Buck Mountain Fire Tower (Photo provided)

LONG LAKE — The Buck Mountain Fire Tower in Long Lake opened to the public following a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday.

This 1.2 mile trail — one way — has 500 feet in elevation gain. It’s located on South Sabattis Circle Road off of state Route 30, eight miles north of the Long Lake town center. The lower section of the trail was built by Hamilton County Soil and Water with help from the town of Long Lake and volunteers who assisted with the build of bog and span bridges. Builders from the Adirondack Mountain Club in Lake Placid provided guidance and work crews to ensure the trail was properly and safely constructed meeting all environmental construction standards for long-term environmental sustainability in hiking trail construction.

Over two summer seasons, Adirondack Mountain Club crews constructed a series of hand-built rock steps and wooden staircases to navigate the steepest section of the trail. The trail leads to a 60 foot Aeromoter Fire Tower installed in 1933.

The town of Long Lake, along with project partners Hamilton County Soil and Water and the Adirondack Mountain Club, and the landowner, Cedar Heights Timber LLC, worked together to create a sustainable hiking trail to the historic Buck Mountain Fire Tower. The panoramic 360 degree view includes views of the vast tract of the Whitney Wilderness and Little Tupper Lake. There are views of Bog Stream, Round Pond and Cat Mountain in Long Lake. Blue Mountain, the Santanoni Range, Mt. Morris and Coney Mountain can also be seen from the tower.

The final phase of the project is the rehabilitation of the 60 foot fire tower under the direction of fire tower consultant Mike Vilegi from Excelsior Fire Tower Group. The fire tower rehabilitation included installation of a new sheet metal roof, treads, galvanized steps and fencing.

The Buck Mountain Fire Tower was constructed in 1933 on the land formerly owned by Whitney Park now owned by Cedar Heights Timber, LLC. It was one of 127 statewide stations operated between 1909 and 1990. It is a 60 foot steel Aermotor LS-40 model tower. The summit elevation is 2,400 feet. Prior to the steel tower on the site it is believed to have been a wooden fire observatory tower.

The original construction materials for the tower were hauled to the top of Buck Mountain by a dog sled team with lead dog St. Luniare led by Jack Bursey. Both Bursey and St. Luniare accompanied Admiral Richard Byrd on his historic trip to the South Pole in 1929.

This trail was made possible through the generosity of Cedar Heights Timber LLC, which granted an easement across a scenic portion of its land to this historic fire tower overlooking the William C. Whitney Wilderness.