Pawtuckaway State Park – Fire Tower Hike

Fire tower at the summit of Pawtuckaway Mt.

Date:	10-28-2023
Location:	Deerfield, NH
Distance:	2.7 mi
Elevation Gain:	455
Total Time:	2 hr 2 min
Parking:	25+ cars

It is a warm day in October. Temps were set to be in the 80’s and sunny all around.

I must take advantage of days like this. So Liberty and I decided to do a quick hike up South Pawtuckaway mountain. They had recently updated the fire tower cabin, so I wanted to check it out.

We went into the park on the back side through Deerfield, NH. There are several hiking options off reservation road.

We parked at the intersection of Reservation Road and Swamp Road. From here we had some options on how to hike up. I’ve hiked all these trails before but do not have them tracked in my Gaia app. So, I decided to start with a road walk up to the Old Road trail head.

The road was simple and not much elevation. It travels through an old swamp that is a little flooded in some areas.

Old Cellar hole at the trail head. I believe it is the Goodrich Cellar hole.

When I reached the Old Road trail head there were tons of cars parked there. This is where the elevation starts to climb. After a bit of climbing there was some large boulders and caves.

As I continued to climb there are other large cliffs and boulders throughout the trail. It was very cool to all these geological formations again.

Fall colors are like stained glass in a cathedral.

After a bit more climbing, I got a glimpse of the fire tower, and I knew I was almost at the summit.

When I got to the tower there were a lot of people around and a lot on the tower itself. So, Liberty and I decided to enjoy it from the bottom.

We had a drink and a snack then started to make our way down. A short distance from the tower is a nice rock outlook so we went and took a few pics over there. There are also some great views of the tower from this outlook.

We continued down the mountain on the South Ridge Trail. This would loop us back to the car. The trail down is also filled with large boulders and cliffs. The trails are a bit of a maze on this side so best to have a map or GPS.

Most areas of this trail are pretty easy to navigate but fallen leaves and pine needles made some of the rock slabs a bit slippery and unpredictable. So, I made sure my footing was good when stepping.

Soon we were back at the car and of course Liberty did her little car protest. The trails were busy with lots of people and pets. Everyone was very friendly, and it is nice to see people with their pets under control.

On my way out of the park I spotted an old cemetery I’ve passed a number of times and decided to stop and check it out. Very cool page. Most graves are mid 1800’s. I always forget how much I love hiking in Pawtuckaway State Park. I’ll be back again for sure.