In the heart of the Catskill Forest Preserve, where the New York State Constitution decrees the land shall remain “forever wild,” the peaks often hold more than just timber and mist. For the Borden family, these summits held a home. From 1945 to 1953, the rugged slopes weren’t just a protected wilderness; they were a backyard, a playground, and a lookout over a world that seemed to stretch on forever.
Franklyn “Frank” Borden was one of the legendary Forest Fire Observers of the New York State Bureau of Forest Fire Control. In an era before satellite imagery and aerial drones, the safety of the forest rested on the shoulders of men like Frank, and often, on the keen eyes of their families.
Gale Borden, Frank’s eldest daughter, remembers the beginning of this mountain odyssey with the kind of clarity that only a childhood spent in the clouds can produce. She was just an infant when her father took the job in 1945. The move to the fire tower cabin wasn’t a simple Sunday drive; it was a grueling “hike in” with every necessity for survival strapped to their backs.
“They even took a goat up the mountain,” Gale recalls, “just so I would have fresh milk.”
As the years passed, the family grew. Two more sisters, born in 1946 and 1948, joined the mountain crew. While most children of the late 1940s were playing on paved sidewalks or in suburban yards, the three Borden girls had the run of the woods. Their days were defined by the rhythm of the Forest Preserve. When school wasn’t in session, the cabin and the steel tower became their entire universe.
To a child, a 60-foot fire tower isn’t a piece of industrial infrastructure, it’s a magic beanstalk. Borden remembers the sheer vertical freedom of their lives. “We had no fear of heights,” she says. “We were up and down that tower probably a hundred times a day. We’d walk on the lower beams, or hang from them, just enjoying the air.”
From the “cab” at the top, the girls would peer through binoculars, watching the distant, elegant silhouette of the Grand Hotel or tracking the movement of life in the valleys far below. On quiet days, they would take tiny scraps of paper and release them into the mountain drafts, watching them dance and tumble until they vanished into the green canopy.
The work was sentimental, but it was also vital. In 1953, Frank transitioned to the role of Ranger, and the girls’ responsibilities grew along with their father’s title. The forest faced a constant, rhythmic threat: the railroad.
When the trains descended toward Big Indian, the friction of the brakes would send sparks flying into the dry brush. The “older” Borden girls became their father’s miniature strike team, hitting the trails to help him suppress the small fires that crackled along the tracks. It was a family business dedicated to preserving the integrity of the Catskills.
Today, the era of the Forest Fire Observer is largely a chapter in the history books. While the state began phasing out towers in 1970 in favor of aerial surveillance, the legacy of observers like Frank Borden and others, documented by the New York State Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, remains etched in the landscape.
Fortunately, many of the fire towers have been restored in the region. While kids today can’t live there, they can still get a glimpse of what the Borden family may have experienced. Perhaps, if they close their eyes, they can conjure up Gale’s memory, as clear as a mountain morning. They can imagine being children of the peaks, raised on goat milk and woodsmoke, living in a time when the best way to protect the earth was to climb a ladder and look out over the world with love.
Built after the creation of Catskill Park in 1905, nearly two dozen fire towers were installed on high peaks to detect wildfires, offering 360-degree views for stationed observers.
Decline and revival: Most towers were decommissioned between the late 1970s and 1980s. Preservation efforts later restored several, reopening them as public viewpoints and historic sites.
Current access points: Eight restored towers plus a newer structure at the Catskill Visitor Center now provide public access, combining panoramic views with regional history.
Organized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the challenge rewards visitors who climb all eight designated towers with a commemorative patch.
• Balsam Lake Mountain (3,723 ft.; built 1887, oldest in Catskills)
• Hunter Mountain (4,042 ft.)
• Mount Utsayantha (3,214 ft.)
• Overlook Mountain (3,140 ft.)
• Red Hill (2,990 ft.)
• Mount Tremper (2,740 ft.)
• Upper Esopus (678 ft.)
• Bramley Mountain (2,892 ft.)
Bonus tower (not in challenge): Rock Rift Fire Tower (Town of Tompkins, 2,376 ft.) overlooks Cannonsville Reservoir; built in 1934, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The Rock Rift Tower is 72-feet tall with 97 steps and has a unique diagonal stair design. Stair treads and landings replaced in 2025 with white oak. Partial access available when conditions allow. Ongoing rehabilitation continues through summer 2026.
Why they matter today: Fire towers offer accessible summit views without strenuous hikes while preserving a key piece of Catskills forest-fire history.
More information:
Details on the challenge and tower access at dec.ny
