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Beech Mountain Fire Tower in Acadia National Park Could Be Open This Weekend

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Published Date

October 7, 2010

The Beech Mountain Fire Tower will be open to the public this Saturday, weather permitting. And the forecast is for most sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 50s. NPS photo.

If the weather cooperates, the Beech Mountain Fire Tower in Acadia National Park will be open on Saturday for visitors interested in getting a canopy-level view of the park's fall foliage.

Park officials plan to have the tower open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A ranger will be on hand, and Smoky Bear items will be handed out to kids who make it to the top of the tower.

Dogs on leash are allowed to accompany hikers to the top, but cannot climb to the top of the tower because of the open grating on the steps and platform. Warm clothes are strongly recommended.

According to park officials, the fire tower is on the National Registry of Historic Fire Towers and is usually not open to the public. The original Beech Mountain fire lookout was in use from 1941 to the mid-1950s. It was a wooden building constructed by men from the Civilian Conservation Corp camps on Mount Desert Island.

When it started to deteriorate, a new steel tower was flown in and erected at the top by 1962. It was manned during the day sporadically, but usually only during high fire danger times. The last time a park ranger manned the tower was in 1976.

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