Hurricane Mountain Hike || Adirondacks, NY

Hike: Hurricane Mountain Northern Approach Trail near Keene, NY

Distance: 6.6 miles round trip, out-and-back trail, 1,600ft of elevation gain

While vacationing in the Adirondacks with my family, my husband and I decided to do a longer day hike in the high peaks region. Hurricane Mountain came as a suggestion from a good friend, so we decided to try this shorter peak out and we loved it!

We chose the northern trail, which starts at a parking lot off of Otoole Road. We followed well-marked blue blazes for the first three miles of the trail. The first mile of the trail was very easy, had a creek crossing and was mostly flat. The second and third miles had a steady climb, but neither of us felt it was too bad. The trail wove through groves of aspen trees and was really beautiful.

Every intersection was well-marked and we had no trouble finding our way up the mountain. 

At the top of a large hill, we reached the three-mile mark. There is a red path (the southern approach) that intersects and took us the rest of the way to the summit. At this point in the trail we came up over the treeline and had incredible views of the high peaks. I should note that we hardly saw any other hikers up until this point - I'm fairly certain more people opt for the red trail/southern approach.

One of the main reasons we chose this hike is because of the open fire tower at the top! We climbed up the five flights of stairs and were greeted with incredible views. 

It was a good spot for a lunch break too!

After enjoying the views we went back down the mountain on the same trail. 

Many of the trails in the Adirondacks have registers at the trail heads. In the morning, we signed our names, contact information, our destination, and how many days we would be out (as backpacking is allowed in the area), and when we returned we "checked out" by putting a check-mark near our name. The obvious reason for this is safety - if we didn't return in a few hours someone would hopefully begin to look for us. But in addition, this helps rangers know how many people are using the trails and the effect it has on them.

Mike & I both agreed that we loved this hike and would list it among our favorite Adirondack hikes. It is enough of a workout to make you feel like you earned the views, and the fire tower at the top is super neat! For more information on getting there, parking and other reviews, check out Alltrails.com.