"Best" Peaks To Hike In VT And NY

Over the past three years I have pretty thoroughly scoured the White Mountains and am looking to branch out onto some 4k's in other states. I generally day hike from my house in Northeast CT so Vermont and parts of NY are within range for me. (I typically drive 3-3.5 hours one way for most trail heads in NH). I don't have any trail guides or maps yet for either state. Looking to get some info on following:

1) Recommended peaks. I definitely hike for the views so I am interested in peaks that are above treeline or have a significant number of outlooks. Would like to do the tallest peak in each state but that is not a requirement. Guess I'm looking for people's "favorites" list for these states.
2) Based on #1 above can anyone recommend the best maps and/or guide books for the area. NH has such a wealth of information available but at least casually researching that is not the case for VT or NY.
3) Considering these will be day hikes, what are the most popular/widely used trail heads used so that they are easy to find (main road vs dirt road, etc) and have at least an outhouse or some basic bathroom facilities (or local fast food chain, rest area or other service nearby).

Vermont is easy - there's Mt Mansfield, and there's everything else. Camel's hump is worth a visit too, but Mansfield is far superior.
You can't go too far wrong in your choice of routes up Mansfield (good roads and facilities: ski town on one side, state park on the other), but bear in mind that some of the trails are strenuous: the Hell Brook trail is remarkably steep, and the Subway is reminiscent of Mahoosuc Notch, and even the Cliff Walk has sections that should be avoided if you're scared of heights. You can make a nice loop from the east with the AT/LT plus the ski slopes, or from the west with the sunset ridge and the CCC road.
Here's an overview map, it's not really complete. I'll have to go look to see where I found a decent Mt Mansfield map.
http://www.vtstateparks.com/pdfs/underhilltrails.pdf

New York is not my area of expertise, but the highest concentration of above-treeline views is in the Great Range. These peaks can be done as day trips, but camping is probably a better way to enjoy your trip.

Mansfield, Abraham, Ellen, Camel's Hump and Killington are all above tree line (or have views near by). All are easy enough to get to the trailheads.

Peaks above tree line in NY include Marcy, Haystack, Dix, Colden, Skylight, Cascade, Saddleback, Basin, Whiteface, Gothics, etc. Again, the roads are easily traveled.

Day Trip:

You might enjoy a there-and-back of Pico and Killington, starting and ending at the Inn at Long Trail, which I enjoyed very much the time I visited it. Sherburne Pass Trail up from the Inn, which is at the height of land on Rt 4, then a side trip to Pico, on to the A.T., up to Killi's spur. Both Pico and K have superb views. To get excellent southwest to southeast views from near K's summit, continue east on the trail past the summit, about 0.1 to the top of the ski area. There's a restaurant up there, and the clearings give views from Ascutney to Dorset.

There's a pretty good list of New York peaks here. Honestly, though, you can't go wrong with any of them. Here's the standard guide.

I second Nartreb's comments about Mansfield being the tops in Vermont. It's extensive trail network boasts a number of gems, particularly amongst its side trails (non-summit), & makes a it a good peak to redline. The GMC makes a good map.

Pick an off-peak time to do Camel's Hump. If you can spot a car: Bamforth Ridge>summit>Alpine trail>Monroe trail. Forest City>LT>Burrows Trail is probably the best loop.

App Gap to Lincoln Gap is nice day, & it will nab you two of the state's five 4k'ers. I love Mendon Peak, especially if you get the viewpoint to yourself on a clear day. You might pick up a copy of the GMC's Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont. It may have some good suggestions for southern Vermont.

My VT Choices: like others, Mansfield and Camel's Hump. For Mansfield, I prefer the western approach from Underhill State Park. Abraham is nice and bare at the very top and once there you might as well do Ellen. (The best view on Ellen is just north of the peak where they have the lift tower)

For NY, you have the Catskills and ADK's.

