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Fire lookout · Chenango County, New York

Berry Hill Tower

A 1934 CCC-built 59-ft-3-in International Derrick tower in Chenango County; active until 1988, closed 1989, restored and reopened to the public in September 2021.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. Open for recreation since September 13, 2021, after a DEC restoration. DEC calls it the only fire tower open for recreation on public lands in Central New York.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Accessible stone-dust path from the upper parking area to the base of the tower
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower59-foot-3-inch International Derrick tower built by the Civilian Conservation CorpsThe design: IDECO
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
59 ft (18.1 m)
Elevation
1,960 ft (597 m)
Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Chenango County, New York
Coordinates
42.54975, −75.69030
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-berry-hill

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.7 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1934 BuiltBuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corps on a structure the US Forest Service provided to New York StateSources: en.wikipedia.org, dec.ny.gov
  2. 1935 First staffedFirst staffed; built to watch newly reforested state land at risk of fireSource: en.wikipedia.org
  3. No record between 1935 and 1988
  4. 1988 Last staffedActive fire lookout station until the end of the 1988 seasonSources: dec.ny.gov, en.wikipedia.org
  5. 1989 ClosedOfficially closed early in 1989Source: en.wikipedia.org
  6. 1993 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 4, 1993 as US 54, NY 3; nominated by Edwin Pierce, regional ranger, NYSDECSource: nhlr.org
  7. No record between 1993 and 2009
  8. 2009 EventFFLA restoration grant awarded for starting restoration of the Berry Hill observer cabin: new porch floor and railing, roof repairs, interior cleanup and varnish, vintage photos.Source: firelookout.org
  9. 2017 Condition assessmentJune 16, 2017 NHLR visit: could not be climbed (no key); not staffed; volunteers maintaining grounds and had rehabilitated the observers cabin; condition rated not goodSource: nhlr.org
  10. 2020 ClosedThe Berry Hill tower was closed to the public from Oct 19, 2020 while restoration work began on site.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  11. 2021 Restored$125,000 restoration: communications equipment removed, stairwell fencing and grate treads added, repainted, new cab windows; reopened to the public September 13, 2021Sources: dec.ny.gov, en.wikipedia.org
  12. 2026 RestoredFFLA volunteers stained the observer's cabin in two work days using NYSDEC-supplied stain (reported June 2026).Source: nysffla.org
  13. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Berry Hill rises to 1,960 feet in the town of McDonough, Chenango County, New York, just west-northwest of Norwich.1,2,3 Wikipedia gives the height as 1,962 feet.2

The Civilian Conservation Corps put up the tower in 1934, using a structure the federal Forest Service had given New York State.2,3 It was sited to keep an eye on state land that had been replanted and was vulnerable to fire.2 Observers first staffed it in 1935.2 The National Historic Lookout Register calls it the second fire tower in New York that the Corps erected.1 The tower stands 59 feet 3 inches tall and is an International Derrick design.2

Berry Hill was an active fire lookout through the 1988 season.3 Wikipedia dates the official closure to early 1989.2 The Register recorded it on January 4, 1993, on a nomination by Edwin Pierce, a regional ranger with the state environmental agency.1 A 1999 management plan for the surrounding state forest named public access as an objective for the tower.3

A June 16, 2017 visit report on the Register says the visiting team could not climb the tower that day because it had no key, so most of the tower could not be inspected.1 The same report notes that volunteers maintain the property and had already fixed up the observers' cabin.1 It also lists plans to remove the communications equipment and restore the tower.1

A $125,000 restoration, paid for through NY Works, removed all communications equipment from the tower.3 The work also added safety fencing and metal grate treads on the stairwell, repainted the whole tower, and fitted new windows in the cab.3 Work on the observers' cabin replaced its roof and redid its porch and siding.3 The tower reopened to the public on September 13, 2021.2,3

The state says that, of the fire towers on public land in Central New York, only Berry Hill is open for recreation.3 A stone-dust path, which the state calls accessible, runs from the upper parking area to the base.3 The grounds also have a picnic table, a bench and an information kiosk.3 The fire tower is open to the public year-round, from sunrise to sunset.3

  1. Berry Hill Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/berry-hill-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Berry Hill (New York), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_Hill_(New_York) (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. DEC Announces Berry Hill Fire Tower in Chenango County Now Open to Visitors, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, https://dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2021/9/dec-announces-berry-hill-fire-tower-in-chenango-county-now-open-to-visitors (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Berry Hill Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Berry Hill Tower, 2009
(2009)Photo: Bill Starr, November 7, 2009, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Berry Hill Tower, 2009
(2009)Photo: Bill Starr, November 7, 2009, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Berry Hill Tower, 2009
(2009)Photo: Bill Starr, November 7, 2009, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Sunset
Sunset (2009)Photo: Bill Starr, November 7, 2009, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013 (2013)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013 (2013)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013
Illuminated on night of 8/30/2013 (2013)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Map and Coordinates List for NYS DEC Firetowers (Andy Arthur) Gave us: ownership, links Andy Arthur, andyarthur.org (CC BY 3.0) · CC BY 3.0, credit: Andy Arthur, andyarthur.org. Facts + short description text reused under that licence. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: height, links easternuslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter (nysffla.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the chapter newsletter it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR and FFLA records (the chapter publishes none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, visiting details, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.