Balsam Lake Mountain (Catskill Park)

Balsam Lake Mountain (Catskill Park)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Distance: 6.09 miles
Elevation: 1201 feet
Time: 2 hours, 28 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Catskill Firetowers; Catskill 3500 Club

The Hike

I had hoped to hike this mountain the same day I did Overlook, but the weather wasn't looking great for that afternoon. I was headed up to the Adirondacks for my inaugural trip for a few days, so I took the scenic route and stopped at the Catskills on the way up. This was an early Wednesday morning, and I was lucky enough to have the whole mountain to myself the whole day! The temperature was in the mid-50s, which truly felt amazing after the deadly heat from the past few days. I parked at the trailhead, christened the woods nearby, noted the first of my signs indicating that Graham Mountain is closed, and started my hike.

 

The trail crosses the road immediately and then starts its consistent, gradual climb for most of the journey. About a quarter mile into the woods there is a trail register and another Gramahm Mountain closed sign, so I signed in and kept on. The one downside of having the mountain to myself in the morning is that I had the blessing of eating every single spider web. Thankfully, the trail mimicked the Overlook and Tremper fire tower trails as being part of a wide path that likely was a former road.

 

The trail was pretty gentle and featureless, but through nice woods. There were two stand-out sections: one area had massive boulders and interesting rock formations, and the other was where the herd path to Graham Mountain branched off. Interestingly enough, there was no closed sign at the fork, even though there were closed signs elsewhere. 

 

Soon after the fork to Graham Mountain, the trail junction with the Balsam Lake Mountain Trail (red). The red trail turns right to climb Balsam Lake Mountain, which I followed. It follows the wide trail to gate, which I believe is meant to stop snowmobilers from going further. The trail then alternates between short, steep climbs, and flat sections. Soon enough the backside of the cabin appears and there's the summit!

 

The summit has the cabin which was locked, a firetower, a picnic table, a USGS benchmark, and there may have been a privy somewhere off in the woods, but don't quote me on that. The view from the firetower was great! Not Overlook quality, but still a great view. The tall evergreens make for a great foreground. I wandered around the summit area trying to find the benchmark, which did take a minute, but I found it in between the cabin and firetower in the woods. I had a drink and snack and started my return trip.

 

Not much happened on the return trip - ended up being a quick and easy return. One thing I did notice was that some water bars were made with old telephone poles, some of which still had trail markers on them. Soon later I was signing out, crossing the road, enjoying being by myself, and started my long drive to the Adirondacks!

 

Step-By-Step

• Cross Mill Brook Road and start hike on Dry Brook Trailhead.
• Sign register, continue hike on blue-blazed Dry Brook Trail.
• At junction with herd path, continue on blue-blazed Dry Brook Trail.
• At junction with red-blazed Balsam Mountain Trail, turn right onto red-blazed Balsam Mountain Trail.
• Summit mountain, turn around, and retrace steps.

"Balsam Lake Mountain" from Wikipedia

        "Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation. Located within the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest management unit of the Catskill Park Forest Preserve, in the late 19th century its summit became the site of the first fire lookout tower in the state, operated by members of a nearby sportsmen's club. It was later taken over by the state's conservation agencies, which built several improved towers on the site, one of which remains, along with its accessory buildings and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places,[3] although it has not been used for fire detection since 1988. The summit is also the site of a rare sphagnum bog that has been affected by acid rain since a mid-20th century windstorm blew down many of the trees sheltering it at the time. The tower and the views it commands, as well as its ease of access by the old truck road to the tower, have made it a popular attraction for hikers despite the mountain's remote location. Many are peakbaggers aspiring to membership in the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club, for which Balsam Lake is a required peak."

