My Top 5 Adirondack Hikes
Last year, Kevin and I finally finished an adventure goal nearly a decade in the making; we finally became 46ers. This is an incredible accomplishment that meant the world to everyone in our group, and although it is a very difficult thing to do, it isn’t really a “8,9, 10 or 12 year” ordeal. Many people who jump into the High Peaks can bag them all in a few short years, or even one if they are particularly diligent.
The reason it took us so long is because we usually only grabbed a few new High Peaks every year. Most summer trips to the Adirondacks were camping adventures that didn’t always amount to a long day hike into Keene Valley. Nights on the lake, afternoons on Fire Towers, and the occasional day of cheer and beers inLake Placid or Saranac Lake.
As you will see on our short list here, some of our favorites are Fire Towers and other great climbs that we’ve done over and over, with absolutely no regrets. Criteria for a “Top 5 Adirondacks Hike” list like this tends to be pretty nebulas, but I want to try and illustrate here that our top picks are the ones that we enjoyed the most (for reasons i’ll be illustrating for each hike) which is undeniably subjective.
I decided to deliberately exclude a lot of the obvious stuff (Marcy, Cascade, Indian Head, etc..) because these hikes are generally crowded, difficult to get spots at, and overrated (just my opinion, no hate on the hikes!) This list may not contain the best hikes ever, or the greatest views in the region, but they are our Top 5 all the same!
After years and years of recreation in the region, I’ve grown to appreciate some of the Fire Towers scattered across the mountains a bit more than many of the other trails and mountains we’ve hiked or climbed. There’s a whole lot of history and community built into these hikes, and pretty exceptional views to boot. You can easily find trail updates and other community driven groups on Facebook for the towers, and in the case of Poke-O-Moonshine, some websites and Facebook pages committed to it specifically.
Our top 5 Adirondack hikes starts with Poke-O-Moonshine partly because it’s a great entry level hike, not too long or difficult, but it will still offer a challenge to some who have been toying with hiking in the Park a little bit more than they have perviously. Structurally, this one is unique, its not often you’ll see anchors for rock climbing, or views of the paved road you likely came in on; not to mention the small and beautiful lakes and mountains nearby.
There’s something kind of indescribably exciting and breathtaking about getting to the top of one of these mountains, only to quickly scale an additional 50+ up an old Fire Tower – you feel the wind and the air in a way you won’t anywhere else. If you’re only planning on doing a few, this must-do Fire Tower should find a spot on your list.
Ampersand Mountain is part of the Saranac 6 Challenge and a personal favorite that I have a long love and appreciation for. It’s inclusion on this Top 5 Adirondack Hikes list is warranted on merit alone, but the reality is that climbing this mountain every year as a young teenager with family friends had an undeniable impact on my perception of the Adiroindacks up to this very day. You could say that my love of Ampersand is somewhat foundational, and might not translate into a top 5 for everyone.
Getting full 360 views (or anything even close, frankly) gets less and less common the more of the valley you see, and often case it happens real low or real high, but Ampersand sits comfortably in that middle range; both in terms of length, height and difficulty. Ampersand really does have it all in equal measure, which is not generally how it goes in these parts, particularly among the other hikes in the Saranac Lake area.
Depending on the most recent winter, the trail up to Ampersand mountain can be a little tricky, but for the most part, the technical scrambles here are pretty mild and the trail overall will be manageable for most people. I haven’t done this one in several years now, but it is simply fantastic and unquestionably the best of the Saranac 6.
The fact that Pyramid Mountain is not High Peak is basically a technicality due to it’s incredibly close proximity to Gothics, so for all intents and purposes, you could think of them as being one High Peak, and one of the best to be specific – and one entry on our top 5 Adirondack hikes, for the purposes of making a digestible list. You could hit just Pyramid and turn around, but you’d missing out on a little bit extra.
The entire Lower Great Range is, in my opinion, one of the most rewarding hikes in the entire High Peaks, every mountain is gorgeous and the entire experience is jaw dropping. That being said the whole thing is something like 20 ish miles and tons of elevation, which is going to be a bit much for a single day hike. Pyramid and Gothics represent the best of this range, and I think just these two will be manageable for most people in decent shape.
The breathtaking views here are what make this one exceptional, there aren’t a whole ton of places where you will be this high and this close to a bunch of other High Peaks, with all the summits and slides so highly visible. Unfortunately, getting into this part of the Valley from the AMR is a bit of a hasel unless you are a Millionaire or Politician, since membership within the Adirondack Mountain Reserve is an exclusive thing, to say the least. You can learn more about getting a reservation here.
The easiest thing to say about Hurricane is that there are very few hikes in the Adirondacks that I’ve done as many times as I have done Hurricane, which is also the case for several others on this top 5 Adirondack hikes list. This fact alone should be a pretty good sign and signifier its awesome “top 5-ness.” We’ve done this one in every season, from sunset and sunrise. A special shout out goes for a nice snow shoe hike on Hurricane, one of the absolute best.
Hurricane Mountain is the only other Fire Tower on this top 5 Adirondack hikes list, and although many of them are fantastic, none have measured up to the absolute majesty that is present on the tippy-top of Hurricane. This hike has many great attributes, but its sprawling and open peak is perhaps one of its best, you could have a whole picnic up here with other groups sprawled out, all while not stepping on anyone else’s toes.
The normal hike up to Hurricane is mild and enjoyable, without any scrambles or difficulties, save perhaps the last few hundred feet. Hurricane has become something of a tradition for little crew of hikers, and even if we’ve missed it once or twice, I imagine we’ll see this peak many more times before our final sunsets.
When completing the 46 High Peaks and registering with with adk46er.org, one of the questions they will ask you is “what your favorite high peak” was. For me, there was almost no competition – Giant Mountain is the best High Peak and my #1 for the top 5 Adirondack hikes. This is the hike I’ve done the most times, i’ve done it in every conceivable condition, and it is my absolute favorite, bar none.
Giant (and by extension, RPR) is nestled in the south east corner of the park, giving it a unique and expansive view of the Great Range, and a handful of other peaks as well. The path up includes some open face traverses and lookouts that offer just as much as the peak itself – you can also occasionally get a pretty good view of the AMR if the weather permits it.
Giant by itself is also a relatively easy hike compared to the average High Peak; adding in Rocky Peak Ridge makes it considerably more difficult, but is worth it in my opinion. Every inch of this hike is pure magic.
Honorable mentions are due for additional hikes and spots that are exceptional but did not make our arbitrary limit of “Top 5 Adirondack Hikes.” We really love Colvin, Snowy, Skylight, Wright and Algonquin.