Blue Mountain Fire Tower is a 4.8 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Blue Mountain Lake, New York that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and snowshoeing. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Red trail markers make this trail very easy to follow. The trail is almost exclusively in a rocky drainage course until the summit block is reached. The trail is shaded until the summit. Trailhead can become crowded so, you might want to get an early start. Poles and hiking boots or high tops are recommended as there are lots of rocks and some roots.
March 6, 20212/26/21 Beautiful sunny morning. Snowshoes needed with reminders at sign in. About half the hikers we saw had micro spikes and post holing was worse on the top 1/3 of trail. Unfortunately just as we crested the summit 8 snowmobiles came up the utility road. Circled the tower and ruined the perfect snow. Fumes, noise cheap beer and cussing, I’m No saint but this was not the place and it is illegal. We waited them out. No words for the beauty up there. Highly recommend.
March 4, 2021nicely packed until the last quarter mile. can't beat that fire tower view!
February 26, 2021Everything I hoped for. Wonderful bluebird day with temps in the 30s. Views for days. Snowshoes are needed, especially toward the top!
February 25, 2021Steeper than I remember 30yrs ago. Absolutely beautiful..the snow on fire tower and trees was astounding to see! Trail was very loose, not packed down...i recommend snow shoes...also supposeded to get more snow tonight..sooooo..skiers loosened up the trail. Bare booters caused post holes..so becareful should they freeze tonight. Great day!
February 22, 2021Hiked on 02/14 and the trail was super packed down. You could definitely get away with wearing yaktraks or micro spikes, but we snowshoed up. The trail is moderately difficult most of the way, but the frost and snow covered trees make the hike up very enjoyable. It was too cloudy to get a view from the top when we went but I’m sure it would be beautiful if you can snag a sunny day. Bring your snow/rain paints because there is some excellent butt sledding on the way down!
February 22, 2021Awesome trail. I hiked this last summer, set up camp on summit with my friend for the night. Moderate in difficulty. Some great views of Blue Mountain lake and the the surrounding mountains. Watch out for tics.
February 21, 2021Hiked with Dan and Samson for winter credit. Cold, sunny, clear day. Beautiful views from the top. Trench was in pretty good condition, minimal post holes. Lots of people on the trail, about 60% wearing snowshoes.
February 21, 2021Amazing day. Blue skies 25 Degrees and very little wind. Packed trail was easy with micro spikes. Brought the snowshoes but didn’t need them. Spikes were good to have for the tower as everything was iced over. It’s a must for the season!
February 19, 2021Great hike. Packed trail. Used boots with yaks and was fine. Tower was beautiful, encased in ice. My reading was 5 miles.
February 13, 2021Really beautiful views!! Wore snowshoes (saw people hiking with just boots idk how). It’s approx 4.2 miles, not sure why All Trails says it’s over 5. Plenty of parking. Perfect hike
February 13, 2021February 13, 2021February 8, 2021February 6, 2021Gorgeous trail, easy to follow! We broke it out again after last nights snow and the wind covered the last tracks! Gorgeous day all around, snowshoes the whole way.
February 6, 2021Doable with microspikes! Definitely a fun and challenging trail
February 6, 2021Had an amazing trip up Blue mountain!! Snowshoes entire way..beautiful track to follow. Jaw dropping winter wonderland from the start but when the trail reached approximately 3,000 ft it was like being in another beautiful snow bound world. Wind was whipping at 40+ mph with no views. Fire tower was encapsulated in ice. Switched from snowshoes to micro spikes for climb up being that there was at least 5-6 inches of ice on the stairs. One of the most beautiful and fun hikes I’ve done in recent memory
February 4, 2021Phenomenal hike, snowshoes were necessary and the views were beautiful.
January 30, 2021Best hike ever. Snow covered everything at the top. Spikes all the way up but snowshoes would have given better footing.
January 30, 2021Great trail. Easy to follow and not too busy. I wore micro spikes... should have worn snow shoes.
January 30, 2021It was beautiful!
January 24, 2021January 11, 2021WasIdeal winter conditions today! Trail was snow packed with ice underneath. Definitely need microspikes. Windy at summit so bring an extra layer. Fantastic way to spend a Sunday!
January 9, 2021me and my 11 year olds started at 7:30am, it was 8degrees but actually ended up shedding a layer because we worked up a sweat! we had some fresh powder from a little morning snow. spikes needed after the first mile! absolute beautiful morning!
January 8, 2021Gorgeous! A winter wonderland. Spikes were a must.
January 4, 2021Definitely enjoyed this hike! Got out there Jan. 2 for my first hike of the year. I was the first on the trail with about 2” of fresh powder to create that winter wonderland feel. It was cloudy and snowing so I didn’t see much besides the spruces and firs on top. Well worth waking up early!
December 31, 2020
