Online Guide to Hiking Trails in the Adirondack Park

100 Great Hiking Trails in the Adirondack Park Outside of the Heavily-Used and Popular High Peaks Wilderness Area

The Adirondack Park is nearly 6-million acres in size, larger than the states of Massachusetts and Vermont, a place that can hold a number of national parks within its boundary, known as the Blue Line. The High Peaks Wilderness Area is the most popular destination for hikers because of the vast array of mountains of all sizes to hike and a network of 200 miles of formal trails and 100 miles of informal trails. Because of the high public use, the High Peaks has experienced extensive damage to the natural resources and public hiking trails. The High Peaks trails are often crowded and the trailhead parking areas fill up quickly and early most days throughout the summer and fall months and winter weekends. The Adirondack Park has many alternatives for great places to hike outside of the High Peaks.

Explore 100 Natural Treasures in Adirondack Park Outside of the Popular and Over-Used High Peaks Wilderness Area on Our Online Hiking Trail Guide

Here are 100 terrific hikes from across the Adirondack Park outside of the High Peaks that offer hikers great rewards from stunning views and experiences in different terrains that showcase the vastness and diversity of the Adirondack landscape. Check out the 100 hikes detailed below that lead through great forests to mountains, waterfalls, bog and remote lakes.

The online trail guides listed below include descriptions, trail directions, pictures, and maps that detail the hike and provide information about protecting the natural resources and wild areas of the public Forest Preserve and Adirondack Park and how to be prepared for a good hike by practicing “Leave No Trace” hiking etiquette. Go out and hike and enjoy many different mountains, ponds, waterfalls and bogs that are off of the beaten track.

Clinton County

Catamount Mountain  Catamount Mountain is a very steep and challenging 1.9-mile hike to a large, wide open summit with 360-degree views.

Lyon Mountain  Lyon Mountain is a challenging 7-mile hike (round trip) on a newly constructed trail to a spruce-covered mountaintop plateau with a firetower that provides a stunning 360-degree-view that includes the High Peaks and Montreal.

Silver Lake Bog  Silver Lake Bog Trail is a 1-mile interpretive trail owned by The Nature Conservancy that includes a long boardwalk through a complex and unique bog to a short forest trail to a scenic overlook on Silver Lake.

Silver Lake Mountain  This is a moderate 1.8-mile (round trip) hike over a steep and rocky trail that leads to a craggy mountaintop with sweeping views of Silver Lake, Taylor Pond, and the mountain and ridges of the northern Adirondacks.

Essex County

Baker Mountain  Baker Mountain is an short 0.9-mile hike to rocky outcrops with sweeping views of the Village of Saranac Lake and the surrounding lakes and mountains.

Bald Mountain  Bald Mountain is a challenging hike with numerous small lookouts that leads to sweeping views of Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge.

Baxter Mountain  The hike up Baxter Mountain is short and easy and leads to a beautiful summit with a series of lookouts with sweeping views of the High Peaks.

Big Crow Mountain and Little Crow Mountain  The trail to Big Crow Mountain and Little Crow Mountain is short and steep but provides numerous peaks and outcrops with sweeping views of the High Peaks

Belfry Mountain  Belfry Mountain is a short hike to a small mountain with a firetower with a big view in the Town of Moriah in the Champlain Valley.

Blue Ledges  The Blue Ledges Trail is a short, easy hike to the Hudson River and provides great views of the famous cliffs and beautiful swimming hole.

Cheney Mountain  Cheney Mountain is a short, easy hike near Mineville that provides a great view of nearby communities and the Champlain Valley.

Cobble Lookout  Cobble Lookout is a short, easy hike that leads to an open rocky cliff area with big views of the surrounding High Peaks and other mountains.

Cook Mountain  Cook Mountain is a short, lovely hike, south of Ticonderoga, that yields stunning views of Lake George and Vermont.

Goodnow Mountain  Goodnow Mountain is an easy hike on an interpretive and educational trail to a small mountain with a firetower that provides a panoramic view.

Great Camp Santanoni  Great Camp Santanoni is built on the shoreline of Newcomb Lake and has been restored and stabilized as a living museum in the wilderness and is interpreted for its architectural and social history.

Haystack Mountain (Ray Brook)  This is a great 6.6-mile (round trip) hike in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area that leads to an open rocky summit with great views to the north and west.

Jay Mountain  This is a challenging, but highly rewarding, 7-mile hike (round trip) through stunning forests to an open ridgeline trail that provides dozens of great scenic vistas on the way to a rocky summit with sweeping views.

McKenzie Mountain  A challenging 10.6 mile (round trip) hike that climbs to a 3,861-foot craggy summit with great views of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Whiteface Mountain and many High Peaks.

