Shelving Rock Mountain hike is a very easy hike that is also very popular. Unfortunately, when I came here, the ledge or the viewpoint was very hard to find. It wasn’t marked at all and I just found it by following an unmarked trail. If you come here early, you can probably guess where the ledge is by following people that are coming or going. Hopefully, it is marked and well maintained now but if it is not, you may have to find it.
Shelving Rock Mountain Important Information
Trail Map: Trail Map 1
Suggested Phone GPS Apps: Alltrails.com, Avenza Maps, Google Maps
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3 Miles
Elevation Gained: ~700 ft
Portable Toilet At Parking: None
Trail Breakdown
1.5 miles going up
1.5 miles going down
Note: The information is just an approximation.
Parking
43.555335, -73.598439
Start Of The Hike
The last hike of the day. I did 3 hikes today and this was the last one. I started late, around 4 PM but there was hope in my heart and curiosity in my eye. Hoping I could reach the viewpoint with enough sunshine left so that I could take pictures. There was no time to procrastinate nor sit idly by. We parked at the parking lot and then went straight to the trail head.
Blue Trail
We arrived way too late as could feel our surroundings becoming colder and colder which was a clear sign that dusk was not too far. We had around 3 hours at most but we were very confident that it was enough to get to the viewpoint then come back again.
Forest Trail
Blue Trail
The footpath was well maintained with lots of trail markers and hardly any dead leaves on the trail. The slopes were very gentle as well. They weren’t too hard nor too easy which made this a great trail for beginners, tourists and for people who were not very physically fit.
Trail
We kept going up the mountain, barely talking to each other but our spirits were high and we were all having a good time. If we weren’t in a hurry, perhaps we would have enjoyed this mountain even more but that was not the case. We needed to walk fast, quicken our pace, and hopefully we would have plenty of time to take pictures and enjoy the viewpoint.
Trail
The trail kept going upwards but the slope was very mild which made it very easy to traversed. Surprisingly, there were a few mosquitoes that buzzed around on this part of the trail. They were pretty big and not the little ones. I had my rain jacket with hood on myself yet one insect still managed to bite near my right temple. I slapped my face with my hand and killed it instantly but there was a swollen piece of skin that was very itchy even after I killed it. The damage was done and the itchiness was very annoying.
Empty Area With Stone
Kept Going Straight Then Right
Unmarked Trail To My Left
Shelving Rock Ledge
Shelving Rock Mountain Lookout
Shelving Rock Mountain Vista
Shelving Rock Mountain Views
Shelving Rock Mountain Scenery
End Of The Hike
