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Fire lookout · Hamilton County, New York

Buck Fire Tower

Also known as Buck Mountain

1933 Aermotor LS-40 steel tower built by Whitney Park; privately owned, reopened as a 1.2-mile hike on September 2, 2023 after a Long Lake and Hamilton County restoration.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Opened to the public on September 2, 2023 by the Town of Long Lake with Hamilton County. Reached on a 1.2-mile one-way trail with 500 feet of elevation gain from a trailhead lot on South Sabattis Road. The land belongs to Cedar Heights Timber LLC, which granted a trail easement. The town's notice does not say whether visitors may enter the cab.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
1.2 miles one way, 500 feet of elevation gain, from the trailhead parking lot on South Sabattis Road off NYS Route 30
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower60-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel tower (register)The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1933
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
2,425 ft (739 m)
Agency
Private owner Cedar Heights Timber LLC; trail and reopening led by the Town of Long Lake with Hamilton County
Land
Unknown
Location
Hamilton County, New York
Coordinates
44.05222, −74.53264
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-buck

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 3.8 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. 1933 BuiltWhitney Park erected the 60-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel tower to protect its lands; tower parts were hauled up by sled dogs in winter; a wooden fire observatory may have stood on the summit before itSources: nhlr.org, nysffla.org, mylonglake.com
  2. No record between 1933 and 2022
  3. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register on December 25, 2022; the register page then anticipated a summer 2022 reopeningSource: nhlr.org
  4. 2022 EventRegister anticipated a summer 2022 reopening under an agreement between the owner and Hamilton County; the tower did not open until September 2023Sources: nhlr.org, nysffla.org, mylonglake.com
  5. 2022 RestoredThe Town of Long Lake and partners installed all-new stairs, landings and roof by August; FFLA volunteers and town staff then painted the tower.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  6. 2023 EventTower opened to the public on September 2, 2023 after a 1.2-mile trail was built over two summer seasons by Adirondack Mountain Club crews and partnersSources: nysffla.org, mylonglake.com, firelookout.org
  7. 2023 RestoredFinal phase of the trail and tower project: tower rehabilitation with a new sheet metal roof, treads, galvanized steps and fencing. The town's notice does not date this workSource: mylonglake.com
  8. 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.

The Buck Mountain fire tower stands on a summit in Hamilton County, New York, near Long Lake. The register gives the summit as 2,425 feet, while the town's notice says 2,400.1,2 Whitney Park, a private landowner, built a 60-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel tower in 1933 to guard its property.1 The state fire lookout association's newsletter says that in winter, sled dogs brought the tower parts up the mountain, though it admits how little history it has of this private tower.3 The Town of Long Lake's notice adds that a wooden fire observatory may have stood on the summit before the steel tower.2

The land now belongs to Cedar Heights Timber LLC.2 The register, which was recorded on December 25, 2022, had expected the tower to reopen in summer 2022 under an agreement between that owner and Hamilton County.1 The reopening came more than a year later. The newsletter and the town's notice both record that the tower opened to the public on September 2, 2023.3,2,4

The trail was a joint effort of the town, Hamilton County Soil and Water, and the Adirondack Mountain Club.2 The club's crews put in two summer seasons hand-building rock steps and wooden staircases for the steepest stretch.2 The final phase of the work was the tower's rehabilitation, which added a sheet metal roof, treads, galvanized steps and fencing. The town's notice does not date that work.2

The trail is 1.2 miles one way, with 500 feet of elevation gain, and starts at a parking lot on South Sabattis Road, off NYS Route 30.2 The landowner granted an easement across its land for the trail.2 From the tower, the notice says, the 360-degree view takes in the Whitney Wilderness and Little Tupper Lake.2 The notice does not say whether visitors may go up into the cab. It refers to trail rules without listing them, so check the rules before you climb.2

  1. Buck Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/buck-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Buck Mountain Fire Tower Open September 2, 2023, Town of Long Lake, https://www.mylonglake.com/2023/09/02/buck-mountain-fire-tower-open-september-2-2023/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Around the State, September 2023 newsletter, New York State chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://www.nysffla.org/News2023/2023%20Sep%20final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Annual Report 2024, Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cr-ny-2023.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

October 2021 photo
October 2021 photo (2021)Photo: Laurie Rankin, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: 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
  4. 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
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: 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
  6. 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.