How to Hike the 4321 Hiking Challenge in the Adirondack Mountains of New York

The 4321 hiking challenge is located in upstate New York, in the Indian Lake region of the Adirondack mountains. I first discovered this challenge from my dad, who wanted to explore more regions of the Adirondacks. In the Indian lake region, the 4321 challenge allows you to hike 4 easy hikes (either short or flat in distance), then 3 moderate hikes (greater elevation gains and in distance), then 2 challenging hikes, and then, lastly, 1 cap (one of their hardest rated trails).

In this post you will read all about the 4321 hiking challenge, how to complete this challenge, how to obtain the patch for the 4321 hiking challenge, more about Adirondack hiking challenges, hiking challenges near me, and more.

4321 Hiking Challenge:

Beginner Trail List

Okay, for the first part of the 4321 hiking challenge, you will have to hike 4 easy/beginner trails. Here are all beginner trails that I recommend hiking.

Buttermilk Falls

For this part of the challenge, we hiked Buttermilk Falls, which is one of the furthest trails to travel to. To get to this trail, you want to stay on 28S (coming from Diamond Point), then go a little under 45 miles, and turn right onto, NY-28N E/NY-30 N. Then drive almost 8 miles and turn left onto, North Point Road. You will be on North Point Rd for about 2 miles and then you will see a trail marker for Buttermilk Falls on your right. This trail is VERY short, basically you park, and you’re there. But the falls are really pretty.

Bull Head Pond

The next easy trail we completed was Bull Head Pond. This trail is slightly longer than Buttermilk Falls, being about 1.2 miles round trip. To get to this trail, you will drive on route 28S for about 32 miles, then turn right onto Chain Lakes Road, and you will reach the parking area in about 1.5 miles. It is an extremely buggy trail, so be prepared. To get to the trail, you have to drive down a dirt road for about half a mile. At the end of the trail, there is a nice lookout of the lake.

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Rock Lake

The next beginner trail we hiked was Rock Lake. Roundtrip this hike is about 1 mile, and very flat. To access this trail, you will drive along route 28S for about 39 miles, and then you will see signs for Rock Lake on your right. The beginning of the trail is a little narrow, and it does easily get muddy. At the end of this trail, you will come to several different openings of the lake and looking up at the surrounding mountains, it is really beautiful.

Ok Slip Falls

Are next beginner trail we hiked is Ok Slip Falls, which is one of the biggest waterfalls in New York. Ok Slip falls is located right off of route 28, you will see the sign for the parking area on your left, it is very easy to see and get to. After you park, you will have to walk along the highway for about .3 of a mile, then you will see on your left (lookers left, you have to cross the highway), the trail head. There will be signs informing you where to go, so don’t worry, you won’t get lost.

When we hiked, which was in mid May, the trail was very wet and mucky with still some snow left. You will first follow the red trail, then you come to an intersection and then follow the blue trail for the rest of the hike. The total distance of this trail is roundtrip, but when I finished my iPhone said I had walked 7 miles. At first, while, hiking this trail, I thought to myself, oh, this is a nice leisurely walk through the woods, then I got to the falls and realized I had to walk 3 more miles to get back to the car. Thus, although this trail is relatively flat, it is LONG. But again, the view of the falls is marvelous.

More Easy/Beginner Trails to Choose From

Barker Pond, Blue Ledges (need all wheel drive for this, dirt/unpaved roads)
Cedar River
Clear Pond North
Clear Pond South
Dug Mountain Brook Falls (boat access needed)
Grass Pond & Upper and Lower Sargent Pond
Grassy Pond
Hudson/Indian River Confluence
John Mack Pond
John’s Pond
Lost Pond
Old Farm Clearing
Old Kunjamuk Road
Pashley Falls Loop and Elm Island Extension
Rock River (many trees down)
Ross Whortleberry and Big Bad Luck Ponds
Secret Falls
Sprague Pond
Tirrell Pond.

Moderate Trails

The next part of this challenge is to hike 3 hikes that are considerate intermediate or moderate trails. Here are the different hikes you can choose from.