Moxham Mountain  This 5-mile hike (round trip) is one of the best in the Adirondacks, winding through forests and wetlands and over 11 scenic outcrops and overlooks on the way to a wide open mountain with broad sweeping views.

Owl Head Lookout  Owl Head Lookout provides spectacular views of Giant Mountain, Bald Mountain, and Rocky Peak Ridge, among other mountains

Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain  A classic 4.6-mile hike (round trip) on a trail that gradually gains elevation and leads hikers through varied forests, around beaver meadows, wetlands, and ponds, to a rocky summit with a firetower that provides great panoramic views of the Champlain Valley and northern Adirondacks.

Severance Mountain  This is an easy 2.4-mile hike (round trip) just north of Schroon Lake that leads to a rocky mountaintop with great views of Schroon Lake and the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area.

The Soda Range  The Soda Range Trail leads through varied, beautiful forests to a series small peaks with outlooks and rocky outcrops that provide great views of the High Peaks and other mountains.

Split Rock Mountain Trails (North)  Split Rock Mountain has over 10 miles of hiking trails and the northern trails to South Rocks Overlook, Split Rock Mountain, and Ore Bed Overlook wind through beautiful forests to scenic overlooks.

Split Rock Mountain Trails (South)  Split Rock Mountain has over 10 miles of hiking trails. The southern trails to Barn Rock, Snake Den Overlook, and a rocky beach on Lake Champlain wind through dense forests, around wetlands, and to rocky cliffs with great views.

Treadway Mountain  This is a moderate 7.6 mile hike (round trip) to a rocky, marble summit with a view of Pharaoh Lake and the High Peaks.

Vanderwhacker Mountain  A terrific 6-mile hike (round trip) through beautiful forests, wetlands, and beaver ponds, that passes by an old cabin ruin and leads to a firetower on the mountaintop with spectacular panoramic views.

Franklin County

Azure Mountain  A short, moderate hike north of Paul Smith’s that leads to an open, rocky summit with a historic firetower that provides sweeping views of the northern Adirondacks.

Bloomingdale Bog  Bloomingdale Bog is an easy and flat trail that runs atop of an abandoned railroad bed through a vast wetland and bog complex with stunning and beautiful views.

Coney Mountain  This is a short 2.2-mile hike (round trip) that winds through beautiful forests and reaches a wide-open summit with stunning panoramic views.

Debar Mountain  An 8.2-mile hike (round trip) through great forests, that passes a lean-to and ruins of an old cabin, before reaching a rocky mountaintop with great views.

Floodwood Mountain  A short 3-mile hike (round trip), six miles down the Floodwood Road, outside of Saranac Inn, which leads to an open summit with great views of the northern Adirondacks.

Goodman Mountain  This is an easy 3-mile hike (round trip) along an old road and hiking trail through dense forest. The summit provides great views to the south and west.

Loon Lake Mountain  A 5.6-mile hike (round trip) that starts on dirt roads on conservation easement lands and then goes through old forests on the Forest Preserve before reaching a mountaintop with sweeping views from a firetower.

Panther Mountain  Panther Mountain is a short hike to an open rocky summit with sweeping views outside of Tupper Lake.

Raquette Falls  The hike to Raquette Falls traverses through beautiful forests and winds along the Raquette River to two roaring waterfalls.

St. Regis Mountain  A 6.8-mile hike (round trip) that winds through dense and beautiful forests and leads to a wide-open summit with a firetower that provides grand, sweeping views.

Trombley Landing  The Trombley Landing Trail is a beautiful 1.7-mile hike that reaches the Raquette River and a beautiful riverside lean-to.

Fulton County

9 Corner Lake  The trail to 9 Corner Lake is a short hike and leads to a remote lake with beautiful rocky beaches and swimming spots.

Kane Mountain  This is a beautiful, short 0.6-mile hike to a summit with a firetower that can be done as a loop or an up-and-back hike. This is a popular mountain.

Hamilton County

Auger Falls  Auger Falls is a short hike to a beautiful ravine and waterfall south of Speculator.

Baldface Mountain  Baldface Mountain is a short paddle across Indian Lake to a short hike to an open mountain summit with sweeping views of Indian Lake and surrounding mountains.

Black Bear Mountain  Black Bear Mountain is a short, easy climb outside of Inlet, with sweeping views of the Fulton Chain of Lakes and the Moose River Plains.

Blue Mountain  Blue Mountain is a very steep and challenging 2.2-mile hike to a large, wide open summit with a firetower that provides a 360-degree view.

Cascade Pond  A long 9.2-mile hike (round trip) that is partly on a long section of the Northville-Placid Trail that leads to a beautiful secluded pond with rocky outcrops on the shoreline and a lean-to.

Castle Rock  Castle Rock is a small mountain with a sweeping view of Blue Mountain Lake and the numerous mountains.

