Fire lookout · Rensselaer County, New York
Dickinson Hill Fire Tower
Grafton Lakes State Park tower built 1924; most sources end its fire watch in 1972; NRHP-listed 2011; reopened 2012; steps and cab repaired 2025.
- Standing
- Open to the public
- Verified
Visit & stay
Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.
Access
Open to the public. state park hiking destination reopened in 2012 and popular with visitors; reached by a 1.5-mile hike from the North Long Pond Road parking area
- Can you climb it?
- Yes
- Road to the top?
- No, you have to hike
- Trail
- 1.5-mile hike from the North Long Pond Road parking area, per the New York Almanack; all 80 steps repaired in 2025
- Staffing
- Unknown
Facts
- Status
- Type
- Cab on a tower60-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel tower with a 7 by 7 foot metal cabThe design: Aermotor LS-40
- Built of
- Not recorded
- Also served as
- Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
- Built
- 1924
- Height
- 60 ft (18.3 m)
- Elevation
- 1,760 ft (536 m)
- Agency
- New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (Grafton Lakes State Park)
- Land
- Unknown
- Location
- Rensselaer County, New York
- Coordinates
- 42.79330, −73.41440
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-ny-dickinson-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 4.1 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
- 1924 Builtconstructed by the State of New York; Aermotor Corporation prefabricated structureSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org, newyorkalmanack.com
- No record between 1924 and 1972
- 1972 Last staffedWikipedia and the Almanack give 1972; the register says last used for fire detection in the 1980sSources: en.wikipedia.org, newyorkalmanack.com
- No record between 1972 and 2001
- 2001 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterNational Historic Lookout Register registration date May 7, 2001Source: nhlr.org
- 2010 EventFFLA restoration grant awarded toward restoring the 60-foot Aermotor LS-40 tower, with new steps, landings, cab floor and safety screening, by Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park and FFLA-NY.Source: firelookout.org
- 2011 Listed on the National Register of Historic Placeslisted on the National Register of Historic Places, No. 11000253Sources: en.wikipedia.org, newyorkalmanack.com
- 2011 RestoredFriends of Grafton Lakes State Park restored the tower in 2011.Source: nysffla.org
- 2012 Eventtower handed over to NYS ParksSource: newyorkalmanack.com
- 2012 RestoredFriends of Grafton Lakes State Park restored it and reopened it as a recreational destinationSource: newyorkalmanack.com
- 2017 RestoredThe tower at Grafton Lakes State Park was newly rehabilitated and freshly painted by fall 2017, when the Journey to the Fire Tower trail opened.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
- 2020 RestoredFFLA volunteers painted over extensive graffiti on the inside of the Dickinson Hill tower cab, with Park and Friends group permission (reported).Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
- 2021 RestoredVolunteers gave the Dickinson Hill tower a clean coat of paint over graffiti in April 2021.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
- 2022 RestoredChapter volunteers painted over significant graffiti in Dickinson Hill tower before the Labor Day holiday weekend.Source: nysffla.org
- 2023 RestoredOn April 21, 2023 chapter volunteers painted over graffiti in the Dickinson Hill tower cab.Source: nysffla.org
- 2025 RestoredState Parks completed repairs to steps and decking, safety wire, and repainting; celebrated October 26, 2025Sources: newyorkalmanack.com, dailydispatch.com
- 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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
Dickinson Hill Fire Tower stands in Grafton Lakes State Park in Rensselaer County, New York.1,2 The 60-foot steel tower was built in 1924.1 The register says the State of New York built it,2 and Wikipedia says the Aermotor Corporation made it as a prefabricated structure.3
During World War II the tower was used by the Aircraft Warning Service, and in the 1970s the U.S. Navy staged communication experiments there.2
Wikipedia and the New York Almanack both say the fire watch ended in 1972.3,1 The register, however, says the tower was last used for fire detection in the 1980s, so the sources disagree on that date.2 An undated note on the register page says the State Police currently own the tower, which conflicts with the 2012 handover to state parks described below.2
The tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.3,1 In 2012 the tower was handed over to state parks. The Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park restored it, and it reopened to visitors that year.1
By late October 2025, State Parks had finished a project that repaired all 80 steps and the cab and platform decking, and repainted the tower.1,4
Today the tower is a hiking destination.1 The walk is about 1.5 miles from the North Long Pond Road parking area.1 Check with Grafton Lakes State Park before you go, since hours and conditions can change.
- Last Remaining Fire Tower in Rensselaer County Gets Restored, New York Almanack, https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2025/11/rensselaer-county-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Dickinson Hill Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/dickinson-hill-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Dickinson Hill Fire Tower, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickinson_Hill_Fire_Tower (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Fire tower restoration project complete in Rensselaer County, Daily Dispatch, https://dailydispatch.com/news/new-york/dickinson-hill-fire-tower-restoration-project-complete/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
Photos
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Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, wartime use, 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site) 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter (opens another site) 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports (opens another site) 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
- Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) (opens another site) Gave us: height, register numbers, dates, photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
- OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures (opens another site) Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
- 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
- NHLR register entry US 377 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- Last Remaining Fire Tower in Rensselaer County Gets Restored (New York Almanack) (opens another site)
- Fire tower restoration project complete in Rensselaer County (Daily Dispatch) (opens another site)
- FFLA New York lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter: work on Dickinson Hill Fire Tower (opens another site)
- Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports: work on Dickinson Hill Fire Tower (opens another site)
- Wikipedia: Dickinson Hill Fire Tower (opens another site)
- Dickinson Hill (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site)
- Wikidata item Q22060971 (opens another site)
- OpenStreetMap node 3782242385 (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.