Adirondacks is one of the most beautiful places to visit for viewing and appreciating the land in New York. There are plenty of places to unwind, relax, and go camping. There are a lot of beautiful hiking trails as well. There are waterfalls, rock scrambles, climbing, steep ledges, and beautiful views. If you are in the East Coast and you are thinking of camping or hiking then Adirondacks is a great place to go. Here are some of the best hikes that I have done. There are easy and hard hikes. There are short and long hikes. There are a lot of different hikes for different fitness levels.
Indian Head, Fish Hawk Cliffs And Rainbow Falls
This is definitely one of the most beautiful places to hike if you ever go to Adirondacks. I listed this as 11 miles because that is what I did but there are options. You can skip a lot of trails as well. You can just go to the road all the way till you hit the path towards Indian Head. I chose to do somewhat of a challenging trail. But like I said, you can just choose the road so that your legs will have an easier time. It is a little bit hard to go here during the peak foliage. Sometimes it is just way too cold when the trees in here adorned their most beautiful colors.
| Miles: 11 | Elevation Gain: 1800 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 7 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Cascade Mountain And Porter Mountain
This is pretty popular. I talked to the ranger and he said that the hotels in ADK recommend this hike to their customers. During the weekends on a holiday, this place is packed especially in the Fall. There are way too many people hiking this trail. So many at the top and it is pretty hard to get a nice solo picture of the whole mountain top. I met a lot of dogs though and they were very friendly lol. I like this hike, I just wish that it was not so crowded when I went there.
| Miles: 5.6 | Elevation Gain: 2,200 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 6 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Van Hoevenberg
This is a good and easy hike to do. I often do this hike with Mount Jo. The trail heads of both hikes are very near each other. The elevation gain is not that high and this is not that steep as well. This is pretty easy with beautiful views. I highly recommend this hike during fall foliage. The trails can get muddy if the weather is rainy. The views are basically a few cliff ledges that are near each other.
| Miles: 4.5 | Elevation Gain: 900 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 5 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Jo Loop
This is a pretty easy hike with a few great views. This is great for fall foliage and people that just want a quick hike. The elevation gain isn’t that high and you have two choices. You can go with the long path so that you can have a smoother time going up or go the short path which means the path will be steeper. If you are staying in the Adirondack Loj or somewhere near then this is a good hike to do.
| Miles: 1.8 | Elevation Gain: 700 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: 4 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Algonquin And Wright Peak
This is a tough hike. You basically go up and gain around 4100 to get to Algonquin peak. Once you are at the peak, you go back down to the fork and ascend again to the Wright peak. The views were very beautiful. Algonquin and Wright are basically bald mountains. It is like very flat at the top. You can move from one end to another to see different views of the land. The only problem I had with this was that there were these tiny mosquitoes. Bring a windbreaker jacket or bug spray.
| Miles: 9 | Elevation Gain: 4100 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 10 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Azure Mountain
This is another very easy hike with very beautiful views. This is great for fall foliage. This is kind of far from lake placid though. If you are staying near lake placid, you will have to drive somewhat far to get to this place. There is a fire tower at the top. It offers 360 degree views. I loved it up there. The cliff is basically one big ledge. Maybe the ledge is around 0.5 miles. There is plenty of places to sit and take pictures.
| Miles: 1.8 | Elevation Gain: 900 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 4 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Jay
This is a tough hike for me. It should not be but I’ve been here twice and I got really tired. The path to the top is just so boring. The view will not change till you get to the top. I saw the same type of trees over and over. At the top, it was so hot. I did this on October as well. I started somewhat late though. The views at the top were amazing. Even though it was hot and there was basically no shade, I had a great time.
| Miles: 7 | Elevation Gain: 2300 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 8 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Hurricane Mountain
This is a pretty moderate hike and somewhat popular. This is not for beginners or out of shape people though. The trail is pretty nice. New views every now and then. The top has a lot of space for lots of people. The top is very big and can accommodate a large amount of people. The fire tower was very scary. It was wiggling lol. The wind was somewhat scary when I was up there. I thought the fire tower would collapse or fall down.
| Miles: 6.6 | Elevation Gain: 2000 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 7 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Baxter Mountain
This is a very easy hike and very short as well. This is next to the hurricane mountain trail head. If hurricane mountain is too strenuous for you then this is a good choice. This is a whole lot easier and the views are still pretty amazing. This is great for beginners. If you are not very fit or you have a sedentary lifestyle then this is a good choice if you are in Adirondacks.
