Beebe Hill State Forest Fire Tower Climb

As we planned our trip to Beebe Hill State Forest and surrounding area for the Empire State Mountain Unicycle Festival, I looked around at what I might do with the kids.  I found one trip report from 2010 of a hike up to the Beebe Hill Fire Tower.  That sounded perfect for us.  However I am always directionally challenged and wished for a map.  The above link also has a lot of history about the area and the Fire Tower.

When we arrived for day 1 of the Muni Festival, a park ranger was in the parking lot.  I asked him about the hike and where we should start.  Of course I asked about a map too, but he didn't have any.  After a few minutes in his truck, he brought me a hand drawn map, complete with color coding!  Thanks, Chris!  It was a big help!

We crossed Fog Hill Rd to reach the closer parking lot for the Fire Tower Hike.  There was a small kiosk and two trails.  The Fire Tower trail is to the left, further from the kiosk.

Bartlett Pond

Fire Tower Trail starts here

Blue Trail

First we followed the blue trail.  There were a couple bridges and streams.

Along the trail there was a place to register and a sign telling us it was .1 miles back to the parking lot.

Soon we needed to make a decision and knew we had to go on the red trail to reach the Fire Tower.

Towards the top we found Opal Pond.  It was pretty swampy.

We didn't notice a lean to or see the Fire Tower until we hit the clearing.  Perhaps when the leaves aren't on the trees it's possible to see the tower before reaching it.

Locked up Cabin

The tower is 60 feet.  There is small fencing on the walls of the tower.

Beebe Hill State Forest Fire Tower

Under the Tower

The view

In the tower out of the wind for a snack

At the top of the tower it was very windy!  The tower itself seemed very secure and didn't feel like it was swaying or moving at all.  Unfortunately the little one did feel scared so high up and needed reassurance staying up there and getting down.

Looking down!

We hiked up, had a snack and looked around at the cabin and shed, both closed up.  Then we walked back down the same trail.  It took us about an hour and a half total.  The hikers consisted of a four year old with short legs, a ten year old, a thirteen year old friend, a fourteen year old and myself.  The four year old needed a few rides from the teens, but did pretty well.  The ten year old did trip on the trail and needed a bandaid.  The trail does have a lot of rocks and exposed roots.  I noticed a fair amount of poison ivy as well.

Fox Hill Campground in Spencertown, NY

When planning our camping trip for the Empire State Mountain Unicycle Festival, it was hard to find any additional information on the Fox Hill Campground in Spencertown, NY beyond a phone number and a review here and there. One person talked about stopping to swim at the beach, which was helpful to know, but lacked any photographs. It was then that I decided I would at least document things from our perspective. 

Fox Hill Campground is about seven minutes from Chatham.  We went into Chatham for dinner after setting up and found a few different restaurants that all seemed pretty busy.  Finally near the turnabout there was a small sign for a restaurant called the Eatzzeria and even smaller signs for what they served:  burgers, wraps, salads, pizza, and subs.  We tried it out and had a nice chat with the owners.  They had just bought the shop and have only been open about seven weeks.  Our family had burgers, a wrap and a salad with chicken.  Everything was nicely made with good portion sizes.  There is an area to sit and eat with 3-4 tables.

At the campground everything is done on paper.  We had "reservations" but it was simply our name jotted down on a sheet of paper.  We filled in our registration on a paper ledger and were able to pay with a credit card.  It was $25 a night.  There is a small store with inexpensive treats for the kids such as 2 cent Swedish Fish, 10 cent mini candy bars and 10 cent pretzel rods.  Wood is sold too and one staff member offered us the Mule of wood for $40 and thought it would be perfect for our group.  There is also a small laundry facility and bathrooms at the office.

Near the office is beach parking and a small sandy beach on a pond. It is life guarded sometimes, but open for campers to swim at your own risk. There was nice sand and a grassy area near the sand.  It was chilly, so no one went too far out in the water.  My kids had a ball in the sand.

The playground is small and almost always occupied with the campground kids.  The playground has a teeter totter, swings, basketball hoop (bring your own ball) and chin up bar.  We didn't spend too much time there.

The majority of the sites here are permanent sites complete with fancy decking, some sheds and lawn ornaments.  We noticed one empty site and then there was the tenting area where we would stay.

Tenting Area Fox Hill Campground

The tenting area was very nice for a group tent area. There were trees and lots of shade. The corridor between the woods was rather narrow, but we made it all work. The bathhouse is right near the tent area and also the only place to park your car. The sinks had warm and cold water and there were flush toilets. The soap didn't appear to work so I left an extra bar of soap in there. Because most campers use their RVs, we had the bathhouses to ourselves. The showers were coin operated. 25 cents got you about 5 minutes of hot water. 

Bathhouse

Each campsite had a picnic table and fire pit. They all seemd rather unused. For our purposes, we had one big fire furthest from the bathhouse.  If you we had been camping at one of the tent sites and other sites were also occupied with people we didn't know, it would have felt like too close quarters. But for our group, it was perfect. 

Empire State Mountain Unicycle Campers