Tower Quest

Finding New Hampshire Fire Towers

/ Ellen Kolb

About ten years ago, I came across A Field Guide to New Hampshire Firetowers, a labor-of-love booklet by Iris W. Baird and Chris Haartz. It’s a gem of local history, and I used to take it with me whenever I headed out for a tower hike. (I just learned that Baird passed away earlier this year; may she rest in peace.) They worked to collect information on every New Hampshire fire tower and former fire tower site – more than ninety locations!

A newer resource that I’ve discovered is a must for all tower hunters: the NH Fire Towers Facebook group.

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View from the tower site on Mt. Kearsarge, Warner NH. Photos by Ellen Kolb.
6. Fire Tower
The Pitcher Mountain tower, Stoddard, NH, is a short and easy hike from the parking area on NH Route 123.
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View from the decommissioned tower at Stratham Park, looking towards Portsmouth and the NH coast.
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Loveliest fire tower to be found anywhere, in my opinion. Weeks State Park, Lancaster NH.
magalloway-tower
Northernmost active tower in New Hampshire, on Mt. Magalloway in Pittsburg, not far from the Canadian border. The view on a clear day extends beyond New Hampshire to Maine, Vermont, and Quebec.