| Miles: 2.2 | Elevation Gain: 750 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Catamount Mountain
This has a lot of rock scrambles. You are going to use all four of your limbs. This is pretty short though. You may not get enough workout out of this though. The elevation gain is pretty high though. The ascent may give you a decent workout. The hike is pretty flat at the beginning. Maybe 1 mile flat then it goes up. Once the trail goes up, it pretty much goes up until you get to the top.
| Miles: 4 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 6 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Skylight, Mount Adams, Mount Marcy
One of the most difficult hikes that you can do in Adk. You will end up hiking 20 miles in very rough terrain. There will be lots of mud, lots of rocks, lots of going up and you may even meet a black bear on the trail. If you are doing the Adirondack 46 summits then you will have to do this hike. This offers amazing views. Mount skylight is beautiful so is Mount Marcy. People are actually surprised the Mount Adams is also beautiful. I highly recommend this hike if you want a good challenge.
| Miles: 20 | Elevation Gain: 5100 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Giant Mountain
When I hiked Giant mountain, it was tougher than I thought it would be. I thought this would be rather easy but I was wrong. I went to cascade and the ranger there suggested that we should just go to Giant mountain instead because cascade mountain would be very crowded. We still went to the Cascade mountain because we were parked already. I thought this would be as easy as cascade but I was wrong. This was a lot tougher.
| Miles: 6 | Elevation Gain: 3000 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy is one of the most beautiful places to hike. The view up there is just beautiful. However, this hike is very tough. The 14 mile hike is tough. It can get muddy, rocky, and very hot. I don’t recommend this for beginners. Even if you hike a lot, be sure that your fitness level is pretty good because this is tough. You will have a hard time doing this hike if you have a sedentary lifestyle.
| Miles: 14 | Elevation Gain: 3500 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Colden
One of the best hikes you can do if you are staying in the Adirondak Loj. This is not as good as Mount Marcy but a lot easier. You can do this mountain in a couple of ways. You can do the Trap Dyke which offers the best rock scramble, Lake Arnold which offers the easiest ascent or Avalanche Pass which is somewhat steeper than Lake Arnold. I did the Avalanche Pass. Very beautiful views at the top.
| Miles: 13 | Elevation Gain: 3000 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Phelps Mountain
Phelps Mountain is another beautiful hike and I would rate this as moderate. Not as difficult as the other hikes in the area. You have the option of adding Tabletop Mountain if you want a challenge. This is a pretty good moderate hike with pretty good views.
| Miles: 8.1 | Elevation Gain: 2200 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Dix Range
This is another tough hike but you will experience beautiful views. If you are doing the Adirondack 46er summits then this is a hiking trail that you will be doing. The DIX range allows you to get to multiple summits. The trail is very tough and there are lots of steep parts. This is not for the weak and not for people who do not hike. Definitely not a hike that a beginner should do. The views are amazing though and I highly recommend this hike for people who love to hike, experienced and have a lot of stamina.
| Miles: 16 | Elevation Gain: 5200 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Sleeping Beauty Mountain
This is another very beautiful hike. I highly recommend this during the month of May. During the hotter or warm seasons, the parking to the trail head is open. During the winter or on cold seasons, it is closed. You will have to walk an additional 2-4 miles back and forth. In this hike, I went to the lake also. You do not need to go to the lake. You can basically just go to the view point and go back. The total length or miles would be somewhere around 3. The view at the top was very beautiful.
| Miles: 5 | Elevation Gain: 1300 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Buck Mountain
This hike is not that popular. Most people would rather go to Sleeping Beauty or Shelving Rock than hike this trail. This does offer a few amazing views and a good hike. If you have seen most of the hikes in Lake George then I highly recommend this hike.
| Miles: 6 | Elevation Gain: 2000 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Shelving Rock Mountain
This is a very short and easy hike but this can get kind of confusing if you are trying to get to the view point. The view point is also not that big so you may end up sharing this spot with a lot of people. I tried to provide some pointers but it was pretty dark when we went to this place so I didn’t really take a lot of pictures. Once you get to the top, you have to keep going. You will go down a little bit and look at your left to see a trail that goes to the viewpoint.
| Miles: 3 | Elevation Gain: 700 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: 3 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Shelving Rock Falls
This is a pretty easy hike. There are basically two waterfalls where you can take a picture. One is the top waterfall and the other is the bottom waterfall. Be warned though, there are lots of people in here during the weekends. Also, it is somewhat slippery at the bottom. If you fall, you may end up ruining your gadgets or phones.
