Bald Mountain has probably the highest ratio of great view to effort.  You climb, and in some cases, scramble up some bald rocks.  But once on top you can walk along the precipice while enjoying a panorama of mountains from Blue to McCauley.  The end of the trek is the fire tower. 

Fire Towers played a rather curious part in the history of the Adirondacks.  Originally they were built to monitor the forest for fires.  After the clear cutting that was common in the early 20th century, and the introduction of trains to carry the logs out of the forest, fires were very common.  Clear cutting left fuel for fires.  But the story did not end here.

As the logging waned and harvesting techniques changed, the forest was less susceptible to fire, indeed, the greatest threat to the forest was campers.  Remember Smokey the Bear? Also, forests left in their natural state, at least in a virtual rainforest, are not a great candidate for fire. In time, the towers were abandoned and fell into ill repair.  And this lead to the next chapter in the story of Adirondack Fire Towers.

There has been a controversy in the Adirondacks for years after Rockefeller set up the Adirondack Park Authority to monitor the Park.  Basically, everything in the Park that is state land is to be preserved as' forever wild.'  So the state let the towers decay.  Many of the locals who have little use for the APA came to their defense and have been restoring many of the them (as you can see from the photo at the left). 

To drive to the trailhead from the Four Seasons, turn left (towards Old Forge) and drive for about a mile until you reach the Rondaxe Rd.. Turn right (there is a sign) and just ahead on the left is the parking lot.  The trip is about 2 miles roundtrip.  Good for kids, dogs and adults. I recommend that you take your walking stick to help you down.