"Geography" from "Balsam Lake Mountain" Wikipedia

        "Catskill forest historian Michael Kudish says the Mill Brook Ridge range, including Balsam Lake, is one of the areas in the region showing the fewest signs of human disturbance. The Iroquois who were the first settlers in today's New York only went into areas above 1,500 feet (460 m) to hunt, if they went there at all. European settlers established few farms in the area, both before and after independence. The clearings that give the Quaker Clearing trailhead its name are the only significant past agricultural use that can still be seen today. Limited logging, primarily by farmers procuring firewood, took place above those clearings. A steel frame tower with a staircase climbing the inside and an enclosed cab on top in front of a stand of evergreen trees Fire tower. 

        The most significant developments in the human history of the mountain took place in 1887. The state bought the southeast slope of the mountain that year for the newly created Forest Preserve, ensuring the land would remain forever wild, always in public ownership and never logged, per a law later added to the state constitution as Article 14. Also that year the Balsam Lake Club decided to erect a crude wooden fire lookout tower on the summit so that an observer could detect fires that threatened the lands around the lake and the headwaters of the Beaver Kill where they hunted and fished. It was the first such lookout tower built in New York State.

        Two years later, the state bought more of the mountain, and eventually acquired the summit itself in 1900. At some point before the United States Geological Survey resurveyed the area for its 1901 maps, the Turner Hollow Road, an old, rough turnpike connecting Seager and Quaker Clearing, often used by members of the Balsam Lake Club to get to the train station at Arkville, was rerouted from the col between East and West Schoolhouse mountains to the one between West Schoolhouse and Balsam Lake. The southern portion survives as part of the Dry Brook Ridge Trail.

        Eight years later, in 1909, the state's Forest, Fish and Game Commission took over the fire tower; a decade later it built the first cabin and replaced it with the steel tower that stands today. By 1935 the state was maintaining not only the jeep road to the summit but the old Turner Hollow Road south to Quaker Clearing and the foot trail from the summit to the road.

        The Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950 took a heavy toll on the summit balsam firs. Blowdown was extensive in both the bog and non-bog areas. The trees that remained standing died more rapidly due to the exposure. It has since recovered, but the bog has become vulnerable to the effects of acid rain in the meantime, possibly changing its growth patterns. 

        After a series of severe droughts and fires in the early 1960s that led to some temporary closings of the Forest Preserve,. fires and the damage they caused declined due to an increase in public awareness of forest fire danger and the decline in activities that caused them. Staffed fire towers became less essential; the state began closing them down and dismantling them in favor of more cost-effective aerial surveillance.

        In 1976 the Balsam Lake Club donated 3,615 acres (1,463 ha) to the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, keeping all but the immediate shoreline of the lake itself. Three years later, the Catskill Center in turn sold the land to the state, putting most of the mountain in public ownership. When the first Catskill State Land Master Plan was drafted and implemented in the mid-1980s, the 13,500-acre (5,500 ha) contiguous tract that stretched from Balsam Lake Mountain to Alder Lake over Mill Brook Ridge was designated as the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, a land classification slightly less restrictive than a wilderness area allowing for state vehicular use of the road up the mountain. 

        The fire tower remained staffed until 1988, one of the last to be closed. Hikers continued to climb it for the views, even though it was no longer maintained. A proposal by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to dismantle the Red Hill fire tower in nearby Denning led to a community effort to save and restore the five remaining towers in the Catskill Park. In conjunction with that effort, the new Mill Brook Ridge Trail was built from Alder Lake in the west across that mountain's two eastern summits to Balsam Lake, to connect the trail system on the hills above Pepacton Reservoir to the central Catskill trail system and provide another link in the Finger Lakes Trail."

