Fire Tower Hike #2: Overlook Mountain Fire Tower in Woodstock NY

Our next hike is to the Overlook Mountain fire tower in Woodstock, NY has been rescheduled (due to rain on 4/29) to Saturday May 6th at 9:30AM, weather permitting. Check for updates please.

Details
The view is supposed to be spectacular from the tower, and near the top are the ruins of a 1920s hotel. This means the trail is for most part an old access road for the hotel, so not technically challenging, just steep. The hike is 4.6 miles roundtrip, with an elevation change of 1397 feet. Alltrails estimates the hike up and down to take 2h45, plus of course the time we spend at the top.

Getting there
The drive to the trailhead parking is about 1h30 from Danbury, 85 miles. Waze has it as “Overlook Mountain Trailhead” and according to Google the address of the parking lot is 353 Meads Mountain Rd, Woodstock, NY 12498. The trailhead parking is easy to find, it’s across the road from the Buddhist monastery on Meads Mountain Road.

Lunch
For lunch I would recommend we go to Clemson Brewery in New Paltz. It’s about 40 minutes from the trailhead on the way back to Danbury. The food and beer are both really good. Here is their website http://clemsonbrewing.com/

The ruins of the Overlook Mountain House are on top of the mountain, not far from the fire tower.

Fire Tower Hike #2: Over Look Mountain Fire Tower in Woodstock NY

Our second hike was Saturday May 6 to the fire tower on Overlook Mountain. Once again we had to reschedule because of the weather, but this time it was worth it. We couldn’t have asked for a better day, clear and haze free all the way to the horizon.

The hike is a bit different because the trail is the access road to a never-finished hotel on top of the mountain. So no scrambling over rocks, just a long, steady, even climb. The two buildings are still there, concrete shells with no interior at all. Construction was pretty far along, the smaller of the two buildings has metal window frames installed and base for the lampposts have wiring in them. On the smaller building it looks like it once said “1928”. That would explain why it was never finished.

A bit beyond we found the new communication tower and then the original fire tower. Once again the cabin was locked but we made it up the stairs. The view, almost 360 degrees, was amazing on such a clear day. We could see the sharp mountains further inland and those across from the Hudson at the base of the mountain. The trees at the top did not yet have leaves while those at the parking lot did, and we can see the green tint of the forest disappear with altitude. This was worth the hike.

Our next hike is scheduled for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. More to follow.