Sawyer Mountain

The mountains we chose to hike for this part of the challenge are Sawyer, Watch Hill, and Castle Rock. Sawyer Mountain is a pretty well known trail, is very easy to find, attracts a lot of traffic, and is not too difficult of a climb. Sawyer mountain is located off of route 28/30 going towards Indian and Blue Mountain Lakes, in New York. The trail head and parking area are parallel to the highway on your left, and are very easy to find. There will be a sign indicating the next quarter of a mile Sawyer Mountain parking area and trail. There is limited parking, only about 5 cars maximum (give or take) can fit, so on weekends, you might want to arrive early.

This mountain is very well marked throughout the entire trail, when my dad and I hiked it in mid spring, there were some fallen branches down, so be aware of that. The summit is a small area, again you might want to get here early, so you can avoid a crowded summit. But the view is decent, it shows a great scene of the surrounding mountains. Round trip this hike is about 2 miles, and it’s moderately steep near the middle to the end of the trail. Overall, it is a great hike, easy to find and follow, and not too much cardio to get to the summit.

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Watch Hill

The next moderate trail, my dad and I completed was Watch Hill Trail. This is a really nice trail, with a good overlook of Indian Lake and the surrounding mountains. It is a rock summit, and does not have too much room to move around, thus it feels like you’re on the edge of the world. The first part of the trail is very open, and then near the middle to end, it becomes pretty steep. When you’re hiking along the steeper parts, you will enter more of an enclosed forest looking area, which was really pretty.

Round trip this trail is 2.2 miles, and again, very manageable. It is very easy to get to, it is on the south end of Indian Lake, off of route NY-30 S. And then you will drive about 8 miles, and you will see the sign for Watch Hill Trail on your left. Again, this trail is very easy to find, there are no dirt roads, and you will see the sign for this trail and parking area. Overall, this trail really took me by surprise from how much I enjoyed it.

Castle Rock Trail

The final moderate trail my dad and I completed was Castle Rock Trail. Boy, is this trail beautiful. I really only picked this trail because I think this is a place in Game of Thrones and I love that show, so I wanted to hike the trail that was associated with the tv series. Anyways, this trail is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. Again, you drive on route 28/30 going towards Blue Mountain Lake.

Once you arrive at Blue Mountain Lake, you will come to a fork in the road, and you want to turn right onto 28N, and then you will drive about 2 miles, onto Maple Lodge Road, and you will take a left. There will also be a sign saying, Castle Rock Trail, and that is the left hand turn you want to make. This road is fine at the beginning, then becomes rougher and more narrow for about half a mile. Then you will see a sign for a conference center, you want to continue to drive past the conference center and you will go over two small bridges, and then you will see the trail head for Castle Rock.

You can also access Sargent pond trail from this trail head, but it’s a much longer hike than Castle Rock. Round trip Castle Rock is about 3 miles. And when you start on the trail, you will walk onto some private property for about half a mile. And there will be red trail markers along the trees, guiding to the right path. Once you are off private property, you will come to another trail head, and you want to bare right. Then you will come to yet again, another trail head, telling you to veer left and this time you will start to follow the yellow trail markers.

Then you will walk about .7 of a mile and see a cave like structure, be careful because this is how my dad and I got lost. However, after re-tracing our steps for about 5 minutes, we quickly re-found the trail markers and were back on the right path. Also, you want to stay to the right of the cave, and shortly after the cave you will start your ascent up. The last tenth of a mile is very steep, and there are some rock climbs, but then you are at the summit. It is an all rock summit, but has decent space, and is an INCREDIBLE view of Blue Mountain Lake.

Difficult Trails

Alright, if you have stuck through to the third portion of this challenge, congratulations, because you are almost done! So, for this second to last part of the 4321 hiking challenge, you will have to complete 2 difficult/hard trails to hike. Here are the trails you can choose from.

For this part of the challenge, I hiked Snowy and Wakely Mountains. However, I recommend hiking Pillsbury, Vanderwhacker, and or Wakley for this part of the challenge, because they will be the least difficult out of the six. However, to get to these mountains you will need four wheel drive, because they are all located on dirt/unpaved roads.

