Soapstone Mountain Tower

Clean Views
Soapstone Mountain Tower, Somers
Multiple Visits

I’ve been to this tower several times. including once as part of the DEEP’s 2015 “Sky’s The Limit Challenge” with my sons. The state replaced the unsafe version in 2018. This page will tell the tower’s story across my visits.

2010

My first visit to Soapstone Mountain pre-dated CTMQ. Or at least pre-dated my caring about Connecticut’s towers. My second visit was during a section hike of the 50-mile Shenipsit Trail, which passes just below the tower. On that trip up, in 2010, I noted that some of the lower sections of stairs were starting to rot. The views at the top, however, were worth every sketchy step up to the top.

From the top of the tower, visitors get a panoramic view to the north and west that includes the skyline of Springfield, as well as planes taking off and landing at Bradley International Airport and Westover Air Force base. Natural views include the sight of Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, and Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. There’s a claim that that Mount Washington can be seen “on a perfect day.” I don’t know ’bout all that.

A few years after that section hike visit, the tower was “officially” closed in 2014. I use scare-quotes because for a couple years anyway, the 30-foot wooden tower on the 1,075-foot Soapstone Mountain summit remained climbable. I know this because I risked my and my sons’ lives climbing it in 2015.

2015

Granted hundreds, if not thousands, of people have climbed the rotted steps to the viewing platform despite the 2×4 across the bottom… I figured hey, if I’m going to fall and die, I don’t want leave my kids without – y’know, those are ghoulish thoughts and I don’t want to even think about that. We survived and that’s what’s important here.

The structure was rotted out and was deemed unsafe by the state. The state’s DEEP also put the tower on its TSTL challenge list in 2015. So who’s in the wrong here, me or them? How could I expect to explain to my 4-year-old that we drove up to Somers, took a little hike to a tower, but we can’t scale it?

Good luck with that. Fortunately for you reading this now, you needn’t worry about rotted steps or breaking any rules. For the tower was rebuilt in 2019 thanks to a group of local citizens and I checked it out in 2023. Before that, let’s look at some more 2015 pictures.

2023

Caretakers of Soapstone Mountain, a group of volunteers who protect the mountain and the surrounding state forest, urged the state to repair the tower. The group built picnic tables, helped clear trees enhancing the mountain views and mulched overlooks. The idea was to prove to the state that they were serious about protecting the area. Amazingly, it worked and the state coughed up the $79,000 and resources to rebuild.

Only the columns and concrete of the old tower could be saved. Every piece of wood was be replaced with pressure-treated wood and a Trex composite decking. A mesh material was placed around the sides of the tower – which I kind of hate, but I get why they did that.

The mountaintop was purchased by the state in 1927 so a fire tower could be erected to watch over the state’s northern forests. An old National Weather Service radar dome that was built in the mid-1970s now stands where the original fire tower once stood and served the agency until the mid-1990s. The old fire tower was used by the U.S. Army during World War II as a lookout station.

There are several approaches to the tower, as it sits in the middle of the Shenipsit State Forest. There are plenty of picnic tables and long or short hikes around the mountain. The trails here can get very confusing, so be sure you have a map and a plan – especially in the summer when you can’t necessarily see the tower from the lower slopes.

Since I’d already hiked all the trails around here, my goal in 2023 was simply to see the new tower. And to thank the Caretakers of Soapstone Mountain who got this done way faster than it otherwise would have been if solely left up to the state.

As with many state parks, you can legally drive the single lane road beyond the main parking area. I really don’t recommend doing so as it is dangerous both to the driver and the scads of people walking and biking on the road. Plus, you’ll feel like you are doing something wrong the whole time.

That’s exactly what I did and parked near the old weather tower and walked the three minutes to the new tower. It’s very nice and I hope it lasts at least a century.

CTMQ’s Towers Page
DEEP’s Shenipsit State Forest Page
CTMQ’s Shenipsit State Forest Page
CFPA’s Shenipsit Trail Section 5: Hopkins Road to Old Country Road
CTMQ’s 2015 Sky’s the Limit Challenge Page
CTMQ’s State Forests