In its first season since reopening, the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower logged a surge of visitors, with volunteer stewards staffing the landmark on every scheduled day from Memorial Day weekend through Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Stewards were on duty for all 47 days on the official tower calendar — every weekend and holiday during the season — with additional “pop-up” openings before, during and after. Despite a wet start to spring and summer, only two days were lost to rain. On five days, stewards counted more than 100 visitors to the tower, with strong turnout on nearly all others. The busiest day of the season was Oct. 11, when 113 people hiked the mountain and 86 climbed the tower.
The reopening also drove a sharp increase in use of the Bramley Mountain Trail. Electronic trail counters near both trailheads recorded 2,217 hikers between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2025, compared with 844 hikers over the same period in 2024.
Visitors came from across the Catskills, the wider region, the country and overseas. Some locals were able to point out their own homes from the cab windows, while others traveled from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and South Africa. According to the visitor log, about 44% of guests came from the Catskills area — primarily Delaware County, followed by Otsego and Ulster counties. Another 21% arrived from the downstate metropolitan area. Roughly 22% came from nearby but more than an hour and a half away, including Binghamton, Cooperstown, Albany and parts of Pennsylvania. Thirteen percent of visitors traveled from elsewhere in the United States, including California, Illinois and Arizona, or from abroad.
School groups, environmental clubs, a boys’ camp and members of hiking organizations including the Susquehanna chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and the Catskill Mountain Club, all made Bramley Mountain Fire Tower a destination this year.
The tower also took part in the regional “Light the Towers” event. Organizers reported hearing from residents who saw Bramley lit up from vantage points around Delhi, Bovina and Bloomville. From the mountain, tower lighters could see the illuminated fire towers on Mt. Utsayantha and Balsam Lake, as well as the blinking lights on wind turbines in Windsor.
Volunteer stewards described the season as a highlight of their year, and visitors frequently remarked on how informative, welcoming and helpful the stewards were.
Organizers say more stewards will be needed for the 2026 season. Anyone interested in spending a few weekend or holiday days on Bramley Mountain between Memorial Day weekend and Indigenous Peoples’ Day is invited to email info@bramleymountainfiretower.org
