tHE LAKE PLACID 9ER cHALLENGE
What up Road Trip Warriors!? I wanted to share some information on a fun hiking challenge based in the Adirondacks of Northern New York State. There are nine mountains around the Lake Placid region that make up this challenge. Once you have hiked all of them you can fill out the application with the $10 registration fee to be included in the roster! I will include the website link at the bottom of this three part series. The three mountains listed below are part of the Lake Placid 9er challenge. I highly recommend these mountains to start with. They are near each other and they all offer pretty great views of the Adirondacks!
Hurricane mountain
Hurricane Mountain is located off Route 9N in Keene, NY. If you are turning onto Route 9 from Route 73, the Hurricane Mountain trailhead will be a few miles up the road and on the left.
- Difficulty: Easy – Moderate
- Distance: Approximately 7 miles round trip
- Elevation: 3,678′
- Hiking Time: I’ve reached the summit before in an hour and a half. I have also taken a couple hours. Depends on pace of you and your group, but you could realistically be done with this hike in 4 hours if you didn’t spend much time on the summit.
- Photo Opportunities: There is an opening maybe a quarter mile from the summit where you emerge from the woods and get some amazing views of the High Peaks. You can also capture some great images of the fire tower on Hurricane Mountain’s summit. Your next best opportunity is going to be on the summit as well as in the fire-tower. You’ll be able to see many of the High Peaks, other surrounding smaller mountains, and Lake Champlain in the distance.
The trail is well marked and very easy to follow. You’ll usually come across other individuals doing this hike as well. It would be difficult to end up lost while on this hike. See below for some photos from Hurricane Mountain.
Baxter Mountain
Baxter Mountain is located off Route 9N in Keene, NY. If you are turning onto Route 9 from Route 73, the Baxter Mountain trailhead will be a few miles up the road and on the right. If you reached the Hurricane Mountain trailhead you have gone too far.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Distance: Approximately 2.4 miles round trip
- Elevation: 2,440′
- Hiking Time: Realistically you could be up and down this small mountain in less than an hour, but what’s the fun in that? Time spent hiking is time well spent!
- Photo Opportunities: The best photos you’re going to capture on this hike are on the summit of the mountain. You will be able to get some good views of the surrounding High Peaks. It definitely does not have the best views out of the Lake Placid 9er challenge, but it is a nice hike nonetheless.
The trail is very easy to follow. Unless you are blatantly not paying attention, you should be able to reach the summit without the concern of ending up off trail.
Big Crow Mountain
The Big Crow Mountain trailhead is located at the end of O’Toole Lane in Keene, NY. This is a dirt road that is located off Hurricane Road. The dirt parking lot is small so be aware that it may be full if you don’t get there early.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Distance: 1.4 miles round trip
- Elevation: 2,815′
- Hiking Time: The summit can be reached in 20-30 minutes.
- Photo Opportunities: The best scenes you’ll capture with a camera are from the summit of Big Crow. You can see 28 of the Adirondack High Peaks from the summit as well as the fire tower atop Hurricane Mountain.
Like the two hikes mentioned above, Big Crow Mountain is well-marked and easy to follow.
RTW Note
So there you have it my Road Trip Warriors! Three of the nine Lake Placid 9ers that are great starting hikes to this challenge! Make sure you bring enough water, food, and the appropriate gear depending on the season you hike these mountains in. If you found this post helpful or interesting, SMASH the follow and share buttons, hit the like button, and leave me a comment on what some of your favorite hikes are! Don’t forget to carry out what you carry in! Below is the link to the Lake Placid 9er website where you can register once this challenge is completed!
-Ant
Great Links for More Lake Placid 9er Info
LP 9er Website – Click here
