Driving route - Albany to Mt Moosilauke?

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Peakbagr

Peakbagr

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Returning to the Whites for a hike with friends soon. Haven 't done the drive in 25+ years since hiking the NE111. Any suggestions with the quickest driving route from the Albany, NY area to Ravine Lodge? Its been so long I can't remember which combination of roads is quickest. For a few years, we had standard routes, all of which are pretty hazy now. Seemed to remember the Northway to Whitehall, over to Rutland but not sure.

Thanks and very much appreciated.

Alan
 
I would take the Northway to Fort Ann, then 149 to Whitehall, picking up US 4, which is now 4 lanes from the VT border into Rutland, and then follow US4 thru Woodstock to I 91.

Taking 9 across the southern part of the state is scenic, but ... it's rather slow.
 
I've experimented with a number of different routes to Moosilauke and the rest of the Whites, and they all seems to be within minutes of each other. Unfortunately, they all seem to be long drives, too - guess everything in northern NE is geared to getting you to Boston!

But, the routes described agree with my experience. I usually get off 91 at Fairlee - Orford and take 25A to 118, other than that minor tweak, the only thing I'd suggest is how you get to 91. For me, from Clifton Park, I think Fort Ann - Whitehall - Rutland is best. But, a friend swears he made much better time coming through Albany by taking Rt 7 to the Bennington Bypass, up Route 7 (US 7, in VT now) to Manchester, and then 11 across the state to 91. FWIW...

Either way, have fun, Alan!
 
Great info...thanks!

Related question: any recommendations as to routes up the mountain? I'm looking at the following website:

http://hikethewhites.com/moosilauke.html

and see lots of possibilities. We'll be at the trailhead c. 9AM. No time restrictions, but we do plan on returning to Albany area later that evening. Thanks.
 
rhihn said:
Great info...thanks!

Related question: any recommendations as to routes up the mountain? I'm looking at the following website:

http://hikethewhites.com/moosilauke.html

.
Click to expand...

I really like the Asquam Ridge Trail up and Carriage Way down -- its very well maintained and you get to experience the entire above treeline section of the Moose. I also highly recommend visiting the South Peak on your way down.

As for driving from Albany I'd take the Mass Pike to 91. There's lots of slowdowns through Whitehall/Rutland/Woodstock VT. I might drive back that way for the scenic route but if travelling over on a friday after work I'd personally opt for the interstates.
 
una_dogger said:
I really like the Asquam Ridge Trail up and Carriage Way down -- its very well maintained and you get to experience the entire above treeline section of the Moose. I also highly recommend visiting the South Peak on your way down.

As for driving from Albany I'd take the Mass Pike to 91. There's lots of slowdowns through Whitehall/Rutland/Woodstock VT. I might drive back that way for the scenic route but if travelling over on a friday after work I'd personally opt for the interstates.
Click to expand...

Sabrina, thanks for the hiking input! As for the driving, I agree, we've done the Rutland thing and agree it's quite slow at rush hour times. However, we'll be leaving Albany area c. 5AM on a Saturday. Will that make a difference? We've done the east-west Rt. 9 thing before and it was sometimes quite slow, or even faster, depending upon what was in front of you. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
rhihn said:
Great info...thanks!

Related question: any recommendations as to routes up the mountain? I'm looking at the following website:

http://hikethewhites.com/moosilauke.html

and see lots of possibilities. We'll be at the trailhead c. 9AM. No time restrictions, but we do plan on returning to Albany area later that evening. Thanks.
Click to expand...

That website's our co-moderator's - Dave Metsky.

As for routes - well, good news is they're all good. The least elevation is probably up Gorge Brook, and making a loop out of it - return via Carriage Road to Snapper. Can pick up South Peak if you want to.

I think the most spectacular is probably Beaver Brook as it winds up the cascade. You need to drive over to Lost River to get there which is the opposite site of the mountain from Ravine Brook Lodge.

My own personal favorite is Glencliff which is part of the AT. It has the most elevation gain, and the trailhead is open all year. I usually do it at least twice a year.

For whatever reason, I'm not as big a fan of the Asquam Ridge as Sabrina. Have done it 3 or 4 times, but doesn't have the same appeal for me.

Have done it via Benton, but only a couple of times. That TH isn't used too often, and has a brook at the very beginning. At least you know almost immediately whether the water is too high to cross.
 
Last edited:
Kevin Rooney said:
That website's our co-moderator's - Dave Metsky.

As for routes - well, good news is they're all good. The least elevation is probably up Gorge Brook, and making a loop out of it - return via Carriage Road to Snapper. Can pick up South Peak if you want to.

I think the most spectacular is probably Beaver Brook as it winds up the cascade. You need to drive over to Lost River to get there which is the opposite site of the mountain from Ravine Brook Lodge.

My own personal favorite is Glencliff which is part of the AT. It has the most elevation gain, and the trailhead is open all year. I usually do it at least twice a year.

For whatever reason, I'm not as big a fan of the Asquam Ridge as Sabrina. Have done it 3 or 4 times, but doesn't have the same appeal for me.

Have done it via Benton, but only a couple of times. That TH isn't used too often, and has a brook at the very beginning. At least you know almost immediately whether the water is too high to cross.
Click to expand...

I agree with Kevin: my favorite trail on the Moose is Glencliff (also the best maintained in the Whites, imho, :) ), which is also about a half hour closer to you than Ravine Lodge (unless you are planning to stay at Ravine Lodge, which is a really cool place to spend a night).
 
Another vote for Glencliff ... normally for me the Moose simply means Glencliff. South Peak has very interesting views that you do not get from the main summit, I tend to add it more often than not.

Interested in Sabrina's recommendation of Asquam Ridge ... I have done it rarely and remember a very wet section.
 
Barkingcat said:
NOTE: Google Maps indicates that if you pick up NY 7 in Troy and take it to 30/11, then to 11, to 103 and THEN to I-91, it should take you about 3.5 hours. I think that I may have taken this route at one point when bored with some of the other ways I was using to drive back from Albany.
Click to expand...

I think this would be the best way, although staying on 11 thru Springfield to get to 91 might be a little quicker as it's shorter. The bypass around Bennington is great, I wish it had been there when I was in college.

The Route 9 option isn't bad either, the only hangups are in Bennington, a little bit in Wilmington and a little in Brattelboro.

I would not ever take the Route 4 route. You could get caught up in Lake George traffic. Getting thru Rutland sucks. Getting thru Woodstock sucks even more.
 
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