The Town of Long Lake in collaboration with Hamilton County, NY is excited to announce the opening of the Buck Mountain Fire Tower located in Long Lake, NY. This 1.2 mile (one-way) hike with 500 feet in elevation gain is located on 484 South Sabattis Circle Road off NYS Route 30, eight miles north of the Long Lake Town center. There will be a ribbon cutting on Friday, September 15, 2023 at 1pm at the Buck Mountain Fire Tower Trail Parking Lot located on South Sabattis Road.
The project included the building of a 1.2 mile (one-way) hiking trail. The lower section of the trail was built by Hamilton County Soil and Water with help from the Town of Long Lake and volunteers who assisted with the build of bog and span bridges. Builders from the ADK Mountain Club provided guidance and work crews to ensure the trail is properly and safely constructed meeting all environmental construction standards for long-term environmental sustainability in hiking trail construction. Over two summer seasons the ADK Mountain Club crews constructed a series of hand-built rock steps and wooden staircases to navigate the steepest section of the trail. The trail leads to a 60 foot Aeromoter Fire Tower installed in 1933.
The Town of Long Lake, along with project partners, Hamilton County Soil and Water, the ADK Mountain Club, and landowner, Cedar Heights Timber LLC, worked together to create a sustainable hiking trail to the historic Buck Mountain Fire Tower. The panoramic 360 degree view includes views of the vast tract of the Whitney Wilderness, and Little Tupper Lake. There are views of Bog Stream, Round Pond and Cat Mountain in Long Lake, NY. Blue Mountain, the Santanoni Range, Mt. Morris and Coney Mountain can also be seen from the tower.
The final phase of the project is the rehabilitation of the 60 foot fire tower under the direction of fire tower consultant Mike Vilegi from Excelsior Fire Tower Group. The fire tower rehabilitation included installation of a new sheet metal roof, treads, galvanized steps and fencing. The Town of Long Lake used top level construction materials to ensure the longevity of the fire tower.
The Buck Mountain Fire Tower was constructed in 1933 on the land formerly owned by Whitney Park now owned by Cedar Heights Timber, LLC. It was one of 127 statewide stations operated between 1909 and 1990. It is a 60 foot steel Aermotor LS-40 model tower. The summit elevation is 2400 feet. Prior to the steel tower on the site it is believed to have been a wooden fire observatory tower.
The original construction materials for the tower were hauled to the top of Buck Mountain by a dog sled team with lead dog St. Luniare led by Jack Bursey. Both Bursey and St. Luniare accompanied Admiral Richard Byrd on his historic trip to the South Pole in 1929.
This trail was made possible through the generosity of Cedar Heights Timber LLC, which granted an easement across a scenic portion of its land to this historic fire tower overlooking the William C. Whitney Wilderness.
This trail was built through collaborative community partnership between the Adirondack Mountain Club, the NYS Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, Hamilton County Soil and Water Department, Hamilton County Highway Department, the Hamilton County Board Supervisors, and the Town of Long Lake.
Support for the trailhead kiosk is from Generous Acts at Adirondack Foundation and from the Adirondack Community Recreation Alliance at the Northern Forest Center.
The Town of Long Lake, located in Hamilton County, is a year-round Adirondack family destination, bursting with activities and nature for all ages. The town encompasses two well-known lakes, Long Lake and Raquette Lake, and numerous trails and waterways. The Town provides community members and tourists with the quintessential Adirondack experience and is spearheading an effort to expand recreational opportunities available within the region.
For more information visit www.mylonglake.com
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Thank you to Cedar Heights Timber LLC for all your support in opening the Buck Mountain Fire Tower Trail open to the public.
Buck Mountain Fire Tower Trail
Location: 484 South Sabattis Road, County Route 10
Long Lake, NY 12847
located off of NYS 30
Welcome to Buck Mountain Fire Tower Trail. This historic fire tower and hiking trail is located on privately land owned by Cedar Heights Timber LLC in in Long Lake, NY. The public is invited to enjoy the hiking trail and fire tower and to please observe the following rules.
Trail Rules
Plan ahead and prepare
Please stay on marked trail
Travel on durable surfaces
If you carry it in, carry it out, please do not litter
No campfires
No overnight camping
Leash all dogs
No public hunting, trapping or fishing
No motorized vehicles
Dispose of waste properly
Leave what you find
Respect wildlife
Be considerate of others
This trail was made possible through the generosity of Cedar Heights Timber LLC, which granted an easement across a scenic portion of its land and a historic fire tower overlooking the William C. Whitney Wilderness.
This trail was built through collaborative community partnership between Adirondack Mountain Club, the NYS Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, Hamilton County Soil and Water Department, Hamilton County Highway Department, the Hamilton County Board Supervisors and the Town of Long Lake.
Special thanks to the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors and the Town of Long Lake for their efforts opening this trail to the public and to Cedar Heights Timber, LLC for access to this private property.
Support for this Kiosk is from Generous Acts at Adirondack Foundation and from the Adirondack Community Recreation Alliance at the Northern Forest Center.
