FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Hamilton County, New York

Snowy Mountain Fire Tower

Also known as Snowy Mt

Snowy Mountain tower, Hamilton County NY: 22-ft steel Aermotor tower built 1917, extended 1933, in operation until 1971, restored and NRHP-listed 2001; open to the public.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Wikipedia says it has been restored and is open to the public. The trail is in the Jessup River Wild Forest and is reached from State Route 30 (FFLA April 2024).

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
A hike, not a drive-up. The FFLA newsletter says the 2024 repair day would require a long hike. The trail is popular and has suffered from overuse. The sources read do not say whether the cab is open to climbers now; check with NYSDEC before climbing.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower22-foot prefabricated Aermotor LS40 steel tower built 1917, extended by 20 feet in 1933The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Steel
Built
1909
Height
42 ft (12.8 m)
Elevation
3,848 ft (1,173 m)
Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Hamilton County, New York
Coordinates
43.70021, −74.38678
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-snowy-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 3.5 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. 1909 BuiltLookout established atop a 15-foot tower at a cost of $989.02, before the 1917 steel towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1917 Built22-foot steel tower erected; prefabricated Aermotor LS40 designSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com, en.wikipedia.org
  3. 1923 EventA new observer's cabin was built in 1923.Source: nysffla.org
  4. 1933 Altered20-foot extension added so the cab sees over the trees (NHLR); four more flights of stairs added (Wikipedia)Sources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  5. No record between 1933 and 1971
  6. 1971 Last staffedIn operation until 1971 (NHLR); closed in 1971 as aerial detection arrived (Wikipedia)Sources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  7. No record between 1971 and 2001
  8. 2001 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to the National Register of Historic Places, September 23, 2001Sources: en.wikipedia.org, npgallery.nps.gov
  9. 2001 RestoredRestored by DEC staff, Student Conservation Corps and local citizens, with NYS Police helicopter supportSource: nhlr.org
  10. 2004 EventFFLA report (dated January 19, 2005) lists Snowy among Adirondack towers already restoredSource: firelookout.org
  11. 2011 RestoredA restoration led by Forest Ranger Greg George with many partners returned the long-abandoned tower to public use in 2011.Source: nysffla.org
  12. 2018 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 3, 2018 as US 1275, NY 43Source: nhlr.org
  13. 2024 AlteredVolunteers attached new safety fencing, hauled up earlier by NYSDEC, to the tower on a July work day.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  14. 2024 EventSafety-fencing repair work announced for July 13 and 14, 2024; completion not confirmedSource: nysffla.org
  15. 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 Snowy Mountain fire tower stands on the summit of Snowy Mountain in Hamilton County, New York, inside the Jessup River Wild Forest.1 A lookout was set up there in 1909, on a 15-foot tower that cost $989.02.2 A 22-foot steel tower followed in 1917.2 Wikipedia says it was a prefabricated Aermotor LS40 design.3

In 1933 a 20-foot extension was added so the cab could see over the trees.1 Wikipedia describes the same year's change as four more flights of stairs, added as the surrounding trees grew.3 The two accounts also disagree on height. The Register's figures add up to about 42 feet, while Wikipedia gives 45 feet (14 metres).1,3

The Register says the tower was in operation until 1971.1 Wikipedia says that with the advent of aerial detection, the tower was closed in 1971.3 The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2001.4,3

The Register says DEC staff, Student Conservation Corps and local citizens restored the tower in 2001, with support from a state police helicopter that delivered materials.1 An FFLA report written in January 2005 lists Snowy among the Adirondack towers already restored.5

Today the tower is described as restored and open to the public.3 The FFLA's New York chapter says it maintains the Kane and Snowy towers and their trails under an agreement with DEC.6 Its April 2024 newsletter announced repair work on the tower's safety fencing for July 13 and 14. That was a plan, and no source we read confirms the work was done.6 The trail on State Route 30 has taken heavy use, and the newsletter reports trail widening and damage to trailside vegetation.6 A contract went to the Adirondack Mountain Club to design a new sustainable trail or plan a rebuild of the current one.6

The sources do not describe the tower's current condition or whether the cab is open to climbers now. Check with DEC before going up.

  1. Snowy Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/snowy-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Snowy Mountain, Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/snowy-mountain1.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Snowy Mountain Fire Observation Station, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Mountain_Fire_Observation_Station (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Snowy Mountain Fire Observation Station, National Register of Historic Places record 01001031, NPGallery (npgallery.nps.gov), https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/01001031 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. NYS FFLA Director's Report from Marty Podskoch, January 19, 2005, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ny-2004.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter, April 2024 newsletter (nysffla.org), https://www.nysffla.org/News2024/2024%20Apr%20final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

February 17, 2018 photo
February 17, 2018 photo (2018)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, 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. 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.