Hunter Mountain Fire Tower crowns the summit of Hunter Mountain in New York’s Catskills and is the state’s highest surviving fire tower. Created as part of New York’s response to devastating early 20th-century forest fires, the site began with a rough wooden lookout in 1909 and gained its present steel tower in 1917. Moved to the mountain’s true summit in 1953, it served for decades as a fire-detection station before closing in 1989. Local supporters then helped save and restore it, leading to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and reopening in 2000. It remains both a preserved lookout and a popular hiking destination with sweeping regional views.