| Miles: 1 | Elevation Gain: 700 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: 1 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Coney Mountain
This is a very easy hike with amazing and beautiful views. If you are a beginner and would love a hike that will give you amazing views then this is a good one. This is great for picture taking, selfies and landscape photography as well. Simple hike, easy trail, and the elevation gain is low.
| Miles: 2 | Elevation Gain: 600 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: 3 | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Gothics, Saddleback, Armstrong, Saddleback, Upper Wolfjaw, Lower Wolfjaw
This is another very tough hike in the Adirondacks. If you are doing ADK 46er peaks then you will have to do a similar hike to this one. I just did this out of fun. This is very very tough and the elevation gain is rather high. Lots of steep trails near the Gothics mountain. You will end up using a rope that is in the trail. So the people who maintain this trail actually put ropes so that people will not fall or have an easier time doing the trails.
| Miles: 15.2 | Elevation Gain: | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Tongue Mountain Loop Trail
This is a great hike in Lake George but it is somewhat long. This is roughly 13 miles long. This is not something a lot of people can do. You will end up circling a piece of land that looks like a peninsula from satellite view. You will end up with a lot of views of the lake. There are plenty of picture opportunities. The trail is pretty hard as well. The elevation gain is pretty high especially for beginners. You need stamina to do this hike.
| Miles: 13 | Elevation Gain: | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Hadley Mountain
This is a rather easy hike and good for beginners. The hike is not that long so don’t expect a good workout after the hike. You may want to hike other trails if you want to get your money’s worth. The elevation gain is not bad. You will see a few steep parts on the trail. The views are awesome. The hadley fire tower offers amazing views and it is not that hard to reach this place.
| Miles: 3.5 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Bald Mountain – Rondaxe Fire Tower
This is another amazing hike with a fire tower. The elevation gain is rather low and you will reach the top in no time. The views before the fire tower are also amazing. You will see a beautiful landscape. This hike is great for beginners since the length is rather short, this is basically 1 mile up then 1 mile down, and the elevation gain is rather low. The fire tower was very strong and looks new when I went up there.
| Miles: 2 | Elevation Gain: 500 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Big Slide Mountain
This is a rather hard hike to do in Adirondacks. You will have to pay a few dollars for parking. There are plenty of views to see and this is one of the best hikes to do if you love to take pictures. Unfortunately, this is rather hard. The hike is rather long and you may lose a lot of enthusiasm a long the way. This is great for fall foliage as well. Not something I would recommend for beginners.
| Miles: 10 | Elevation Gain: 3200 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Poke-O-Moonshine
The trail head for this hike is rather far. This is like Azure Mountain. It is pretty far from the other trail heads. The good news is that this is rather easy which means that beginners can do this hike. This also has a fire tower which offers amazing views. There are plenty of photography opportunities and I highly recommend that people go here.
| Miles: 2.3 | Elevation Gain: 1300 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Ampersand Mountain
This hike is actually not that easy. There are some very steep parts and rock scrambling is definitely a big part of the trails. If you love to do some rock scrambles, then this is a good hike. This can provide a good workout for a lot of people. The hike is actually pretty short. This is a good hike for a lot of people. The view is pretty good as well. Bring plenty of water and eat a good breakfast.
| Miles: 4.8 | Elevation Gain: 1800 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: Lots | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Saint Regis Mountain Trail
This hike is somewhat easy for the first few miles. The trail will change somewhat and start to ascend. The elevation gain is not that high but will still give a good workout for a lot of people. There is a fire tower at the top and some view points as well. This is a pretty good and decent hike. There are a few good photograph opportunities and the hike is not that hard.
| Miles: 6.2 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Cat And Thomas Mountain
This one is pretty good. The views are pretty decent and you will get a good workout out of this hike. There are various views of different lakes. There are a few good photography angles but not a lot. This is a good moderate hike that is great for a day hike.
| Miles: 7.1 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Snowy Mountain Trail
I like the fire tower at the end of this hike. I don’t know why but I had a great time at that fire tower. This was a tough hike for me. The thing that made this tough was the water. Lots and lots of water were pouring down the trail. It was very slippery near the top. My feet were wet, my socks were wet, and yet I had a great time. It was just somewhat hard because of the pouring water. It felt like there was a tiny river going down the trail.
| Miles: 7.1 | Elevation Gain: 2200 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Chimney Mountain Trail
This is a pretty easy hike. The elevation gain is not that high. I actually did this hike first before going to the snowy mountain trail. This one is rather easy. Not a lot of steep ascents. Maybe one or two. The trail is just a steady and gentle incline to the top. At the view point, you can do some rock scrambles but try to be careful though. You may end up hurting yourself.