Catskills:The views from Hunter's tower steps, Blackhead & Black Dome along with Windham High and the peaks along the Devil's Path are all good. Some of the ADK driving distances from your house may be more in the 4 to 4.5 hour duration.

ADKs: Giant of the Valley may be the quickest high peak to get too although the Elk Lake area is about the same distance too. Trying to break up the Dix Traverse into a two day hike trip and tacking on a 4+ hour ride back home could be tough. You could do Macomb, East & South Dix. Officially not a maintained trail but the herd path to these is pretty easy to follow.

Cascade is usually the first of the ADK peaks climbed and among the easiest. Can be done with Porter and while a little bit longer of a drive, they have less elevation gain than Giant.

At some point, you may have to add an overnight either before or after to make the driving more tolerable. (In my younger days I did the get up at 4:00 drive to - usually NH- hike 8-10 hours and then drive back, often getting between 10-midnight. The rule of thumb used to be you had to hike longer than you drove, otherwise it was just a car trip and a chance to stretch your legs..... )

In addition, non-4K's Hopkins, Noonmark & Hurricane are very worthwhile.

If you aren't committed to driving up and back in the same day; You could use little river state campground for a base camp for Camels hump one day and Mansfield the other. I can't say enough about VT state campgrounds - notches better than most state's. I did camels hump with my non-hiking brother then he hung at the campground and used the CGs canoes and small trails why I did Mansfield the next. I did Mansfield as a loop up the north side on the LT and then down then down the slopes to the ski entrance. Both Mansfield and the hump have excellent views but in mid summer the peaks look like beaches with seals sunning on rocks with all the local day hikers, particularly Mansfield because of the auto road.

PS: you could probably get both Slide and Hunter in the Catskills, which are easy, in the same day. The village of Phoenicia, about halfway between, has excellent food offerings.

I haven't gotten to Mansfield yet, but I found Camels Hump particularly gorgeous.

Thanks all. Some good places to start researching trails.

Green Mountain Club website store sells lots of good materials for hiking in VT and you directly support the organization. http://www.greenmountainclub.org/ Their books and maps are also available lots of other places.

Day Hiker's Guide (mentioned and linked to in earlier reply) is excellent reference for non-LT/AT trails and peaks. Long Trail Guide is good reference for LT/AT and peaks along the way. They sell a good Wilderness Map Company waterproof hiking map of the whole LT, which includes distances, trailheads and nearby roads. They also produce themselves and sell some excellent waterproof hiking maps to various hiking areas around the state, which all include distances, trailheads and nearby roads: Manchester Area (with Stratton and Bromley), Killington Area (with Pico, Ascutney and Okemo), Camel's Hump, Mansfield and Northeast Kingdom. I own, and recommended, all of these.

If you're going to be driving around VT looking for trailheads, I also highly recommend the Delorme VT Atlas. It's not available from the GMC website store, but you can buy it most anywhere that sells maps.

Have fun!

DayTrip:

You may already be familiar with the University of New Hampshire's collection, posted online, of historic USGC topo maps of New England and New York. They're an excellent resource. If new to you, you can find them here: http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm

Also, Sam's - the outfitter with locations in Hadley, MA and Brattleboro, VT, in case they are new to you - carries the GMC maps. They are excellent. Sam's is a very good outfitter.

...And there are VT firetowers and GMC"s nice little booklet "360deg views" too...

There should be a ski resort list as every ski resort seems to have a hikeable trail to it, either by way of the LT/AT or otherwise.