The Town of Long Lake, located in Hamilton County, is a year-round Adirondack family destination, bursting with activities and nature for all. The town encompasses two well-known lakes, Long Lake and Raquette Lake, and waterways including the Raquette River as part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, the 90 Miler Route and abundant hiking trails. The Town provides locals and visitors with the quintessential small town Adirondack experience. The communities of Long Lake and Raquette Lake look forward to a sustaining a prosperous future for the next generation.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for coming out to the Buck Mountain Fire Tower Trail ribbon cutting
My name is Alexandra Roalsvig and I’m the Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the Town of Long Lake. Back in June of 2020 we had a meeting to discuss new recreation opportunities and were planning on figuring out what assets the town should be identifying to bring people into the community and give them a unique Adirondack experience. From that meeting the notion of acquiring rights to built trail to the the top of Buck Mountain (located on the way to Tupper) From there, the project ballooned into an attainable goal and it took a lot of measured steps, meetings, supplies, stakeholders, volunteers and so much more and I am very happy today to be sharing some of what has done behind the scenes to get to today
This brand new trail build and fire tower restoration is a testament to the hard work and dedication of many people. From a hint of an idea in June of 2020, to fruition, now in September 2023, it took a lot of moving parts, planning and bumps along the way, but we got here.
There were many project partners in this that we must extend a huge thank you to for helping make this happen.
First off a huge thank you to our generous landowner, Cedar Heights Timber, LLC. Thank you to Ian Schaad and Cedar Heights for his support and generosity and patience with us as we navigated this complicated project. This is the first time this fire tower has been accessible to the public since its installation in 1933. In addition I’d like to extend a thank you to Finch Regional Forest Manager Len Cronin for his guidance, collaboration and helping out with every step along the way. Thank you
We must thank the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors, especially Brian Wells and Bill Farber for their support in seeing this project through from beginning to end. Bill Farber was instrumental in connecting all the pieces to make this happen. His ability to find fire tower consultants, pull the Adirondack Mountain Club in to build the most challenging part of the trail, to the New York State Forest Fire Lookout Association and to motivating multiple stakeholder groups to work together to get this done. Bill has an aptitude for getting people to see a vision and get together for a project of this size was an essential component in making this a success. If one didn’t work, he’d know the next person to call to ensure we got this project going and on it’s way.
Thank you so much to Hamilton County Soil and Water, Lenny, Jamie, Caitlin. The ADK Mountain Club for working two seasons to design a sustainable trail which included 11 stone and wooden staircases, incorporating 500 feet of elevation, multiple span and bog bridges and two seasons of crews and volunteers to get it done. We thank them for including us in the ADK Mt. Club Firetower Challenge and we are also adding it to the Hamilton County Fire Tower Challenge.
And a huge thank you to Mike Vilegi of the Excelsior Fire Tower Group for his knowledge and expertise for guiding us through installing a new sheet metal roof, treads, galvanized steps and fencing. His energy, enthusiasm and knowledge is unparalled in the fire tower world, so I thank you Mike for talking me through this entire project from start to finish.
The parking lot was designed for 40 cars to avoid roadside congestion. Thank you to Donnelly Logging, Hamilton County Highway Department, including Tracey Eldridge and especially Johnny Walker and the Long Lake Highway Department, Ian Schaad and Cedar Heights Timber for pulling this vision all together. Everyone contributed to this massive build and it’s appreciated.
I’d also like to thank the New York State Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association volunteers for their willingness to come out on the first snow day in September last year to start painting the fire tower. It was brisk but their spirits were high.
Also I’d like to thank Long Lake Town Supervisor Clay Arsenault for saying yes to this project, and for his never-ending enthusiasm to see this project through when at times, it seemed endless. There are so many people, volunteers that made this happen and we can’t thank you enough.
Support for this trail build and fire tower restoration was made by the Generous Acts funds at the Adirondack Foundation and from the Adirondack Community Recreation Alliance at the Northern Forest Center.
From the top of the fire tower you can see for miles in every direction. You can see the Bog Stream, Round Lake, Cat Mountain, Little Tupper Lake, Blue Mountain, Owls Head Mountain, the Santanoni Range, Mount Morris and Coney Mountain and endless lakes, forest and lush Adirondack beauty.
And finally thank you to Chad Baker who’s spent more time on this mountain than he ever wants to remember. Thank you to Erik Arsenault, Cindy Black for taking over painting duties, Tim Helms, Logan Kendall, Garrit Clark, Keith Austin, Matt LaPlant, and Josh Lewis, Alan Parker, Michael Lamphear and Chip Farr and Johnny Walker – -all of you on the crew, for coming together to make this happen in times of snow, mud, rain, bugs, humidity, Canadian Wildfire smoke, delays due to wetland permits, floods and finally to opening on what has already been a spectacular September.
We hope everyone enjoys this trail and spreads the word. It’s a great way to experience the beauty of the Adirondacks and thank you again to Cedar Heights Timber for this incredible asset which will provide community members, visitors and extended family a quintessential Adirondack experience in Long Lake, New York for many years to come.
