WeRmudfun
New member
Our 3rd place of interest on our vacation brought us back to Weeks State Park. The purpose was to update the video on our Fire Tower Map. This was #22 on the Fire Tower list for us. We last visited in winter and the park was closed natural, but you can still hike there. This visit was special for us as we finally got the chance to go inside the cab of a working fire tower!!! 92 obtainable site on the fire tower list and we finally got inside on a revisit. 
The trip can be as easy as you want to make it. Just like Milan Hill there is no real effort to visit here. There is a parking lot as you enter the park off RT 3 or there are pull offs along the 1.5 miles scenic drive. In 1995 the summit drive was designated a NH Scenic Byway. You can also drive up to the summit providing the park is open and park by the carriage house. Along the way is an awesome overlook including views of the Presidential Range.
For any history buffs this is a cool place to visit. John Weeks is one of the reasons us hikers have some of the places we hike. His Weeks’ Act of 1911 allowed the federal government to buy back the lands from the timber barons who were raping the land for the almighty buck without concern for the impact it was causing. Over 20 million acres have been bought back creating 48 national forests. The history is incredible and so much of it is right in our own White Mountains. Enough history.
The estate is impressive, but the main house could use a little work on the outside. There is a guided tour of the house available for a fee, but everything else up there can be explored free of charge. There are hiking trails around the property too for geocachers there are 3 caches in the park, we did leave a Geo-coin in one of them.
The fire tower was the most impressive feature for us. It was built in 1913 with the rest of the estate. In 1941 the Weeks children donated the whole 420 acres to the State of NH. The state added 15’ to the height if the tower to cover a blind spot and install a cab, then it became a fire tower. It was being maned by a park employee while we were there, not an official fire warden, but he did call in a fire one day while up there.
Our video of Weeks State Park…
The trip can be as easy as you want to make it. Just like Milan Hill there is no real effort to visit here. There is a parking lot as you enter the park off RT 3 or there are pull offs along the 1.5 miles scenic drive. In 1995 the summit drive was designated a NH Scenic Byway. You can also drive up to the summit providing the park is open and park by the carriage house. Along the way is an awesome overlook including views of the Presidential Range.
For any history buffs this is a cool place to visit. John Weeks is one of the reasons us hikers have some of the places we hike. His Weeks’ Act of 1911 allowed the federal government to buy back the lands from the timber barons who were raping the land for the almighty buck without concern for the impact it was causing. Over 20 million acres have been bought back creating 48 national forests. The history is incredible and so much of it is right in our own White Mountains. Enough history.
The estate is impressive, but the main house could use a little work on the outside. There is a guided tour of the house available for a fee, but everything else up there can be explored free of charge. There are hiking trails around the property too for geocachers there are 3 caches in the park, we did leave a Geo-coin in one of them.
The fire tower was the most impressive feature for us. It was built in 1913 with the rest of the estate. In 1941 the Weeks children donated the whole 420 acres to the State of NH. The state added 15’ to the height if the tower to cover a blind spot and install a cab, then it became a fire tower. It was being maned by a park employee while we were there, not an official fire warden, but he did call in a fire one day while up there.
Our video of Weeks State Park…