Balsam Lake Wild Forest Map (DEC)

Balsam Lake Wild Forest (DEC)

Photo Album

Overlook Mountain (Catskill Park)

Overlook Mountain (Catskill Park)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Distance: 4.91 miles
Elevation: 1401 feet
Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Catskill Firetowers; 52 Hike Challenge

The Hike

Time for another fire tower! I went back and forth on my plans for today since there was a chance of thunderstorms at SOME point of the day - the forecast kept changing - but I eventually decided I'd just drive up to Overlook Mountain, and it was a good choice! I got up at 4:30am and was out the door soon after, listened to "Come From Away" (again), and then I arrived at the McDonalds in Saugerties to get some breakfast. I was surprised the drive to the trailhead was halfway up the mountain, but I was not complaining one bit. The main parking lot only had one other car, and there appeared to be a secondary parking lot 0.5 miles away for overflow. I finished my breakfast while the other car finished getting ready for their hike (#antisocial), used the fairly decent porta potty, and got my day started!

 

I was a good hiker and signed the register box just past the gate to the trail (the trail is just a gravel access road, and there were many signs clearly stating to not block the gate), and from there the hike was more or less of the same thing the whole time - wide gravel road with a few ruts. The real stand out on this hike were the flies! I've never been around so many flies in my life. There were three separate piles of dog poop that the flies were feasting on, so those sections had a higher population, but they were pretty consistent for the whole trail up to the mountain house ruins. I tried to stop to catch my breath once but it sounded like an incoming plague or what I imagine "lord of the flies" sounds like, even though I never read the book.

 

While dodging the flies I did run into the other hiker with her dog - she was super friendly. and I learned later that she was a local, first hiked Overlook a few days ago, and loved it so much that she's been back every day since! After seeing the views, I understood. There were a few side herd paths to who knows where, and one prominent road that had power lines off of the main trail, but I did not investigate further as I was 1) sweaty, 2) stressed because of flies, and 3) the road was grassy and I have a tick phobia (thank you YMCA Camp 2001). The grassy road is on the NYNJTC map and AllTrails, but not on the DEC map. Maybe someday I'll find out, or I'll completely forget about it. Somewhere around there was a sharpie'd "1/2 way point" sign on a telephone pole. Like Mt. Kearsarge South, I both appreciated and hated it.

 

The endless gravel road-slog finally comes to an end at the incredible ruins of the Overlook Mountain House. I attached some information at the bottom here - it was so cool! I guess this structure was never totally finished. Really neat piece of history right on the trail! It also provided a nice "catch-ya-breath" break. The only spot I didn't go was down the steps to what appeared to be the basement floor because I'm a weenie. I also read on catskillmountaineer that Rattlesnakes are known to inhabit the stone here, so I didn't want to mess around too much.

 

After the ruins there is a trail junction towards Echo Lake, a thousand signs warning of Rattlesnakes, and a bunch of herd paths on the right. I took one that looked more worn than the others and I got a partial view of the valley below, but I also scraped up my legs. After going to the top, I'd say it's only worth it when the plants are dead and humans are wearing long pants. 

 

Just before the true summit, the trail opens to a cabin with a privy behind (the cabin was closed today, not sure about the privy), and then you can choose to go right to the view from the ledge or left to the firetower. There was a party of who I believe to be trail runners at the cabin, so I chose to hit the fire tower first in hopes that they wouldn't climb it while I was up. They apparently already had their fun, and left before I started climbing. The view from the firetower is my favorite so far (at least between Red Hill, Mt. Tremper, and Overlook - I need to dig up the photos from Hunter) and it just took my breath away. In one direction is the Hudson River and valley, and the other is the mountains. Just beautiful. The way the sun was shining through the clouds painted just a beautiful picture. There was even the slightest breeze (and no flies)!

 

After carefully descending, I wringed out my shirt (classic) and headed towards the view from the ledges - wow! The trail was covered in gnats, but it quickly opens up to an incredible view of the Hudson Valley and some neighboring mountains. There were some flies being annoying, but the view was worth it. There was some very old graffiti as well - the oldest I remember seeing was from the early 1900's - reminded me of the graffiti on Mt. Monadnock. So cool!

