St. Regis Mountain - 2,874'
St. Regis is a fairly short out-and-back that has the distinguished title of being both a Saranac 6er and a Fire Tower. This climb is also a fairly popular one, every time I’ve been there it surprisingly busy. This could be circumstantial, but it seems to be a common sentiment among other hikers. Views here are pretty great and the peak is actually quite large with 180 degree views for nearly all of it.
- This one is pretty popular and generally has quite a few hikers on it.
- The parking lot here is fairly big, but it also shared with other nearby activities and sites, so it can fill up quick.
- There is a private drive near the trail head which seems like it may be where you need to go to park, but it is not.
*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 south west of Paul Smiths.
STATUS: Remains but is in danger of being removed by the DEC.
When this observation station was established in April 1910, no tower was immediately erected, as an unobstructed view was available due to the lack of tree cover on the mountaintop. There is no evidence that a tower was ever built on St. Regis until 1918, when the Conservation Commission erected a 35′ Aermotor LS40 tower.
In 1918 the State Conservation Commission purchased a new device known as the Osborne Fire Finder. With this, they developed new circular maps for each tower with a panoramic sketch of the view from the tower around the outside perimeter.
In the 1930’s the Conservation Department experimented with two way radios to improve communications between its fire towers and forest rangers. The first radio ever used on St. Regis Mt. is pictured here. This should not be confused with a radio that is similar in make to the one first used, for this is the actual radio once used on St. Regis Mountain.
The tower was closed in 1990 and was one of the last operating fire towers in New York State and appears on the Nation Historic Lookout Register.
The tower was slated for removal in 2001 as it is a “non-conforming structure” within a St. Regis Canoe Area, but still remains. There is growing support to retain this and other towers that have been deemed “non-conforming” by the State Land Master Plan.
The Unit Management Plan for the St. Regis Canoe Area went through its initial review by the Adirondack Park Agency on Thursday, April 6, 2006. One of the provisions recommends that the tower be retained until such time as the Adirondack Park Agency considers whether the land surrounding it should be reclassified as an Historic Area.
From the minutes of the APA’s May 11 -12, 2006 meeting, rather than reclassifying the land surrounding the tower, “the Agency unanimously adopted the revised draft resolution finding the St. Regis Canoe Area Unit Management Plan in conformance with the general guidelines and criteria of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, except with regard to final action on the St. Regis Fire tower, to be further clarified through a proposed comprehensive study of fire towers…”
It now appears that the Department of Environmental Conservation has one year from the date of adoption of this plan to develop a comprehensive plan for fire towers within the Adirondack Park. Should no such plan be developed or should a plan not meet the future approval of the APA, the St. Regis Fire Tower would be destine from removal in three years.
While this is not a solid win for tower preservation and restoration enthusiasts, it is a step in the right direction. After a five year battle, on April 15, 2010 the Adirondack Park Agency has yielded to public pressure to allow both St. Regis and Hurricane
Mountain Fire Towers to remain where they stand and amend the State Land Master Plan to recognize this decision. In addition, the Adirondack Council, who campaigned long and hard for their removal has indicated that it will not challenge the decision in the courts. To read of the decision click here.
St. Regis Mt. Fire Tower appears on both the National Historic Lookout Register and the National Register of History Places being placed on the latter in 2005. This development is viewed positively by the supporters of preserving the site. A “friends” group has been formed and is headed up by David Petrelli who can be contacted by clicking here or you can read about their efforts to save and restore the tower by clicking here.
St. Regis 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: 7.5/10
Ratings are subjective: considers trail conditions, difficulty, views and other notable or unique characteristics