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Find the best Adirondack hiking
trails with the best view of northern Lake George in the Hague
Ticonderoga area. The mountains are also great for
Adirondack year round attractions
such as skiing and snowmobiling. These Adirondack hiking trails
are great for camping. Find the best in
Lake George campgrounds.
JABE POND: Hiking,
Adirondack Camping, Canoeing, Fishing. 1 mile, ½ hour, 250' elevation
change.
The shortest and best route is Split Rock Road, which turns west
from New York 9N halfway between Silver Bay and Hague NY. The fork to Jabe Pond is 1.8 miles
up Split Rock Road, and there is a parking area at the intersection. Jabe Pond Trail heads
briefly downhill, than up a scrub forest where the road is lined with pad leaf orchids in
summer and a good variety of wildflowers in the spring . Halfway through the walk the
grade gets steep and than levels out in a beautiful hemlock forest that takes you all the
way to the pond.
DEER LEAP: Adirondack Hiking, Snowshoeing, Picnicking. 1.6 miles, 1 hour,
Take New York 9N south through Silver Bay,
NY to the top of Tongue
Mountain where you will find parking on the right and a few spaces shortly in the woods to
the left. This Adirondack hiking trail follows an old horse trail, well built up with sizable stones by the
Civilian Conservation Corps. You will reach the height-of-land for this trek at about 1.0
mile after climbing 300 feet, a walk of less than fifteen minutes. The height-of-land
defines the transition from the tall hardwood forests of the western slopes to scrubbier
oaks and pines of the eastern slopes. Beyond a intersection you cross the brow of a small
ridge, quickly beginning to descend 0.16 mile into a valley and wind across it and up to a
ridge at 1.1 miles. Continue across the ridgeline for 0.2 mile, passing a faint path right
to a small overlook. For 0.2 mile you descend again, with good views north to the east west
facing fault scrap of Bloomer’s cliffs and reach the partially wooded overlook at 1.6
miles.
FIVE MILE MOUNTAIN: Hiking,
Snowshoeing, Camping. 3.6 miles, 2 hours, 1190' elevation change.
Take New York 9N south through Silver Bay to the top of Tongue
Mountain where you will find parking on the right and a few spaces in the woods to the
left. Walk the first 1.0 mile as for the trail to Deer Leap and at the intersection turn
sharply right, heading south, and continue on the blue trail. You reach small overlook
summit of Brown Mountain at the 1.45 mile, a climb of 900 feet from the road and a fifty
minute walk. After a short decent from Brown’s summit, you continue walking along the
ridge which is mostly level, pleasant and open, with blueberries, some big red pine,
trailing arbutus, and twisted stalk. At 1.75 miles you cross a three log bridge to a ledge
with a lookout toward Northwest Bay. You climb again at 2.05 miles than open patch that
leads at 2.45 miles to a lean-to where you can see the range of hills across Northwest
Bay. The views both up and down the lake are lovely, but from here intervening hills in
the range make impossible to see the Point of Tongue.
BERRYMILL POND: Hiking, Camping,
Snowshoeing, Fishing. 3.1 miles, 1½ hours, 720' elevation change.
Take NY Route 8 East ½ mile to Summit Drive and North 2.4 miles
to the end. Turn right on West Hague Road and the trailhead is 0.7 miles on the left. The
trail angles to the north fording a stream and passing the apple orchard of an old farm on
the right. At 0.8 mile the trail becomes much steeper as it enters a handsome white birch
forest. Here it climbs the 400 foot ridge and you cross a stream 1 mile from the
trailhead. You continue fairly steeply until a height-of-land is reached at 1.3 miles and
than descend slightly through maples and hemlock. You cross a log bridge over a stream
flowing toward Berrymill Pond at 1¾. Then cross another bridge at 2.2 miles and continue
walking through yellow birch to reach the inlet and cross it on a plank bridge at 2.65
miles. Just over 3.0 miles after a trail intersection you reach the northern bay of the
pond which is nearly filled with waterlilies and water plants.
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