FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Essex County, New York

Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower

A 1919 Aermotor steel tower on Hurricane Mountain near Keene, NY; closed in 1979, spared in 2010, open to hikers by 2015, roof needing replacement at the 2018 NHLR visit.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Open to hikers by September 2015 per Pure Adirondacks; the Friends group cares for three trails; the 2018 NHLR visit reported roof damage, so check current conditions

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Three well-signed trailheads and trails; Elizabethtown and Crows Clearing trailheads are not plowed in winter; the trailhead off Route 9N is plowed occasionally
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2018)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower35-ft Aermotor LS-40 steel tower with 7x7-ft metal cab (1919)The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1919
Height
35 ft (10.7 m)
Elevation
3,678 ft (1,121 m)
Agency
NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Essex County, New York
Coordinates
44.23517, −73.71140
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-hurricane-mountain

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 3.6 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. 1910 First staffedObservers first assigned to the summit, per the Friends of Hurricane Mountain website (via Explorer); NHLR says the peak has hosted a fire tower since 1909Sources: adirondackexplorer.org, nhlr.org
  2. 1919 BuiltSteel frame lookout erected; prefabricated by AermotorSources: en.wikipedia.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  3. 1919 Replaced by a new structureFirst wooden structure replaced by a 35-ft Aermotor LS-40 steel towerSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  4. 1922 RestoredExisting observer's cabin repaired and put in first-class shape in 1922 as part of the new observer housing standard.Source: nysffla.org
  5. No record between 1922 and 1979
  6. 1979 ClosedTower closed when the DEC began to rely on air surveillance (per Friends group, via Explorer)Source: adirondackexplorer.org
  7. 1979 Last staffedThe tower was officially closed in November; the Conservation Department relied on air surveillance from then on.Source: hurricanefiretower.org
  8. No record between 1979 and 2005
  9. 2005 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 31, 2005 as US 644, NY 26Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2007 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to NRHP January 29, 2007Source: en.wikipedia.org
  11. 2010 EventSpared from removal after Friends group petition; half an acre at the base reclassified as historicSource: adirondacklife.com
  12. 2015 RestoredOpen to hikers as of September 2015 after restoration workSource: pureadirondacks.com
  13. 2017 RestoredFriends of Hurricane volunteers painted the whole tower with silver protective paint, paid for by NYSDEC.Source: nysffla.org
  14. 2018 Condition assessmentNHLR March 2018 visit: roof damaged and possibly missing part of its covering; needs a new roofSource: nhlr.org
  15. 2019 RestoredA new roof, made by the Friends and flown up with state funding, was installed on July 31 by David Vana's crew just before the centennial.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  16. 2020 AlteredFriends of Hurricane Mountain hung panoramic photos in the tower cab in September 2020 after an August attempt failed over mounting hardware.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  17. 2021 AlteredA new map table was carried up and installed in the Hurricane tower cab on Sept 4, 2021, similar to the observer's original.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  18. 2024 AlteredFriends of Hurricane replaced the 2015 safety wire with heavier wire on all four landings after winter ice damage (reported in June 2024).Source: nysffla.org
  19. 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.

Hurricane Mountain is a rocky summit near Keene in Essex County, and its fire watch goes back more than a century.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register says the peak has hosted a fire tower since 1909, while the Friends of Hurricane Mountain date the first observers to 1910.1,3 In 1919 a steel tower replaced the first wooden structure: a 35-foot Aermotor LS-40 with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab.1,2

For roughly 50 years, observers manned the summit through the warm months, from dawn until dusk, and lived in a small cabin just below it.3 The Friends group says the tower shut down in 1979, once the DEC began relying on air surveillance to spot fires.3 Many Forest Preserve towers were taken down one at a time, and Hurricane's, which sat on Primitive forestland, came next.4 The Friends of Hurricane Mountain asked local government and the Adirondack Park Agency to spare it.4 In 2010 the state designated half an acre at the tower's base as historic, and that spared the tower.4,3 Restoration followed, and by September 2015 the tower was open to hikers again.5

Later NHLR visits recorded the work in progress.1 A 2017 report notes that a state police helicopter flew in materials for the job, and a March 2018 visit found the tower's roof needing replacement and possibly missing part of its covering.1 The register's visit reports also disagree about staffing.1 The 2017 report marks the tower as staffed, though its comments describe volunteers and paid stewards serving as interpreters, while the 2007 and 2018 reports list it as unstaffed.1

The Friends of Hurricane Mountain look after three trails to the summit, and a 2018 visit found all of them well signed.1 The 2018 visit also noted that the Elizabethtown and Crows Clearing trailheads are not plowed in winter.1 Each year a statewide event lights a lantern in the cab from about 9 to 9:30 p.m., so the tower can be seen from miles away.3 The most recent register visit is from March 2018, so conditions may have changed since.1

  1. Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/hurricane-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Hurricane Mountain Fire Observation Station, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Mountain_Fire_Observation_Station (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Tower lighting pays homage to fire observers, Adirondack Explorer, https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/?p=195184 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. High Profile, Adirondack Life, https://www.adirondacklife.com/2017/08/10/high-profile/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Hurricane Mountain, Pure Adirondacks, https://pureadirondacks.com/blogs/adirondack-hiking/hurricane-mountain (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower, 1964
(1964)Photo: Larry Paul (courtesy Bill Starr), via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Vintage (c 1920) Photo
Vintage (c 1920) Photo (1920)Photo: Bob Eckler collection (courtesy Bill Starr), via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Vintage (c 1920) Photo
Vintage (c 1920) Photo (1920)Photo: Bob Eckler collection (courtesy Bill Starr), via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Vintage (c 1920) Photo
Vintage (c 1920) Photo (1920)Photo: Bob Eckler collection (courtesy Bill Starr), via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower
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, 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. Friends of Hurricane Mountain Gave us: dates, links Friends of Hurricane Mountain (hurricanefiretower.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 Friends' page it comes from. The position is copied from the NHLR record (the Friends publish none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  8. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages Gave us: links FFLA chapters and Friends groups (each link names the group) · Links to the groups' own pages; facts only from the California-South chapter's tower table (register page, operator, condition). No text or photos reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, 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.