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Looking toward the Ashokan Reservoir
(All images mine) |
Smack in the middle of Catskill Park between the small hamlets of Mt. Tremper and Phoenicia lies Tremper Mountain. Nestled between several Catskill High Peaks and within 10 miles of the range's only two 4,000 footers, the 2,740-foot Tremper is smaller than many of the peaks in this area. If it wasn't for the fire tower at the summit (one of only 5 in the Catskills), there would be no reason for most people to climb this mountain. But, believe it or not, Tremper may be harder than both of those 4,000 footers (and I've climbed all 3 of these mountains) and it's arguably the hardest Catskill fire tower to reach.
If you want to get into the cab of this tower, it's only open from 10 AM to 4 PM on weekends/holidays between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, which also happen to be peak hiking times. The lot at this trailhead is tiny, holding less than 10 cars if parked tightly, and there isn't a ton of space available along the road outside of a couple pull-outs to the northwest. So, if you're like me and don't enjoy fighting for parking on your hikes, you probably won't get into the cab. It's 3.1 miles each way from the trailhead to the fire tower with a good 2,000 feet of ascent along a steep trail. You can hike it from the other side, but it's a longer hike with even less parking. The Tremper Mountain Trail is blazed
red.
I got to the trailhead around 10:30 AM on a Tuesday in early May. Might have only been May 1st, but it was quite warm - already close to 70 and still climbing.
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| Kiosk at trailhead. Only at 800 feet... |
The trailhead kiosk warns of rattlesnakes along the trail. While I did not see any on my hike, there is at least one known rattlesnake den near the trail, so try to stay on the trail.
The trailhead and parking are located a good distance from the old fire road, requiring an 0.4 mile hike on a relatively-new trail through the woods to the fire road and trail register.
Starting off, the trail immediately crosses some small streams.
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| Bridge 1. Bridge 2 in the background. |
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| Bridge 2 |
After the pair of bridges, the trail climbs a stone staircase and heads into the woods.
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| Most of the 0.4 mile from trailhead to register looks like this |
Once you reach the old fire road, the trail register presents itself.
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| Approaching the register |
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| Trail turns right to follow the road uphill at the register. This turn is NOT signed going down, so remember it. |
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| Trail register |
The trail turns right onto the fire road and the long uphill climb begins.
Not far from the trailhead, we reach a culvert that has been removed.
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| Former culvert, lying to the side of the trail |
There's a stream crossing roughly 3/4 mile from the trailhead. I wouldn't be surprised if this is seasonal, but since it was early May, everything was flowing.
As I ascended the mountain, the road became rougher.
The trail was generally in very good shape, but a few trees had fallen over the winter. I didn't get an uphill picture of the first tree, but it could be climbed over with some effort.
Roughly 1.1 miles from the trailhead, there is an abandoned quarry on the left. While it looks tempting to explore, resist the temptation. That quarry is home to a known rattlesnake den.
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| Former quarry. DO NOT LEAVE TRAIL HERE. |
Past the quarry, we have fallen tree #2, which also required climbing over.
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| Large tree across the trail |
The second tree behind me, the trail descended gently before taking a hairpin turn to the left and resuming the climb.
Some rock formations are present along this section of the trail.
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| Rock formation along trail |
There's another hairpin, this time to the right, approaching the spur trail to the Baldwin Memorial lean-to roughly 2.2 miles from the trailhead.
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| Approaching the hairpin |
The lean-to, like most in the forest preserve, has a privy.
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| Lean-to privy is hidden amongst the trees |
A spring is located a short distance past the lean-to. It was flowing quite well.
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| Pipe spring to the left |
Continuing to climb, there's another hairpin to the left near some cliffs.
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| Cliffs near hairpin |
The trees up here change in type as the relatively-high elevation becomes apparent. I saw my first group of hikers for the day up in this area.
Another tree had fallen across the trail up here, this one smaller.
Nearly 2.8 miles from the trailhead, the trail levels off and turns to the left, proceeding across the summit ridge. Passed a second group of hikers while walking along the ridge.
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| Trail along summit ridge |
Immediately before the summit, there is a privy and the Tremper Mountain lean-to.
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| Privy sign. Tower in background. |
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| Tremper Mountain lean-to |
Finally, after climbing 2,000 feet, I was there.
The 47-foot Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station was constructed in 1917. Closed in 1970, the tower was restored and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The observer's cabin and storage shed were removed in 1977.
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| The tower |
The summit has signs for the major destinations in each direction. Jessup Rd is the northern trailhead for the mountain, but it has no designated parking.
Enough talking, time to climb the tower.
As I expected, the cab was locked.
But thankfully, you don't need to get into the cab to see the views.
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| View south toward Slide Mountain and the Burroughs Range. Still a bit of snow up there on May 1. |
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| View southeast toward the Ashokan Reservoir |
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| View east toward Woodstock |
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| View west |
Being as I had the summit to myself, I sat on the stairs leading up from the last landing to have lunch while enjoying the view. There was a steady breeze up here and it was quite refreshing.
The hike down was pretty uneventful and I completed it in less than an hour and a half.
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| Some flowers along the trail |
A short distance above the spring, I passed another group of hikers.
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| That's the spring, coming out of a pipe at the center of the picture |
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| Looking down at the Baldwin Memorial lean-to |
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| Looking down at the first tree one will encounter climbing the mountain |
Before I knew it, I was rounding the lowest hairpin less than a mile from the trailhead.
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| Looking down at the lowest hairpin |
The stream crossing is a short distance after the hairpin
Be careful not to follow the yellow paint blazes, as these only mark the state land boundary.
Remember the unsigned left turn at the register. You can get back to the trail by continuing down the old fire road, but it requires a lengthy road walk.
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| Turn left here. Straight ahead is the old road, which isn't the trail. |
Just another 10 or so minutes and I was back at the stone staircase, my car nearly in sight.
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| Descending the staircase before the parking lot |
Tremper Mountain isn't easy, but it's a nice hike near a major road that also nets you a fire tower.
Getting Here
The trailhead for Tremper Mountain is pretty easy to find. It's along Old Route 28 between Mt. Tremper and Phoenicia. Trailhead and parking are on the northeast side of the road. Additional parking is available in pullouts closer to Phoenicia.
Resources
