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Fire lookout · Cattaraugus County, New York

Summit Hill

Also known as Summit Fire Tower

Allegany State Park's 60-foot Aermotor tower on South Mountain, built 1926, closed 1970, restored and reopened 2006; open on set days, and sources disagree on the stairs.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Sources disagree. The Southern Tier listing says the tower is fenced and off limits except on limited dates. The DEC says the stairs can be climbed but the top platform is closed. FFLA newsletters list set open days (Saturdays in 2021; June 20, 22 and 24, 2026, all past as of 2026-10-09). Check with Allegany State Park before visiting.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
A 2020 FFLA newsletter says the trails around the summit are a mountain-biking area, with no horse trails near the summit.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower60-foot standard LS40 Aermotor steel lookout towerThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1926
Height
59 ft (18.0 m)
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
Land
Unknown
Location
Cattaraugus County, New York
Coordinates
42.12587, −78.70121
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-summit-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 3.5 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. 1926 BuiltBuilt by the Allegany State Park Commission on South Mountain as a 60-foot LS40 Aermotor tower.Sources: nysffla.org, en.wikipedia.org
  2. 1928 EventBy the end of 1928 the park had five towers in operation; Summit was one of the three main towers.Source: en.wikipedia.org
  3. 1931 EventThe Bureau of Forest Fire Control took over operation of the tower.Source: en.wikipedia.org
  4. No record between 1931 and 1970
  5. 1970 ClosedFire lookout operations ended at the end of the 1970 season because of increased aerial detection.Sources: nysffla.org, en.wikipedia.org
  6. No record between 1970 and 1999
  7. 1999 EventThe Fire Tower Restoration Committee, part of the Allegany State Park Historical Society, was formed.Source: nysffla.org
  8. 2006 RestoredRestoration completed; the tower reopened with a ceremony on October 14, 2006.Sources: nysffla.org, en.wikipedia.org
  9. No record between 2006 and 2021
  10. 2021 EventAn FFLA newsletter says the tower is officially open on Saturdays from 11:00 to 1:30.Source: nysffla.org
  11. 2026 EventAn FFLA newsletter lists the tower as open on June 20, 22 and 24, from 11am to 1pm.Source: nysffla.org
  12. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Allegany State Park Commission built a 60-foot Aermotor LS40 steel lookout on South Mountain in 1926.1,2 It stands in Allegany State Park, about two miles south of Salamanca, in Cattaraugus County.1,2 By the end of 1928 the park had five towers, and this one was one of three main towers with Mount Irvine and Mount Tuscarora.2 In 1931 the Bureau of Forest Fire Control took over its operation.2 None of the sources I read names a fire the tower spotted.1,2

Use ended when aerial detection arrived. Wikipedia says the tower ceased fire lookout work at the end of the 1970 season, because of aerial detection.2 The Southern Tier listing gives the same closing year.1

Restoration came later. The Fire Tower Restoration Committee, which sits within the Allegany State Park Historical Society, dates from 1999.1 Restoration was completed in 2006, and the tower reopened with a ceremony on October 14, 2006.1,2

The sources disagree on access. The Southern Tier listing says a tall fence now surrounds the tower, and the park lets people in only on certain dates.1 The DEC says the top platform is closed to visitors, though the stairs can still be climbed, and that trees have grown up so there are no views from the top.3 FFLA newsletters have announced set open times: Saturdays from 11:00 to 1:30 in 2021, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 20, 22 and 24, 2026.4,5 Those June dates have passed, and the sources I read list no later open days. The state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation owns and manages the tower.3

A 2020 newsletter notes that the trails around the summit are a mountain-biking area, with no horse trails near the top.6 Check with Allegany State Park before you go, and do not climb the tower while it is closed.

  1. Southern Tier Fire Towers, New York State Forest Fire Lookout Association, http://www.nysffla.org/towers8.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Summit Fire Tower, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Fire_Tower (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Visiting New York's Fire Towers, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hiking/fire-towers (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Newsletter, September 2021, NYS Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://www.nysffla.org/News2021/Sep-2021-final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Newsletter, June 2026, NYS Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://www.nysffla.org/News2026/2026%20Jun%20final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. Newsletter, March 2020, NYS Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://www.nysffla.org/News2020/2020%20Mar%20final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Sources

  1. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: height, dates, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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.