Bald Mountain Fire Tower

July 25, 2010

 

Bald Mountain, also known as Rondaxe Mountain has one of the most popular Adirondack fire towers. The first tower, a wooden one, was erected in the summit in 1912 and replaced with the present steel tower in 1917. The tower closed in 1990 and reopened on June 18, 2005.

From Kayuta Lake, we drove on Rt 28 up to Old Forge. About 4.5 miles past the Tourist Information Center, we turned left at Rondaxe Road,  clearly marked with a NYS DEC sign.  The trailhead is about 0.2 mile farther on the left side. We arrived there close to noon on a Sunday and the parking lot was packed.

The trail (about 1 mile long) is fairly level at the start and then rapidly ascends, a large part of which is through bedrock.  Exposed roots of tall spruces and firs clinging to the rock make the trail quite interesting. Fine views of 2nd, 3rd and 4th Lakes can be seen along the way but the panoramic view from the razor-edged cliff at the 2350 ft summit is a lot more spectacular.

Click the picture above and below to see the full panorama.

We climbed up the tower where we got a 360 degree view of the area.

   Composite of views from 3 sides of the tower

Inspired by views like these, people have joined the Fire Tower Challenge sponsored by the Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). The towers are described in Views from on High: Fire Tower Trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Click here for the application. One does not have to be a member of the ADK to register.