Overlook Mountain House ruins and fire tower

In the 1800s the Catskills were dotted with grand mountain hotels where city guests came to escape the summer heat and take in the scenery, and Overlook was among them. The first Overlook Mountain House opened in 1871 near the summit, a large wooden hotel that drew fashionable crowds and even a president or two. Fire, the constant enemy of these timber giants, destroyed it, and a rebuilt version burned as well.

A third hotel, begun in the 1920s, was raised in fireproof concrete precisely to escape that fate. But the age of the grand mountain house was passing, tastes were changing, and the automobile was carrying travelers farther afield. The concrete Overlook was never fully finished or successfully run, and it was abandoned, left to the weather and the woods. Its skeletal walls are what hikers find today, a fireproof building undone not by flame but by time.

Beyond the ruins, near the summit, stands the Overlook Mountain fire tower, one of a network of steel lookout towers built across New York in the early twentieth century to spot forest fires before they spread. From the tower cab a watcher could scan miles of forest for the first thread of smoke. Aircraft and other technology eventually made the towers obsolete, and many were removed.

This one was saved and restored by volunteers, and climbing its steel stairs is the classic finish to the hike. From the top the view is enormous: the Ashokan Reservoir and the Hudson River to the east, the Catskill high peaks to the west, and ridge after ridge fading into the distance. It is one of the most rewarding fire-tower views in the region for the effort involved.

Overlook Mountain is well known as timber rattlesnake country, one of the strongholds of this shy, protected snake in the Catskills. The rattlers sun themselves on warm rocks and generally want nothing to do with people, but hikers should watch their footing, especially near stone walls and ledges, and give any snake a wide berth. They are a sign of a healthy, wild mountain.

The forest along the climb shifts from hardwoods to a scrubbier, more exposed summit, and the mountain draws hawks, ravens, and songbirds. Partway up the road, hikers pass the grounds of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, its prayer flags and shrine a quiet, unexpected presence on the way to the ruins, and a reminder of Woodstock's long draw for seekers of all kinds.

Spring greens the forest and is a fine time to climb, though the snakes grow active as the days warm, so stay alert on sunny rocks. Summer is popular and can be hot on the exposed upper slopes and at the tower, so start early and carry plenty of water.

Autumn is the showpiece season, when the Catskill foliage blazes and the view from the tower over a sea of red and gold is unforgettable, though weekends draw crowds. Winter turns the road to snow and ice, quiet and beautiful but demanding, with traction devices often needed and the ruins looking their most haunting under snow.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.