 

On my return trip I passed my friend with her dog who recommended a place to get Avocado Toast, and then I started my trip down! The flies remained in full force, and my shins/quads were feeling the burn on the descent. I passed a bunny at the mountain house ruins (no rattlesnakes), and a few groups heading up the mountain. I didn't realize how truly soaked I was until I made it back to the car, and I was nervous since it was a busy parking lot so I couldn't (shouldn't) do my usual quick-change. Thankfully there was a large porta potty where I could put on my dry clothes. I did a quick journal, and then started my trek home.

 

All that is left is Balsam Lake for the fire towers, which I might do on my way up to the Adirondacks, or I might not since it's absurdly tucked into the Catskills and would add 2.5 hours to the drive... We'll see!

Step-by-Step

• Start hike on red-blazed Overlook Mountain Trail.
• Near the top, enjoy the ruins of an abandoned hotel.
• After the hotel, stay on red-blazed trail at junction with blue-blazed trail.
• Enjoy the fire tower and side trail to another view.
• Retrace steps back to car.

"Overlook Mountain" from Wikipedia

        "Overlook Mountain is the southernmost peak of the Catskill Escarpment in the central Catskill Mountains near Woodstock, New York. The centerpiece of the 590-acre (240 ha) Overlook Mountain Wild Forest area of Catskill Park, the mountain is the site of one of the remaining five Catskill Mountain fire towers and the Overlook Mountain House, a hotel which was built at a higher elevation than any other in the range."

"Overlook Mountain/Fire Tower" from Wikipedia

        "The Overlook fire tower was originally constructed in 1927 on Gallis Hill, west of Kingston, New York, and was moved to its present location in 1950.[3] The 60-foot (18.3 m) tower was used by fire stewards to more easily locate wildfires. The tower, along with the others in the Catskills, were closed for safety reasons in 1988. Overlook's tower was the first to reopen after renovations were completed, on June 5, 1999"

"Overlook Mountain/Mountain House from Wikipedia

        "The first hotel built on the mountain was designed and built by 1833 as interest in tourism in the area increased. The structure was built with the intention to expand it, but was unable to compete effectively with the Catskill Mountain House.[5] The Overlook Mountain House, owned by Robert Livingston Pell and designed by Lewis B. Wagonen, opened in 1871. At 2,920 feet (890 m), it was at a higher elevation than the nearby Catskill Mountain House or other hotels in the area.[3] The hotel had capacity for 300 guests, and was destroyed by fire in 1875. The hotel was rebuilt by the Kiersted Brothers in 1875, and faced increasing competition from the Grand Hotel, Hotel Kaaterskill, and Laurel House. In 1921 was the site of a secret organizational meeting of what was to become the Communist Labor Party of America. The hotel again burned down in 1923, and architect Frank P. Amato was hired by owner Morris Newgold to redesign and rebuild it. This design was never completely built, as the hotel's elevation and lack of rail transportation made it difficult for customers to reach the site, compounding owner Newgold's financial difficulties. The State of New York acquired much of the land, and the hotel was boarded up in 1940. Further fire damage in the mid-1960s brought down a roof-top tower which had remained standing until that point. The ruins of the hotel are accessible from the main trail."

Overlook Mountain Wild Forest (NYDEC)

Overlook Mountain Wild Forest Map (NYDEC)

Overlook Mountain House (Atlas Obscura)

Photo Album

Mt. Tremper Fire Tower (Catskill Park)

Mt. Tremper Fire Tower (Catskill Park)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Distance: 6.3 miles
Elevation: 2031 feet
Time: 3 hours, 2 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Catskill Firetowers

The Hike 

I had a great drive from the Red Hill to the Mt. Tremper trailheads, and now it was time for hike #2 of the day! There was one other car in the parking lot around 10-11am mid-week, and I definitely took my time getting ready. The trail starts at the kiosk at the end of the parking lot and follows a red-blaze trail the whole way. Back into the woods I go!

