Owls Head Mountain Firetower (Long Lake)

Observers Cabin Ruins

The cabin the fire warden lived in years ago, is not located on top of Owl's Head, but below it on the shoulder. It's a 1/4 mile hike to the top, and you accent about 200 more feet, up the pointly little head. The cabin was probably located here, so the warden could meet visitors, and escort them to the top.

Taken on Thursday August 12, 2010 at Owls Head Mountain Firetower (Long Lake).

Owls Head Mountain Firetower (Long Lake)

There are at least three different mountains in the Adirondacks known as Owls’ Head due to their small rounded peaks, with broad cols for shoulders. This one is the one near Long Lake, that has a 30 foot LS 45 Aermotor Firetower on top of it.

Sargent Ponds Wild Forest Kiosk. This is where you sign in, so they can have an idea on trail use, and make it easier to find you if your lost or injured.

Sargent Ponds Wild Forest Kiosk

1/2 Mile In. The trail crosses this downed tree.

1/2 Mile In

Boardwalks. Parts of the trail cross marshy areas on board walks, like these constructed on the first 3/4 mile of the trail.

Boardwalks

T Intersection. Make a left at one mile, to go up Owls Head. The other direction takes you to the Lake Eaton State Campground.

T Intersection

Grown Over Steel Trail Marker. It looks like in 1982, the state experimented with these imprinted steel trail markers along the trail, long since largely grown into the barks of the tree.

Grown Over Steel Trail Marker

Views as You Ascend. This is looking backwards, towards the Sargent Ponds Wilderness, Lake Eaton, and the timber lands between here and Tupper Lake.

Views as You Ascend

Observers Cabin Ruins. The cabin the fire warden lived in years ago, is not located on top of Owl’s Head, but below it on the shoulder. It’s a 1/4 mile hike to the top, and you accent about 200 more feet, up the pointly little head. The cabin was probably located here, so the warden could meet visitors, and escort them to the top.

Observers Cabin Ruins

Well Worn Trail. Part of the trail is well worn, and is on open rock face. The good news however is with the lush tree cover, you don’t have to worry about acrophobia up here.

Well Worn Trail

Reaching the Tower. You can’t see the fire tower until your almost on top of it, due to the heavy trees that surround the summit of the mountain, except for the bald portion where the tower is located, open to views to the south and east.

North Creek Falls

Survey Marker. It says it was placed in 1942 by USGS. It’s right below the fire tower proper.

Survey Marker

Fire Tower. The fire tower is a 30 foot LS 45 Aermotor tower, pretty typical for NY State. It’s one of the short little towers, like also seen on Rondaxe Mountain in Eagle Bay.

Fire Tower

Forked Lake. This is looking south from the summit towards Forked Lake Campground and possibly Racquette Lake. The mountain in the distance is Wakely Mountain, one of the other fire towers originally used to pin-point fires in the Adirondacks (it takes two towers to locate a fire through triangulation).

Forked Lake

Long Lake. This is another picture of Long Lake, a little bit farther north, with the shoulder/col of Owls Head visible in the foreground.

Long Lake

North. In the distance is Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, with Whiteface just beyond it. Not the clearest or nicest of days, but still visable. In the foreground is the col/shoulder of Owls Head.

North

Blue Mountain. Blue Mountain is another fire tower / mountain that is visible from Owls Head. Located about 10 miles away, in the foreground are Minnow Pond and Mud Pond.

Blue Mountain

Sargent Ponds Area & Timberland. This portion north of NY 28 Corridor and Fulton Chain of Lakes is relatively flat, wild, and many portions privately owned as timberland.

Sargent Ponds Area & Timberland

Float Plane. Owls Head is not the quietest mountain out there. Throughout the day, tourist float planes for hire, fly on and off Long Lake, just to north of mountain. They fly quiet low, as they are making the decent back to Long Lake.

Float Plane

Long Lake Village. While hazy today, you can see village of Long Lake quite well from the tower. It’s always crazy there, and I try to avoid towns whenever I’m in the Adirondacks.

Long Lake Village

Fire Tower Corner. I always like pictures of the angles and construction of the fire tower. While common after climbing so many, fire towers have a lot of character in their structural steel.

Fire Tower Corner

Tower Cabin Closed. It’s unfortunate but the tower’s cabin on this tower is closed, as it’s used for communications equipment.

Tower Cabin Closed

Sitting on Mountain. Just sitting back and looking south from the open rock face a top Owls Head.

Sitting on Mountain

Old Telephone Poll. Descending the trail off Owls Head, I saw several of the old telephone poles, heading up to the former Ranger’s cabin. Some have been cut down, and used to control run-off on the trail, but others still remain.

Dexter Lake

Here is a map of the hike.


View Owls Head in a larger map