| Miles: 2.5 | Elevation Gain: 1000 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: Low | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Mount Arab Trail
This is a great hike for beginners. There is a fire tower at the top that offers pretty good views. This hike is pretty tame. It felt like everything was already set up by someone to make this hike very easy as much as possible. This is a great hike for people who are new to hiking or people that do not have a lot of stamina.
| Miles: 2 | Elevation Gain: 750 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Black Bear Mountain
This hike is rather easy until you are near the summit. Depending on the trail that you took, you will either face a very steep incline or a relative steep incline. Most people do the loop so if you are a beginner, I would recommend going up the very steep trail and going down the not so steep trail. For me, it is harder to go down very steep trails rather than going up.
| Miles: 4.7 | Elevation Gain: 800 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Rocky Mountain Summit
If you are doing the black bear mountain then you should do this hike as well. They are both near each other. This hike is one of the easiest hikes that you can do. This is basically 0.5 miles going and 0.5 miles going down. The views are pretty amazing though.
| Miles: 1 | Elevation Gain: 500 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Owls Head Mountain Trail
This one starts off rather easy. After the first few miles, the trail starts to go up. The ascent is not that hard as well. There is one brief steep part. You just have to be somewhat careful on that part. You can injure yourself. When I did this hike, it was somewhat raining. The trail was wet and slippery. I could see people getting injured in that one steep part.
| Miles: 6.5 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Good Luck Mountain
This is a rather easy hike. You get a view of the lake and the mountain. The last part of the mountain is kind of hard. It is pretty steep. You have to be careful. There is a view at the top. It is pretty decent. Good for a small group.
| Miles: 3.5 | Elevation Gain: 1000 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: Some | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Castle Rock Trail
This is a very beautiful hike that is also very easy. I highly recommend this hike during the fall foliage. The landscape is just glowing at that time. The elevation gain is rather low and the miles or length is very short. This is a great hike for beginners and for photographers as well.
| Miles: 2.8 | Elevation Gain: 700 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Loon Lake Fire tower
This is a pretty short hike but the elevation gain is somewhat high. I have seen a lot of beginners in the trail so this is pretty good for a lot of people. There are a few steep parts before the top though so just be careful at those moments. The views at the fire tower is pretty good.
| Miles: 6 | Elevation Gain: 1700 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Echo Cliff Via Panther Mountain
This is a pretty easy hike for me. The views are amazing and this hike is rather popular. Expect lots of people if you are going to hike this place during the weekends. The last part of the trail can be a little steep but not that hard. A good short hike with amazing views.
| Miles: 1.6 | Elevation Gain: 650 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Noonmark Mountain Trail
This is a rather difficult trail for 5 miles. I would rate this as moderate, might be difficult for some. The views are definitely amazing. This is a great for fall foliage as well. You will get a good workout and see awesome views of the land.
| Miles: 5.5 | Elevation Gain: 2300 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Fifth Peak Trail
This is a moderate trail. The inclines are pretty much very gentle with a few steep ones. This is more like a stroll through the woods type of hike. The views are pretty good, some are blocked by trees though. I recommend this for a moderate hike.
| Miles: 4.7 | Elevation Gain: 1600 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Pharaoh Mountain Hike
The hike is pretty long but the incline is not that difficult. There are steep parts near the summit. The views are amazing though. I would definitely take a group here for a weekend hike if I live near this place. One of the best hikes in the area.
| Miles: 9.1 | Elevation Gain: 1900 | Loop: |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Haystack Mountain
Not to be confused with mount Haystack that you need to do for the ADK 46er summits. This is a different Haystack Mountain. This one is a lot easier and the elevation gain is not that high. The hike itself is pretty easy. Even though the elevation gain is pretty high, the trail is not that steep. There maybe one or two steep parts but most of the time, the trail is very flat and gentle.
| Miles: 7.2 | Elevation Gain: 1,700 | Loop: No |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |
Cobble Hill
I honestly just did this hike because it was in a website. The website recommended this one. This is way too easy and the view at the top was blocked. I did this really fast and I was out of shape as well when I did this. This is more like a good hike for your pet dog. I would most likely never do this again. You can do this once though just to see what the trail feels like.
| Miles: 2.1 | Elevation Gain: 500 | Loop: Yes |
| Difficulty: | Rock Scramble: | Notes: |
| State: | Park: | Parking: Spacious |