 

The first section of trail goes over a small hill and is a nice stretch of hiking with one steep/short climb upfront. This section terminates at the trail register, and then the trail begins to follow the wide, rocky trail for the remainder of the hike. The trail, while rocky, is very forgiving. Climbs are followed by nice walking breaks. I passed the person who owned the other car in the parking lot (a very tall man and a very pretty dog), and had the trail to myself for the rest. There is apparently a rattlesnake den near this trail, but I escaped unscathed and not emotionally damaged - a success!

 

The wide, rocky, annoying trail continues to climb through a series of switchbacks and begins to get steeper (or I was getting more tired...). There is a side path (unmarked) to the Baldwin Memorial Shelter that would be a fine place to take a break. Soon after there is a spur trail to a spring, and then the trail begins to be less rocky and more dirt-y, which felt great on the feet. 

 

The trail levels out toward the summit and just before the fire tower there is another shelter with a privy. There was another group of hikers at the fire tower that climbed from the other side of the mountain who were very nice - we had a quick chit chat and then I headed up the tower. The views were nice from the top, but the cabin was closed. I can only assume that the view from the cabin is better than the cramped undercarriage, but it was nice nonetheless. There was a small breeze that did save my life, which was much appreciated. 

 

I slowly headed down the tower, eavesdropped on the other hikers' conversation about the 4000-foot peaks in Baxter State Park, Maine, and then headed to the shelter to have my snack and shirt-wringing-out break. The temperature was definitely climbing and my sweat was showing. Either way, I started my descent which started out quite lovely and quickly began to descend much steeper than I remembered climbing. My thighs felt the burn!

The return hike, as per usual, was pretty uneventful, and pretty quick. I passed three groups of hikers - one that looked like a group of boy scouts who asked if they were halfway, and I lied and said yes. The second group was a man and his dog who had clearly been around before (at least that's what I inferred), and the third was a family who was very unprepared for the hike. The dad asked how far to the spring (it was just under 2 miles away), he had maybe a 20oz water bottle that was already half drinken. The mom looked like she was NOT having a good time and kept mentioning how two miles in the Catskills are different than two miles back home, and their child was simply there for the ride. Not sure what ended up happening with them, but I hope they did what's best for them!

 

The parking lot was fuller when I landed, and when I was changing my shoes a ranger pulled up to ask how the hike was, ask if anyone was camping, and then recommended tackling Mt. Tremper from the other side, which I definitely will if I do it again! I had to change my clothes in the car due to the exposed nature of the parking lot, which was fine. I did a quick journal, chugged some electrolytes, and got some Stewarts before my drive back to mom's house!

 

Step-by-Step

• Start hike on red-blazed Mt. Tremper Fire Tower Trail.
• At register box, turn right to continue on red-blazed Mt. Tremper Fire Tower Trail.
• At spur path to Baldwin Shelter, check it out and continue hike.
• At summit area, climb fire tower, turn around, and return to car.

Tremper Mountain from NYDEC

This fire tower is believed to be the original structure built circa 1917, and was used for fire observation until 1971. The 47-foot tower was placed in its present location because of the vast sections of forest preserve not visible from either the Hunter or Belleayre fire towers.

Photo Album

Red Hill Fire Tower (Catskill Park)

Red Hill Fire Tower (Catskill Park)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Distance: 3.84 miles
Elevation: 1155 feet
Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Catskill Firetowers

The Hike

First hike of being a 27 year old! I had just finished connecting the AT through NJ, so I decided to head slightly north to the Catskills to work on hiking their fire towers. There is a formal fire tower challenge that needs to be completed in the calendar year, but I climbed Hunter last year so I decided to make my own challenge (again). There is a patch for sale that lists the five fire towers in the park, so I decided if I climb to all five in any time frame I earn that patch. First on the list for this day was one I had actually acidentally driven past last year while lost without cell service - Red Hill!