Jay

My favorite Mansfield hike involves a loop including a traverse of the summit ridge and the Maple Ridge & Sunset Ridge Trails on the west side of the mountain. I would make an effort to see Mansfield that way rather then trying to bag Mansfield and Camel's Hump on the same trip, if it came down to that. Many locals consider Camel's Hump a "better" mountain since it is not developed like Mansfield, which has a major ski resort, auto road, summit buildings (on the ridge, not the true summit) and radio towers on it. Both mountains are very popular and heavily traveled year round. Camels hump also drops off in all directions from its bald summit, I like that. In its natural state, Mansfield would have more to it as far as open ridges and extended hiking in the open. Other great Vermont summits are Abraham (already mentioned), Hunger, and Belvidere (fire tower). I second the GMC guides already mentioned for good references. Th list is much longer in the ADKs, there is a better illusion of wilderness over there. I recommend the ADK High Peaks Region guide, that is just getting started. Several great peaks already mentioned. If I could do one & only one ADK hike, I would recommend the Gothics/Pyramid loop.

The GMC's Long Trail guide is a standard, and a VT Delorme atlas. Mansfield, as already said, has a lot of wonderful options for creative loop hikes. Camel's Hump is (rightfully) wildly popular. Burnt Rock isn't far away and is a nice hike with Hedgehog Trail (I think that's right). The whole section from Lincoln Gap to App Gap is great (including Abe, Ellen, John Stark). Pico and Killington both offer great views. North of Mansfield, you can make a loop from the east up Madonna and Whiteface Mountains. Way up north, Jay Peak is a delightful climb, and you can hit the Lake Willoughby area on the way (Mts. Pisgah and Hor). In southern Vermont, Ascutney, Stratton, Ludlow (fire towers), Shrewsbury, Equinox, Blue Ridge (limited views), and Bromley (open ski slopes) are all worthwhile.

I second the motion on Ascutney and Stratton. Ascutney, though shorter than Stratton, is much tougher. Both are civilized mountains and both have superb views improved by fire towers. I'd say do A via Wethersfield right after a good rain - it has a beautiful, tall waterfall about halfway up. As for Stratton, a loop including Stratton Pond is fun - very pretty place.

Agree of Gothics-Pyramid. From your area, for a day trip, with the exception of Cascade and Porter, (because overall the hike is shorter & a little easier than many other 4K's) staying on the east side of Keene Valley might be the limit of what I'd consider a day-hike with a drive to and from the mountain the same day. (Driven from Colchester to Seymour before but not back home. And some other really dumb day trips too....)

How long does it take you from where you are to get to Springfield, MA? (from Colchester, about an hour) Your commute may be similar to mine except it's 395/290 and then 90 westbound.

Either way, you'll want a High Peaks Guide, maybe a Central ADK guide and a Catskill's guide book and either a LT/AT Guide to VT or a Day-hiker's guide to VT. The VT books used to be pretty reasonable, (decades ago when I bought them), price wise but not as comprehensive as the WMG.

Mike P. said:

Agree of Gothics-Pyramid. From your area, for a day trip, with the exception of Cascade and Porter, (because overall the hike is shorter & a little easier than many other 4K's) staying on the east side of Keene Valley might be the limit of what I'd consider a day-hike with a drive to and from the mountain the same day. (Driven from Colchester to Seymour before but not back home. And some other really dumb day trips too....)

How long does it take you from where you are to get to Springfield, MA? (from Colchester, about an hour) Your commute may be similar to mine except it's 395/290 and then 90 westbound.

Either way, you'll want a High Peaks Guide, maybe a Central ADK guide and a Catskill's guide book and either a LT/AT Guide to VT or a Day-hiker's guide to VT. The VT books used to be pretty reasonable, (decades ago when I bought them), price wise but not as comprehensive as the WMG.

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Thanks for posting on this. I think you were the fellow CT resident that answered a question similar to this last year but I had forgotten who it was. I can get to the Rte 91 North junction on Rte 90 in about 55 minutes (under good traffic conditions). I have a job I do just outside of Troy, NY every January and I can usually get to Rte 87 N junction in Albany area in 2 hrs. That is what got me thinking it might be doable as a day hike.

