Bromley Mountain History

In 1910, Hon. M.J. Hapgood gave a gift to the State a tract of 106 acres of land covering the summit of Bromley Mountain. The only condition was that no tree shall ever be cut upon it. The State Forest Service was planning to run a telephone line to the top of the mountain and to establish a fire lookout station.

In 1911, an agent of the state forestry department was inspecting Bromley Mountain planning the erecting of a watchtower and telephone.

In 1912, funds were not yet available.

In 1919, a news article said that a movement was afoot to get the state fire protection station upon Bromley Mountain.

In 1936 the first ski run was cut at Bromley Resort.

Between 1960 and 1962, Fred Pabst Jr., founder of Bromley Resort, built a wood observation tower to give summer tourists a reason to ride a new double chairlift to the summit.

In the 1970s, the hiking boom brought tourists using the Long Trail to reach the summit.

In 2012, the timber tower was removed after an engineering report declared it structurally unsafe for any further use.

Around 2018, their was fundraising to pay for the current new tower made of galvanized steel. This was to greatly reduce the maintenance requirements.

By 2024, the Green Mountain Club had built the tower for public access.

If this history is accurate, it seems the original tower was just an observation tower built for the ski resort, and not used for fire observation.

One of the best camping locations on the Appalachian Trail is the open summit of Bromley Mountain. The ski resort summit has a public tower where the sunrise and sunsets here are phenomenal. Below the tower is a ski patrol lodge that is open for hikers to charge batteries and sleep. Just be sure to get your water from the Bromley Shelter a mile before the summit.

On clear days, visitors can see south to Stratton, Glastonbury, Mt. Snow, and others in Vermont, and to Mt. Greylock and others in MA. To the southeast the view includes Magic Mountain in VT and Monadnock in NH. Eastward viewers can see Okemo, Ascutney and others in VT and Sunapee and Cardigan in NH. Looking northeast, Mousilauke in NH and on a really clear day some of the White Mountains appear. The view to the north includes Pico, Killington, Shrewsbury, as well as Styles and Green Mountain. Looking northwest, west and southwest, both the Taconics from south Equinox to north of Danby Mountain, the valley of VT, the Adirondacks and Lake George and Lake Champlain are visible.