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Fire lookout · Hamilton County, New York

Wakely Mountain Fire Tower

Aermotor LL-25 fire tower on Wakely Mountain in the Adirondacks, built 1916, closed for footing repairs in 2016-2018 and reopened to summit hikers.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. State says it reopened after 2018 repairs. No later closure notice found in the sources read; check the state before visiting.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Hike to the summit in the Wakely Mountain Primitive Area; the state says visitors can climb the tower
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2016)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor LL-25 windmill-type tower with a 6 by 6 foot cabThe design: Aermotor LL-25
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1916
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,753 ft (1,144 m)
Agency
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Hamilton County, New York
Coordinates
43.73568, −74.51517
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-wakely-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 3.9 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. 1911 EventWooden fire tower that the 1916 tower replaced, per DECSource: adirondackexplorer.org
  2. 1916 BuiltAermotor LL-25; DEC says constructed 1916, replacing the 1911 wooden towerSources: nhlr.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  3. 1922 EventNew cabin for the observer's living quarters, per Conservation Commission reportSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1923 EventA new observer's cabin was built in 1923.Source: nysffla.org
  5. 1930 Altered64-foot outside ladder replaced by a factory stairway kitSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1930 and 1955
  7. 1955 StaffedWarren Meeker, forest ranger and fire observer, died while driving to the hamlet for suppliesSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1960 EventInternational Paper and Finch, Pruyn donated a 1,200-acre tract that included the tower siteSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1960 and 1988
  10. 1988 Last staffedLast year of staffed fire observationSources: nhlr.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  11. 1995 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 6, 1995 as US 113Source: nhlr.org
  12. 2003 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesPlaced on the National Register, per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  13. 2016 Condition assessmentNYSDEC found the tower structurally unsound, the stated basis for closing it to the public; the date of the assessment is not given (reported 2017).Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  14. 2016 ClosedClosed in December 2016 for footing deterioration, per NHLR; DEC dates the damage to winter 2017Sources: nhlr.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  15. 2017 Condition assessmentAfter the tower was found swaying in the wind, Davana LLC evaluated it for NYSDEC and temporarily stabilized the structure.Source: nysffla.org
  16. 2017 RestoredOn May 16, 2017 a NYSDEC crew was flown in and made emergency repairs to stabilize the tower and keep it from toppling; further planned repairs were still pending.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  17. 2018 RestoredJune 2018 restoration; NHLR says all 8 footings were repaired, DEC says four were replacedSources: nhlr.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  18. 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.

Wakely Mountain Fire Tower stands on the mountain of the same name in Hamilton County, in the central Adirondacks.1,2 Its Aermotor LL-25 frame carries a small 6-by-6-foot cab. The tower was one of the first built in the state, in 1916, and it replaced a wooden fire tower from 1911.1,2 The original 64-foot outside ladder was swapped for a factory stairway kit in 1930.1

A new cabin for the observer's living quarters went up in 1922, according to a Conservation Commission report quoted by the Forest Lookouts site.3 The tower was staffed for fire watch until 1988.1,2 A 1955 newspaper report, also quoted there, describes Warren Meeker, a ranger who watched for fires on the mountain, dying of a heart attack while driving to a hamlet for supplies.3 In 1960 International Paper and Finch, Pruyn gave a 1,200-acre recreation tract to the people of New York. The tower site, which the companies had earlier provided for fire protection, was part of that gift.3

Two researchers gathered field data in 2001 so the tower could be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Historic Lookout Register says it was placed on that register in 2003.1 The Lookout Register also records its own registration in 1995.1 The state says it is listed on both the New York and National registers.2

Trouble began with the footings. A visitor's report from October 2016 said "the footings are not fine."1 The Lookout Register says the state closed the tower that December because the footings had deteriorated.1 The state's own account blames wind damage in the winter of 2017 and says the trail was closed too. The two accounts disagree on both the cause and the date.1,2 They also disagree on the number of footings. The register says all eight were repaired in June 2018. The state says a crew and contractor replaced four concrete footings over eight days on the summit.1,2

The state's announcement says the public can again hike to the summit and climb the tower for views of the central Adirondacks.2 The tower sits in the Wakely Mountain Primitive Area.2 The register says a New York State repeater sits inside the cab, with its antenna on the south side, and a solar panel provides power.1 I did not find a later closure notice. The most recent visitor report I could read is from 2022, so check the state's current word before you go.1

  1. Wakely Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/wakely-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Fire Tower and Trail to Mountain Summit Now Again Open to Public, Adirondack Explorer (reprinting a NYS DEC announcement), https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/?p=137512 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Wakeley Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/wakeley-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Wakely Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Nov. 2001--Cabin view from tower
Nov. 2001--Cabin view from tower (2001)Photo: Ann Spaziano (courtesy Bill Starr), via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Nov. 2001--Model 1941 Cabin
Nov. 2001--Model 1941 Cabin (2001)Photo: Bill Starr, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Evan Williams, left, shoots a photograph from a camera attached to a telescope pole last weekend as he and Matt Strickland take in the view from the Wakely Mountain Fire Tower.
Evan Williams, left, shoots a photograph from a camera attached to a telescope pole last weekend as he and Matt Strickland take in the view from the Wakely Mountain Fire TowerPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Wakely Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Wakely Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: Laurie Rankin, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Wakely 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 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, 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.