It sounds like I am going to be disappointed with VT peaks but I am going to do them if for nothing else but to say I did them. I'm not a big fan of crowded hikes (which I was reminded of on Monadnock Sunday) and I also really do not like artificial structures at the top or along the way (like Wildcat, Cannon, Washington, etc). I talked to a guy for about 10 minutes Sunday coming down section of Pumpelly Trail who appears to have hiked all over New England who pretty much told me I wasn't going to like them.

After that, I'll have to see what makes sense for me in NY. I'd like to at least do the tallest peak in the State and maybe I'll have to cave in and carve out enough time to camp a night or hit a motel. We'll see.

DayTrip said:

It sounds like I am going to be disappointed with VT peaks but I am going to do them if for nothing else but to say I did them.

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FWIW, I loved the Vermont 4k/NEHH peaks, but in a very different way from NH. (ME is yet another animal.) VT is, to be cliche, pastoral: there's fields below so you're pretty much always going to have a reminder of human habitation, but it mostly melds well with the land. Mansfield I was on and off quickly and did from the north; the summit developments didn't register much. I did Equinox late afternoon/early evening and watching the setting sunlight fill up the valley on the west side is one of my favorite memories from the NEHH. Took advantage of the vending machine while I was at it. Jay was another great one despite the ski area...well, other than the top of the mountain being gone. Never had anything in VT like the mob scene on Baxter Peak, from which one can infer that Maine is a terrible place to hike if you like solitude

jniehof said:

FWIW, I loved the Vermont 4k/NEHH peaks, but in a very different way from NH. (ME is yet another animal.) VT is, to be cliche, pastoral: there's fields below so you're pretty much always going to have a reminder of human habitation, but it mostly melds well with the land. Mansfield I was on and off quickly and did from the north; the summit developments didn't register much. I did Equinox late afternoon/early evening and watching the setting sunlight fill up the valley on the west side is one of my favorite memories from the NEHH. Took advantage of the vending machine while I was at it. Jay was another great one despite the ski area...well, other than the top of the mountain being gone. Never had anything in VT like the mob scene on Baxter Peak, from which one can infer that Maine is a terrible place to hike if you like solitude

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For me, I've just enjoyed Vermont and its people, and I love its green, mountainous beauty. It is quite different from its "twin" state to the east, each with its own charm and selling points. I get the idea that for a less populated, good hiking experience, hitting some of Vermont's lower elevation Fifty Finest Peaks, below the hundred highest, might get you what you're looking for.

So your distance from 91/90 is about the same as mine then. Giant, the peaks reached from them the AMR (Ausable Club) and from Elk Lake are doable and Cascade Porter. (Okay most are reachable with a real silly start time and coming home really late too)

As far as VT, structures are not too bad. Camel's Hump has none so it's the gem. The Mansfield (Stowe ski area structures) are low enough that they don't really come into play. Granted on summer Saturdays you will get company from people riding up and then walking the rest, similar to what you get at Cannon, the elevation difference is greater though. From Route 4, the LT/AT is in the woods, near Killington (we heard the mt bikes and riders coming down the slopes) but isolated. The actual summit is just a short walk from the top lift but you don't really notice it from there. Abraham from Lincoln is bare and rocky, (I was up on a poor hazy day) while Ellen's actual summit is South Carter like. The clearing nearby offers a view of the Lake and ADK's you'll be happy to see.

I've been on just a few of the other peaks that make up the NE 100 in VT and those all had structures. (Pico, Stratton & Equinox. Also did Ethan Allen just south of Camel's hump & Hunger but they are not on the list, no structure though) Pico's view is filled with the ski operation, like Sugarloaf but without the Bigelows in your view. It may be the most marred of the views. Stratton has a small fire tower on top offering views from it's wooded summit. The ski area summit a bit further north also has views from the ski trails. Equinox has a building on top and a road. If you come up from the Seminary you avoid most of the development until the very top. Hunger is very worthwhile, Ethan Allen has a couple of views of Camel's Hump but overall it's similar to the NE Cannonball, mostly adds some climbing and distance to your hike to the area's main peak.