Chimney Mountain  (CURRENTLY CLOSED) A short, yet steep, 2.5-mile hike (round trip) to a rocky summit with unique geological features and great views. The area is also popular for cave exploration. Must pay for parking at a privately owned parking lot.

Echo Cliffs  A wonderful short 1.2-mile hike (round trip) that leads to a series of flat open cliffs that look out over Piseco Lake and the southern Adirondacks.

Fawn Lake  Fawn Lake is a great hike through a beautiful forest to a remote backcountry lake with long sandy beaches.

Ferd’s Bog  A very short 0.6-mile flat hike (round trip) that leads to a boardwalk and viewing platform in a 50-acre wide-open peat mat and bog, with a great variety of trees, plants and wildflowers.

Good Luck Lake and Cliffs  Good Luck Lake is a hike through beautiful forests to a remote lake with cliffs that overlook vast swaths of the Ferris Lake Wild Forest.

Helldiver Pond  Helldiver Pond is a short universally accessible trail that leads to a remote and beautiful pond in the Moose River Plains Wild Forest Area.

Icehouse Pond  Icehouse Pond is a short universally accessible trail that leads to a remote and beautiful pond in the Moose River Plains Wild Forest Area.

Jockeybush Lake  Jockeybush Lake is an easy hike through beautiful forests to a remote lake in the southern Adirondacks.

John Pond  The John Pond and Clear Pond Loop is a five mile trek through forest and wetlands, to two ponds and a lean-to.

Mud Pond Mountain  Mud Pond Mountain is a moderate 2.1-mile hike along dirt roads and trails to a small mountain with terrific views of the central Adirondacks in the Cedarlands Conservation Easement tract.

OK Slip Falls  A 6-mile hike (round trip) over rolling trail that leads to a stunning remote waterfall with great places to sit and admire the view.

Owls Head Mountain  A 6.2-mile (round trip) hike through beautiful forests that ascends to a mountaintop summit with a firetower and panoramic view.

Pillsbury Mountain  A 6.4 mile (road trip) hike that starts on a dirt road and traverses some of the oldest forest in the public Forest Preserve on the way to an open rocky summit with a firetower that provides grand panoramic views.

Pine Lake  Pine Lake is a stunningly beautiful lake, and is in one of the most remote and least populated areas in the Adirondack Park.

Rock Lake  Rock Lake Trail is popular for hiking, camping, canoeing and fishing, as it’s an easy carry with a light-weight boat.

Rock River  The 3-mile hike to the Rock River traverses beautiful, mature forests, a beach on a remote lake, and leads to a beautiful, meandering river.

Rocky Mountain  Rocky Mountain is an easy climb that leads to a wide open summit with terrific views of the Fulton Chain of Lakes and Moose River Plains.

Sagamore Lake  Sagamore Lake is a 3.7-mile loop trail through a beautiful forests on a flat old dirt road and foot trail that wraps around Great Camp Sagamore and stunning Sagamore Lake.

Sawyer Mountain  A lovely 2-mile hike (round trip) through old forests with many big trees and glacial erratics that leads to a tree-covered some exposed cliffs that provides views to the north.

Shallow Lake  The 2.5-mile trail to Big Shallow Lake is flat and well-worn, just outside of the Raquette Lake hamlet, that leads to a beautiful sandy lake.

Snowy Mountain  This is a lovely, but challenging 7.8-mile hike (round trip) alongside beautiful streams and through towering forests to reach a summit with a firetower and sweeping 360-degree views of the central Adirondacks.

Tenant Falls  A 4.2-mile hike (round trip) through beautiful forests and to three waterfalls. Many hikers stop at the first waterfall, which is just 1 mile.

Wakely Mountain  A 5-mile hike (round trip) through varied forests with a steep climb for the last mile that leads to a tall firetower that provides a panoramic view of the central Adirondacks.

Watch Hill  Watch Hill Trail is a short hike that winds through a beautiful mature forest to a series of rocky outcrops with broad views of Indian Lake and the surrounding mountains, with a spur trail down the lake.

West Stony Creek (north side)  The 3.8 mile hike to West Stony Creek from the north side leads through old growth forest to a beautiful river valley.

Herkimer County

Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain  Bald Mountain, often referred to as Rondaxe Mountain, is a short 1-mile hike that offers a wide-open rocky summit and firetower that overlooks the Fulton Chain of Lakes and the vast forests and mountains of the western Adirondacks.

Middle Settlement Lake  Middle Settlement Lake is a 2.6-mile trail through mature forests en route to a beautiful remote lake and lean-to in the western Adirondacks.

Moss Lake  The Moss Lake Trail offers an easy 2.5-mile loop hike through beautiful forests around a scenic lake.

Stillwater Mountain  This hike is less than 2 miles (round trip) and winds along a wide, well-maintained trail to a firetower with great views of the rolling hills and lakes of the western Adirondacks.