Pillsbury Mountain

Pillsbury Mountain is located near Speculator, New York, and is a total of 3.1 miles roundtrip, and has a fire tower at the summit. This is a lightly trafficked trail, and does require driving on dirt roads to access. There are two parking areas for this trail, the first one, you may park at, but will have to walk an additional mile or so, both ways. And the second parking lot, requires you to drive along an even sketcher road, but you will not have to walk the additional milage. However, you manage to get to this trail, it does offer great views of the surrounding area.

Vanderwhacker Fire Tower

Next trail on the list is, Vanderwhacker. This trail is a lightly trafficked trail, located near Minerva, New York. It is a total of 6.1 miles and also has a fire tower at its summit. This hike is slightly harder than Pillsbury, unless you take the longer route for Pillsbury. In addition, this hike offers a great view of several different high peaks in the distance.

Wakely Mountain Fire Tower

Alright, our second to last trail on this list, is Wakely Mountain. Wakely is located near Sabael, New York, and is a total of 5.7 miles. This is a fairly popular trail, which also has a fire tower up top. I would say all of these trails are fairly similar in difficulty level, again if you choose to take the longer path to Pillsbury. In addition Wakely, offers another great view of its surrounding mountains, and again, there is a platform where you can see a view if you choose not to climb the fire tower. But as always, the better view is up the fire tower.

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Cap Trail (Final One)

For the final part of the 4321 hiking challenge, you can either hike Blue or Snowy Mountain. We hiked Blue Mountain, which is rightfully so, a DIFFICULT trail. It is STEEP from the start.

When my dad and I started this hike, we thought it was 4 miles round trip, with a heavy incline. However, after we hiked, my phone said we walked 6.4 miles. And then I researched the trail more, and it is in fact more than 4 miles, it is about 5.5 miles roundtrip. Thus, when starting your ascent, you walk about 2.5 miles ALL uphill. That being said the view is STUNNING. However, you do have to walk up the stairs of the fire tower to see the view. Seriously, there are mountains all around you with a gorgeous view of Blue Lake, it’s very pretty.

Blue Mountain Fire Tower

To drive to Blue Mountain, from Saratoga Springs, NY, you want to take interstate, 87 North. And stay on 87 North until exit 23. Get off at exit 23, and turn left. Then at the next stop light, you will veer right. Then in about 4 miles you will turn left onto NY-28, and stay on this road for 45 miles. You will go through the village of Indian Lake, then come into the village of Blue Mountain Lake, and at the stop sign, turn right onto NY-28N & 30N.

You will stay on 28N & 30N until you see the sign for Blue Mountain parking, which will be on your right (no more than 5-10 minutes). The parking area is decent size, however this trail gains a lot of traffic, thus I would still arrive early in the summer (no later than 9am).

You will follow the red trail markers for this hike. At the beginning, you will not see the trail markers for about .45 of a mile, so be aware of that. Also, this trail is extremely rocky, there are a few rock climbs/scrambles. My dad and I were extremely happy to arrive to the top of this mountain, it is a tough climb, but well worth it. Also, I would advise to bring lots of water for this hike, I like to bring two 32oz water bottles, or a Camelbak.

How to Obtain the 4321 Hiking Challenge Patch

After you have completed this challenge, you can get the patch for it. All you have to do is fill out this form, take pictures of yourself at all the summits, then send it to the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce Office, which is located in downtown Indian Lake. The office is located at 6301 NYS Route 30. You will also have to pay a $5 fee. And then you will officially have completed the challenge.

And that wraps up this article about the 4321 hiking challenge. The Indian and Blue Mountain Lake regions of the Adirondacks are a beautiful and peacefully place to explore. And they do not get the crowds that Lake Placid and Lake George do. They are also a great introduction into hiking the Adirondacks, especially if you are interested in hiking the Adirondack 46ers. Thank you so much for reading and get hiking!

This post was all about the 4321 hiking challenge, how to complete this challenge, how to obtain the patch for the 4321 hiking challenge, more about Adirondack hiking challenges, hiking challenges near me, and more.