Owl's Head Mountain - 2,748'
Owl’s Head Mountain is another smaller climb and quite enjoyable in the winter. It’s somewhere around the middle in terms of difficulty with the Fire Towers, making this a great one for short day. We woke up late, got plenty of time on the peak by ourselves and went to the brew house right after. This one is a bit on the longer side for a Fire Tower, but it’s a fairly smooth up and down.
We did this one in the winter and I would strongly recommend it as a nice winter snowshoe day, the more mild Fire Towers like this one are ideal for winter days, particularly if you’re new to snowshoeing. From the peak you can see far off peaks and nearby lakes.
- The nearby dinner is very fun and makes a good breakfast burrito.
- When we did this climb in the winter of 2022, the cabin was closed.
*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: 4 miles southwest of the Village of Long Lake.
STATUS: Restoration is under way.
The first structure on Owls Head was a wooden tower erected by the Conservation Commission in September 1911. In 1919 it was replace with a 35′ standard Aermotor LS40 tower.
With the advent of aerial detection, this tower was closed at the end of the 1970 season.
The tower still remains, is being restored and is open to the public. It was added to the National Historic Lookout Register in 2006.
Owls Head 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: 7/10
Rating considers trail conditions, difficulty, views and other notable characteristics