Saratoga County

Hadley Mountain  A 3.5-mile hike (round trip) that is steep in sections and leads to open cliffs and a rocky summit, with a firetower that provides a panoramic view of the Great Sacandaga Reservoir and the southern Adirondacks.

Spruce Mountain  A beautiful 2.6-mile hike (round trip) through lush forests and grassy meadows that reaches a ridge-top firetower with grand 100-mile views.

St. Lawrence County

Bear Mountain  Bear Mountain is a rugged 3-mile hike that overlooks Cranberry Lake and the Five Ponds Wilderness Area.

Mount Arab  This is a short, easy 1-mile-hike that leads to an open summit with a firetower that provides sweeping 360-degree views of the lakes, forests, and mountains of the northern Adirondacks.

Warren County

Balm of Gilead Mountain  A 3-mile hike (round trip) that leads to a mountaintop with one of the best views in the central Adirondacks.

Bartonville Mountain  Bartonville Mountain is a wonderful easy hike to a scenic overlook above Brant Lake that is part of The Hub, a bike shop and restaurant, serving up food, and beverages.

Berry Pond  Berry Pond Trail is a roughly 2.5-mile hike in the hills above Lake George, leading to a lovely woodland pond.

Cat Mountain  Cat Mountain is an easy going 3-mile hike in the mountains west of Lake George above Bolton Landing. This is a popular mountain.

Crane Mountain  The hike up Crane Mountain offers a 2.8-mile hike (round trip) on a steep route with a tall ladder at one point, a longer 5.4-mile hike round trip that passes a beautiful pond, or a 4.1-mile loop. These all lead to a long flat 0.5-mile summit with grand views to the south.

Deer Leap  Deer Leap is a short, fun hike to an open cliff at the north end of the Tongue Mountain Range that overlooks Lake George.

Five Mile Mountain  This is a moderate 7.2-mile (round trip) hike on a long and beautiful ridgeline trail that leads to a mountain summit that overlooks Lake George.

Gore Mountain  The Schaefer Trail to the summit of Gore Mountain is a long hike through beautiful forests and a downhill ski area to a mountaintop with grand views

Hackensack Mountain  Hackensack Mountain towers over Warrensburg and is a popular and easy hike that provides great views of the southern Adirondacks.

Hour Pond  The Hour Pond Trail is a 7.2 mile, out and back trail along 13^th Lake and through beautiful forests to a secluded pond.

Jabe Pond  Jabe Pond and Little Jabe Pond are popular destinations for hiking, camping, fishing, swimming and paddling.

Northwest Bay Trail  The Northwest Bay Trail is a 10 mile hike along Lake George, leading to Montcalm Point and camping areas.

Peaked Mountain  A 6.8-mile hike (round trip) winds along the shoreline of Thirteenth Lake, passes by Peaked Mountain Pond and beaver meadows, en route to a wonderful rocky summit with terrific views to the south and west of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and beyond.

Pharaoh Mountain  Pharaoh Mountain is a challenging 6.25-mile hike (one way) to a remote mountain deep within the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness area north of Brant Lake.

Siamese Ponds  Siamese Ponds is a 12 mile round trip, moderate to difficult hike along a river and reaching Lower Siamese Pond.

Thomas Mountain  Thomas Mountain is a 3 mile (round trip) hike up a small mountain with a view of Lake George and surrounding mountains.

Tongue Mountain  Tongue Mountain is a challenging hike with numerous peaks and outcrops that have wonderful views of Lake George and the southern Adirondacks.

Washington County

Black Mountain  Black Mountain is a challenging hike on the east side of Lake George with sweeping views of the southern Adirondacks.

Buck Mountain  Buck Mountain is on the east side of Lake George and provides sweeping views of the lake and Tongue Mountain Range.

Shelving Rock  Shelving Rock Mountain is a 3.4 mile hike on winding trails that leads to a stunning view of Lake George and nearby Buck Mountain.

Sleeping Beauty Mountain  Sleeping Beauty Mountain is a short, but steep 3.6-mile (round trip) hike through beautiful forests to a craggy mountaintop with  views of Lake George and the mountains and ridges of Washington County.

When You Hike Make Sure to Practice “Leave No Trace” to be Prepared and to Protect the Forest Preserve

Please follow “carry in, carry out” rules for all trash and follow other Leave No Trace principles when hiking in the public Forest Preserve and other wild areas. The seven Leave No Trace principles are: 1) Plan ahead and prepare; 2) Stay on hiking trails and camp at designated areas; 3) Dispose of human waste and trash properly; 4) Leave what you find; 5) Minimize campfires; 6) Respect wildlife; 7) Respect other hikers.

Educated hikers do not damage the environment. Prepared hikers do not need search and rescue unless injured.

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Adirondack Hiking Trails Guide