Goodnow Mountain - 2,748'
Many Fire Towers in the ADK are short, casual climbs. In fact, most trails and climbs in general can be quite leisurely, with the mammoth High Peaks being the outliers. Goodnow is one of these shorter casual climbs that’s quite enjoyable and accessible to most people. Sometimes when we go for these climbs we’ll do a few in a single day, although this one was a solo trip. It’s worth noting that Owls Head is close by and could make a good pairing.
The trail here is pretty solid and well kept, and there’s also an old observation house on it. these seem to mostly unused these days, generally locked and bared up, but this one was opened when we got up there (an interesting site).
As we often do, we chose to do this climb as a sunrise hike and it did not disappoint. This practice is recommended on these shorter hikes.
- This peak is fairly thick with wood and rock, you’ll need to go a ways up the tower to get good views.
- The views of to the left of the nearby lake are fantastic, but very limited.
*this excerpt was salvaged from the now defunct www.nysforestrangers.com, thanks to the Way Back Machine, written by Captain Paul T Hartmann (ret.)*
LOCATION: South of Rt. 28N 2 miles west of Newcomb.
STATUS: Restored and is open to the public.
Goodnow Mt. was chosen as an ideal site for an observation station in the town of Newcomb, Essex county, in 1921. A steel tower had been secured through extensive cooperation of landowners and lumbermen operating in the area in hopes to have it operational in 1922.
The structure on Goodnow Mt is a 60′ Aermotor LS40 tower erected by the Conservation Commission in the early spring of 1922.
The tower was closed at the end of the 1979 season. It was later transferred to the landowner, SUNY College of Forestry, Huntington Forest. The tower and cabin have been completely restored by the landowner and the tower is open to the public. Goodnow Mt. now appears on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Goodnow is one of the mountains included in the Fire Tower Challenge sponsored by the Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). “To complete the Challenge and receive the official full-color patch, hikers must climb and document, by date, ascents of at least 23 fire tower summits: 18 of 23 Adirondack Park summits and all 5 Catskill Park summits.”
We Give This Trail: 5/10
Ratings are subjective: considers trail conditions, difficulty, views and other notable or unique characteristics