Chimney Mountain, near Indian Lake, has no comparables. It has perhaps the most unique summit in the Adirondacks, and while the trail to the summit is steep, it is short; one mile each way. It's a great family hike.
On this day, we got to spend a few hours with my son and daughter-in-law, and this mountain came to mind as a great place that they had not been to previously. Winter is a good time to visit. Chimney Mountain gets crowded during the summer and fall months, but on this day we had the mountain to ourselves. Make sure you've got two dollars with you to pay the small parking fee at the trailhead on private property.
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| Old barn near the trailhead |
Most of the trail is nothing special. It is steep and there is lots of loose sand and gravel. In the winter, on this day it was icy and we wore microspikes. The payoff is at the end of the trail where the scenery changes to a spectacular rock spire and rock nooks and crannies.
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| Approaching the end of the trail |
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| Nobody here on this cold winter day |
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| The view looking West. |
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| The spire |
We did a little scrambling on the rocks, but stayed off the icy patches.
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| Zack and Lulu |
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| Zack, Hannah, Rev and Lulu |
After exploring the area around the spire, we took the herd path off to the right, just prior to the spire, to head for the true summit. The herd path immediately passes by a designated campsite, then climbs gradually to an open rock summit with 360 degree views. The walk is only 10 minutes from the trail. The true summit shouldn't be missed.
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| Zack, Hannah and Lulu on the summit. King's Flow in the background. |
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| Looking SW. Puffer Mountain in the distance. |
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| Looking back to the summit from a lower ledge. |
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| Kings Flow (C), Round Pond (R); Kunjamuk Mountain behind Round Poond |
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| A ledge below the summit. |
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| Puffer Mountain in the back right. |
Returning to the cars was a little more difficult. Descending the icy trail, even with microspikes was a little tricky. We were in no hurry and just took it slow. Overall a great place to spend a couple hours; certainly worthy of adding to your bucket list if you haven't been there. If you want to make it a longer day, you can add a hike to the pretty Puffer Pond.
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 2.7 miles
Hike Time: 2 hours
Total Vertical Gain: ~1000'
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The route
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| The route on the NG topo map |
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