There are two trails to the tower - the newer blue trail and the older yellow trail. I don't know much about the yellow trail, as I took the blue one to the top. The parking area is a gravel lot with a porta potty and register box. I planned to be a good hiker and sign the register, but there was a LARGE spider occupying the area, so I opted out. The temperature was 58 degrees at the beginning and I was DELIGHTED. There were many no tresspassing signs around the trailhead, but the trail is well-blazed and easy to follow so it was no problem. I did all my pre-hike chores and got started!

The first mile+ of the hike was through well-graded, well-blazed, easy to follow trails. I didn't realize the trail was as new as 2021 until I read about it (listed below), so it makes sense that the quality is so high. Really nice hiking! Saw a large deer in the beginning. The trail first meandered through hardwood forests and then winded through massive boulders (that could have definitely served as a shelter for bears but I tried to put that thought in the back of my brain). The trail then goes through a younger stretch of forest before reaching the junction with the old, yellow-blazed trail off of Dinch Road. Just before the junction, I head what would have bad to be the dreaded mountain chicken (grouse) getting mad at me for being too close. I'm not sure if spruce grouses live this far south though? A mystery for sure.

From this junction, the trail becomes more rough, steep, rugged, and eroded. There were a few sections of very loose rock/gravel/dirt, which wasn't my favorite. I also inhaled a bug and thought my life was ending during this section, which wasn't my favorite either. The trail passes a spring that was still running, and eventually reaches the plateau and the summit area.

The summit area was mowed with a cabin, outhouse, picnic tables, and of course, the fire tower. The cabin and outhouse were locked since the fire tower wasn't staffed on this Wednesday. I took a break here to wring out my soaked shirt and climb the tower. The tower was sturdy and had a nice view from the top. Nothing absolutely breathtaking, but I think that I would have been more impressed if the cabin were open. Nice spot to take a few photos, slowly climb down, and begin my return trip.

As with most out-and-back hikes, the return trip was highly uneventful. I swore at the loose rock section a couple times, but I was back to the car quickly. Best part about this hike was that I didn't see another person the whole time. 

Step-By-Step

• Start Hike on blue-blazed Red Hill Fire Tower trail on Deming Road.
• At junction with yellow-blazed trail, continue on blue-blazed trail.
• At summit area, climb fire tower, and retrace steps back to car.

"Red Hill Fire Tower Trail" From the Catskill Visitor Website

        "A new trail, completed at the beginning of 2021 takes you to the top of Red Hill where you can also climb the Red Hill Fire Tower. Follow the blue-marked Red Hill Tower Trail for 1.4 miles from the trailhead on Denning Road in Claryville, NY. When you reach the junction where a yellow-marked trail meets the blue trail, keep right to follow the blue trail to the Red Hill Fire Tower summit for 0.6 miles. This is an out-and-back hike, total roundtrip mileage is 4.0 miles, and elevation gain is 1200′.

        This 60-foot fire tower was constructed in 1921 and is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register and has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. The Red Hill Fire Tower offers an unsurpassed view of the Catskill High Peaks to the west and north, along with the Roundout Reservoir to the southeast. The tower was reopened to the public in 2000 in a restoration effort by the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The trail is part of Sundown Wild Forest, land managed by the NYSDEC."

"Red Hill Fire Tower" from NYDEC

"The Red Hill Fire Tower stands 60 feet tall, has nine flights of stairs, and was constructed in 1921. Follow the blue-marked Red Hill Tower Trail for 1.4 miles from the trailhead on Denning Road in Claryville, NY which will accommodate up to 10 cars. Follow the blue-marked Red Hill Tower trail for 1.4 miles where it intersects with the yellow-marked trail. Turn right and stay on the blue-marked trail for .6 mile that leads to the summit. Moderate 4 mile, round-trip hike. Elevation gain is approximately 1200′.Trailhead address is: 2205 Denning Rd, Claryville, NY 12725 GPS coordinates: 41.935139, -74.529389"

Red Hill Fire Tower Map (NYDEC)

Sundown Wild Forest Information (NYDEC)

Photo Album