ARKVILLE – The Catskill Center has reopened the Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower in Arkville so that visitors can climb to the top cab.
Volunteers from the Catskill Center will be present at the tower on weekends and holidays through Columbus Day.
Hikers are required to wear a face-covering when climbing the tower, to use hand sanitizer before and after going up, and only members of the same party should climb together.
Earlier in the season, the tower was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fire tower volunteers are available to provide information and hand sanitizer.
The steel tower is 47 ½ feet tall and was built on the mountain in 1919 for forest fire surveillance; the original tower at that location was built in 1887.
The locate is located at the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain, which stands 3,729 feet in elevation and looks out over the central Catskills.
