Hiking Seymour Mountain

A Rough Trek for One High Peak

What up Road Trip Warriors!? This was my 34th Adirondack High Peak and it was a longer day than expected! This was by no means the hardest hike I have done in a day, but I didn’t expect it to be as physically challenging as it was. For those looking to tackle Seymour Mountain here is everything you’ll need to know! Keep in mind that this is also the same trailhead for Seward, Donaldson, and Emmons which I have a post about as well. You can find that here! It follows that same trail for awhile until Blueberry Lean-to. Instead of taking the right at the cairn just past Blueberry Lean-to, you’ll keep going until you find the next cairn to turn right for!

Summary of Seymour Mountain

• Difficulty: Strenuous
• Length: Roughly 14 miles round trip 
• Elevation: 4,120′ above sea level
• Hiking Time: 8-9 hours 
• Photo Opportunities: This hike is a little more difficult to find spots to get great photos besides being on the summit. Even the summit has sub-par views as it is wooded. If you walk around the summit area there are a few openings that are worth noting.

Trailhead

The trailhead for the Seward Range is located about 5.5 miles down Coreys Road in Saranac, NY. The road is paved and turns into a dirt road as you continue along it. You will cross a one-lane bridge to continue towards the trailhead. Eventually you will pass a large dirt parking lot on your right and go through an open gate. That parking lot is the overflow lot and the lot you would have to park in if you planned on doing this hike in the winter. The Seward Range and Seymour Mountain trailhead will be 3 miles on the right after this gate.

Hiking to Blueberry Lean-To

The hike in from the trailhead to Blueberry Lean-to is roughly 5 miles over relatively flat terrain. The beginning of the trail makes way through the woods. Eventually you will reach an intersection where you can continue straight towards Blueberry Lean-to or take a right and head down Calkins Brook trail. There are signs here that are hard to miss. We continued straight to Blueberry Lean-to which was a little over 3 miles away.

You’ll eventually come to a grassy clearing where there are a few worn out wooden signs. You will take a right at this clearing.

Blueberry Lean-to has only one lean-to and there is a bridge immediately after the lean-to. Cross that bridge and continue for a couple tenths of a mile. You will come across a rock cairn on the right. This first rock cairn is for the Seward Mountain Range! This will NOT get you to Seymour Mountain. See below for a picture of the rock cairn that is being mentioned.

To Ward Brook Lean-To

You will want to continue past the rock cairn above and make your way down the trail to Ward Brook Lean-to. This is a good place to stop and re-hydrate before starting your climb of Seymour Mountain. Just a few hundred feet past this lean-to will be the rock cairn that on your right that will lead you towards Seymour. See below for pictures of the Ward Brook Lean-to and the rock cairn for Seymour mountain.

The Climb to Seymour

So I had read online that it was only one mile from the cairn above to the summit of Seymour Mountain. That was a lie. It took about two and a half hours to reach the summit of Seymour from the cairn. It is a herd path, but pretty easy to follow. The climb is gradual, but becomes steep as you climb a slide up Seymour. There are some views that open up as you ascend so turn around every once in awhile. Watch your footing as you climb.

Summit of Seymour Mountain

The summit of Seymour mountain is wooded with limited views, but if you walk around there are some openings for photos. The summit also has a wooden sign signifying that you reached your destination. It is a pretty remote High Peak compared to the other ones so there is a good chance you’ll have the summit to yourself depending on the time of year you venture up it. See below for some photos from the summit.

Getting Back to the Trailhead

This hike is an out-and-back so you’ll be climbing down the way you climbed up. Watch your step going down Seymour’s slides and you should be all set.

Dog-Friendly

If you have enough water and dog snacks with you, I would say this hike is dog friendly. There was not anything in particular that a dog would have struggled with. It is a pretty far hike so I would keep that in mind when deciding whether or not you want to bring the pup along.

Fam-Friendly

I am not sure that I would call this hike family-friendly. It’s about fourteen miles round trip and the views on the summit are limited compared to the more popular High Peaks accessible from Keene and the Adirondack Loj. If you plan on completing the 46er challenge then obviously you’ll be coming up this mountain anyway. Just be aware of how strenuous it is.

Clothes/Gear Worn

• Outdoor Research hat to protect head from sun
• Adidas athletic shirt
• Compression shorts
• Athletic shorts
• Adidas joggers
• EMS wool hiking socks
• Timberland hiking boots

Equipment/Food Brought

• 3L of water
• Peanut butter granola bars, peanut butter sandwiches, trail mix
• Extra EMS hiking socks
• Bandana
• Extra shirt and underarmour
• Wind/rain pants
• Emergency tent and blankets
• Knife
• Paracord and carabiners (non climbing carabiners)
• Water-proof matches
• Life-Straw (water filtration straw, costs about $20)
• Trekking poles
• First-Aid Kit
• Garmin InReach (satellite device that has a GPS, can send texts, send SOS, and has many other helpful features.

RTW Note

Ay, thank you for taking the time to check out this post my fellow Road Trip Warriors! Although Seymour Mountain doesn’t have the views that other Adirondack High Peaks have, it is still worth doing. It is a good challenge and time spent outside is time well spent! If you found this post helpful or enjoyed it in any way, SMASH the follow button and share buttons, like this post, leave a comment, and toss a follow on twitter where I post a majority of my photos! More epic hiking information to come! Keep on hiking and make sure you carry out what you carry in!

-Ant