Chain Trifecta March 24th 2023. Rocky, Bald Mountain, and Black Bear.. What a challenge 1st time hiking in winter.. Went up slow and came down slow but on a positive note the views were great and the best part No bugs...." — JohnD315 • Mar 24, 2023
"Very easy mountain to climb, 5th time climbing, timed it at 42 minutes up and down and wasn't going that fast, got lost on the way back to. I would consider this a warm-up for Rockey (which I have not climbed as of yet but plan to) or Black Bear (Which, despite only being around 200 feet taller, is way longer to climb). It was very packed and I consider this to be the Walmart of mountains." — The-Irate-Mountaineer • Oct 23, 2022
"We had a great hike on a beautiful fall day! Mostly easy with a few scrambles. Very crowded on such a nice day but not too bad. Had a great hike and even enjoyed geocaching at the top!" — jan2ny • Oct 11, 2022
"Completed Fulton Chain Tri-Fecta with my pal Deb & er canine Rue. Perfect 51 degrees, partly sunny, beautiful views and leaves not quite at peak but close! Majority of elevation on Black Bear, the last 1/2 mile which gave the trail some nice challenge. Not difficult;t, but fun!" — carolynsnook • Oct 4, 2022
"Made last minute motel reservations so couldn’t get into my usual choice, Shaheen’s, so had to settle for the Tupper Lake motel. It was ok, right acrossed the street from the IGA, but I wouldn’t highly recommend it. After a leisurely start in the AM climbed Stillwater to finally hit all 25 of the fire towers in the ADKs at least once. Short easy hike so it was more drive then hike. Then moved onto Black Bear, Rocky and Bald to complete the FC trifecta. Fortunately I had nice sunny warm weather and managed to find parking as the Columbus Day weekend crowds haven’t arrived yet. Great views from all peaks once you climb the tower on Stillwater.
" — Nimblefoot • Oct 7, 2021
"Bald has gorgeous views, but even on a cloudy Tuesday, it was packed! 2.59 miles & 553 feet of elevation gain. Third time climbing Bald, but the first time since starting the Adirondack Fire Tower Challenge." — EmilyDoucet729 • Jul 20, 2021
"Like an old friend back to where it all started! The Fulton Chain Trifecta, "Seasonal Version". Was my very first visit to the Adirondacks with Mark Earle in the winter 2018 doing my very first patch challenge as well as my very first fire tower, I was hooked right from the start. So today I decided to pull a solo and climb 3 mountains, one day, that make up the Trifecta, Black Bear, Rocky and Bald with a fire tower bonus. Lots of trees down on the drive down but mostly cut up and cleaned up but the storm rains over the last 24hrs left the trails very muddy and wet but still all and all a very pleasurable day. Challenge complete! Doing what we love" — ramjet1963 • Nov 2, 2019