"A quick jaunt up a classic, southern ADK fire tower. With sustained winds of nearly 40 mph, and gusts significantly higher, it was a sketchy climb up the tower today, but the 360 degree views were stunning. Despite the clouds the High Peaks were clearly visible to the north, as were some of the Green Mountains to the east. The best view was of the Sacandaga River/Reservoir to the south. Trail conditions were muddy with some blowdown at the start of the hike. At 2500' the mud started to freeze, but there was no need for microspikes. Highly recommend for aspiring ADK/Catskill Fire Tower and ADK 29er challengers." — Peak-abu89 • Apr 16, 2025

"Our canoe trip to Indian Lake was pushed back a day due to poor weather so I made a return trip up to this FireTower peak near Sacandaga. It rained some of the way up and the winds were 30-40 mph at the top, but I climbed the FireTower anyway to return the Summit Log book I found that had blown away. Cleared a couple of blocked water bars and multiple tree limbs off the trail on my way up and down. Not many decent views today with the rain coming down." — SteveM_StickMan • Jun 24, 2024

"Hiked with Kim. Started out late at 08:30, doing midnights to mountains. Car showed 27 at the trailhead. Was the only car in the lot when I arrived, Kim showed up shortly after, followed quickly by two couples & a solo man. Put spikes on at the trail register & wore them the whole morning - well packed trench. Some patches of bare leaves, but mostly good solid snow. We were both struggling & took our time, chatting & puttering along up the trail, the two couples ahead of us and the solo man somewhere behind us. Once we started hitting some actual elevation we stopped extremely frequently because the trail was just stunning - thick snow and ice on the tree branches, everything sparkling - & a SEVERE clear sky, so much so that it was nearly periwinkle in color. We made absolute crap for time, one of the couples coming down as we were still coming up (& the other pair we didn’t see again,) but the summit was just gorgeous. Probably 30° or so, warming sun, zero wind, bright blue skies, snow laden trees, views for miles. Kim was super stoked that even in my brain dead awake for 20 hours state I had packed an extra Budweiser which I gave to her. We took a million ..." — kellieirene • Feb 3, 2024

"My 1st New York State Fire Tower hike after visiting family nearby. Terrific breezy day kept the bugs away so lots of people out here. As I was arriving at the summit, I happened to notice a doe, not 20 feet away, calmly eating the leaves on a tree! After chatting with the trail steward I climbed up the fire tower and the cab was open to get out of the wind. I found a number of herd paths off the summit, heading toward the 2660' bump (labelled Hadley Mt. on most maps) that I wanted to check out. They converged into one path and I followed it for about a 1/4 mile, where it came out to a large treeless area, where hardly anybody went to. Met a couple having lunch there, who were very knowledgeable about the area. They said I was at the (2660') North Peak. It was getting late afternoon so I quickly enjoyed the 360 views from there and returned back over the fire tower summit and down." — SteveM_StickMan • Jun 19, 2022

"Grabbed another peak and fire tower. Was expecting a decent climb but this was a great calf burner! Tested my asthma as well, but all worth it. GREAT views and a beautiful summit! Bailey pup and I took our time going up and down this one. Lots of folks and dogs out on a beautiful April day." — Mousetek • Apr 24, 2021

"Hike was over moderate grades with a good deal on rock slabs. Took side trip to observer's cabin and climbed tower, but cab was closed. Spectacular fall colors and great views." — TJandMS • Oct 1, 2020

"Hiked with Kim. Started out around 0900 to light sleet in the parking area with one other car there, temperatures in the mid 30’s with no wind. The trail was a slushy mess to start with that gradually became more snow-laden as we continued upward. It snowed the entire way up the trail. We ran into the other hiker, a man with his dog, about a half mile from the summit- they were on their way down to the continuing snow without having made it to the summit. Considering this was my third time up this you’d think I would remember the trail, but I had forgotten that it’s a really good climb for its short distance! We chatted the whole way up taking our time and catching up. At the summit we were met with wind and plenty of snow coming down, in addition to zero visibility. We took some photos and headed down to the Ranger’s hut to shelter out of the wind to have a beer and some snacks. We noticed that the cabin has been badly vandalized with folks carving their names into it etc, and the windows are all boarded up. It appears it is now under surveillance. It’s sad that people feel the need to “make their mark” everywhere they go and damage public property. My new snow..." — kellieirene • Jan 26, 2020

"Hiked with Kellie. Started out is some sleet with mushy trails. Hike to the top went pretty quickly. I was very happy with my new boots that I picked up during my last trip to The Mountaineer in Keene. When we reached the summit we spent some time out of the weather by the ranger cabin. On the way down we used the sleds for some quick descending. Overall, it was a nice day for a hike. " — Kim-Stilson • Jan 26, 2020

"One last hike for 2019! My good friend joined me for this last one before he heads back to Fla. Just had a big ice storm so the trail had a lot of sagging trees and blow down making it a little difficult to get through but we managed! Plus we had snow and clouds but still made for a great short hike. No views but fun none the less!" — hbotc • Dec 31, 2019

"My grandson's first fire tower peak! He loved it so we'll be back for more. Love this trail - a little challenging steepness at the start, easy middle and some rock scrambles (at least for youngsters) at the summit." — PJSelmer • Aug 11, 2019