It's been a busy couple of weeks. We've done next to no hiking for 10 days! On Thursday night, while in Lake Placid, we had time for a very short hike before dark. I had not climbed Cobble Hill before, so that was our choice. The hill lies adjacent to Mirror Lake and is visible from Main Street.
The hardest part of the trip is finding the trailhead. At the NE corner of Mirror Lake Drive, there is an unmarked entrance road to Northwood School. If you drive in a short ways, there is a small parking lot on the left with a trailhead sign for Cobble Hill (see maps below).
You can climb Cobble Hill via a short 0.4 direct route, or a 1.1 mile route that goes past Echo Lake and then approaches Cobble Hill from the NE. We took the steep direct route up and then the longer route down.
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| Zoom view of Cobble Hill from Main Street Lake Placid |
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| Looking at the start of the trail from the parking lot |
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| The steep trail has signs. The longer trail has trail marker discs. |
We didn't use any traction devices, but there was still some ice and snow on the trail; especially on the north side..
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| Lots of rock as you climb higher |
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| A foundation of a long gone tower |
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| The summit |
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| Somebody was watching us |
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| Mount Colden and the MacIntyre Range in the background |
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| Zoom view of the Olympic Ski Jumps |
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| The trail beside Echo Lake |
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| Echo Lake |
This is obviously not a long hike, but it's well worth checking out. We're betting that the locals often climb this mountain for sunrise and/or sunset.
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 2 miles
Hike Time: 1 hour
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 500'
Hi Mike, terrific report & photos as always.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you realized that there was once a downhill ski area that operated on the slopes of Cobble Mountain. It had two lifts (a poma and a double chair IIRC) along with several slopes and trails. It only operated for two seasons (1958 & '59), and would have been a wonderful small ski area (a little larger than nearby Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake) if it had survived. One interesting tidbit - the ski area was named Kobl Mountain, the unusual spelling was attributed to Melvin Dewey (the Dewey Decimal system guy) who was also responsible for the unusual spelling of Adirondack Loj. There's an extensive chapter on Kobl Mountain in Jeremy Davis' book "Lost Ski Areas of the Northern Adirondacks," which I highly recommend.
Thanks for the great info Jeff. I was going to look it up. I should do my research before I post. So little time.
DeleteI was amazed to read here about the ski area called "Kobl Mountain." But then I read the Amazon description of Davis's book which says "Lake Placid hides fourteen abandoned ski areas"!!!!
ReplyDeleteI once climbed Cobble Hill as a kid in the very late fifties or very early sixties, but was totally unaware of the Kobl Mountain "ghost ski area." I remember delving into the trail by walking right through Northwood School and also recall that there were blueberries growing near the open rock face near the top.
Mike de Bary