How to Hike Giant Mountain & Rocky Peak High Peaks

Giant Mountain, oh boy, what a hike! Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak are located in Keene, New York, which is apart of the Adirondack Mountains. They are also, apart of the Adirondack 46er Challenge. Giant is the 12th highest peak out of the 46ers and Rocky is the 20th.

This truly is one heck of a mountain to climb because when I say you go UP the entire time, I am NOT lying. Also, to add Rocky Peak it adds about 1,000ft more of elevation gain. Together, they are a little over 4,000ft of elevation gain in about 4.5 miles. That is A LOT. Anything where the elevation gain is about 1,000ft per mile, YOU ARE huffing and puffing the WHOLE time.

There are NO flat portions, if the elevation gain is about 1,000ft per mile or more. That’s why this hike is so insane because for the the first 4.5 miles you truly have no relief, until, you get to the Giant and Rocky Peak trail split which is basically at the top of Giant. When you turn onto Rocky Peak, the first half is all down. However, it is a VERY steep down, then it’s moderately up the other half. Definitely the worse part of this hike is getting to Giant Mountain. That is where you will encounter the MOST elevation gains or steepness.

Okay, enough of that being said, here is how you can hike Giant & Rocky Peak and also some other general tips and advice when hiking these two peaks. In this article, you will learn about Giant Mountain Adirondacks, Giant Mountain parking, Giant Mountain Wilderness, Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge, Roaring Brook Trail, Giant Mountain hike, and more.

This article is all about Giant Mountain.

Giant Mountain:

Giant Mountain Trailhead Parking

To get to Giant Mountain parking and trailhead, you will get on Interstate 87 North or South (depending on where you are coming from) and drive to Exit 30, towards Lake Placid and Keene, New York. You will then take a left (if coming from 87 North, a right if coming from 87 South) from the exit, onto Route 73. In about 2-3 miles you will come upon a pretty wacky intersection, where you will want to stay left towards White Face and Lake Placid. Then you will continue on Route 73 for about 4 miles until you see parking signs for Giant Mountain, and that’s where you will park.

You will park here if you want to hike Giant, Rocky Peak, or Giant’s Nubble. You can also camp here, there are designated sites on the trail. Now going back to directions, you can park on either side of the road, however, the trail head is on your right (for all the hikes). Now, it does get pretty crowded here on the weekends and anytime during June to mid October. If you plan to hike Giant and or Rocky Peak on a weekend, June through October, then I would get to the trailhead no later than 7:30am because of the crowds. Giant is one of the most popular high peaks to hike, because it is so easy to get to.

These parking lot/trailhead directions are for the Ridge Trail, which I recommend over the Roaring Brook Trail because you get more views. Also, the Ridge Trail is easier to get to and has more available parking spaces than the Roaring Brook parking lot/trail. However, if you did want to hike Giant via the Roaring Brook trail, you would just continue on Route 73 (straight) for another 1.3 miles after the Ridge Trail parking area. In 1.3 miles, you will turn right into the parking lot for the Roaring Brook Trailhead.

{Related Post : How to Hike the Entire Dix Mountain and Range}

Giant Mountain & Rocky Peak Ridge via the Ridge Trail

Now, Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge are two GREAT advanced hikes, and High Peaks to cross off your 46er list. These two peaks are not too long in mileage (compared to other 46ers), however, they do have HUGE elevation gains. Seriously! A lot of people tend to hike Giant and Rocky Peak after hiking Cascade and Porter. However, I would advise NOT to hike Giant and Rocky Peak after Cascade and Porter.

I say this because Giant and Rocky Peak’s elevation gains, are about 1,000ft per mile, which is STEEP. A thousand foot elevation gain is about equal to climbing 100 flights of stairs. To put this more into perspective, the Eiffel Tower is about 100 flights of stairs. Also, Cascade and Porter are RIDICULOUSLY easy compared to ANY of the other 46ers. They are literally scams compared to the others.

To start on the Ridge Trail, the trailhead is on your right. There is an opening with a trailhead sign that will tell you where to begin. You will walk down this path for a little bit then quickly come upon the sign in/registration box. You can sign in then on your way down, remember to sign back out. After you sign in, you will continue straight on that path.

{Related Post : How to Hike Mount Marcy, Gary & Skylight}

Continue Onto the Ridge Trail

The trail is pretty easy to follow because it’s so highly trafficked the trail is pretty worn in. There are also trail markers on the trees but not many, so I wouldn’t solely rely on them. If you follow the AllTrails map you will be fine. Also, there will be plenty of other people nearby, so just follow the crowd. That being said, the first part (before you get to the washbowl), can be tricky to follow because the trail markers are so sparse. But, again if you follow AllTrails and the people around you, you will be fine. There are a lot of switch backs on the first part, so I would be on the lookout for them.

I consider, Giant’s Washbowl to be the first marker, and that is about half a mile (little more) from the parking lot. From there, you will follow the sign towards Giant and Rocky Peak. You will come to another intersection a little bit after and there you will go to your right towards Giant Mountain. Or you could go left towards Giant’s Nubble.

To get to Giant Mountain you will continue on the trail for another 1.6 miles give or take. Then you will come across another trail split about .2 from the summit of Giant. This is where you can go right towards Rocky Peak Ridge. To get to Rocky Peak it will take another mile to mile and a half. There are no trail markers but again it’s pretty worn in and easy to follow. You again, could always follow AllTrails. Also, keep in mind there are no water places to refill your water, so bring ENOUGH water especially in the summer.

Giant Mountain Roaring Brook Trail

Now, to hike these two peaks via the Roaring Brook Trail, it’s a little more elevation gain and a little more mileage. I’ve never hiked Giant or Rocky Peak this way but I’ve driven past the the parking lot for this trail several times. To get to this parking lot/ trailhead, you will follow the same directions as getting to the Ridge Trail. Only continue on Route 73 for 1.3 more miles, then take a right into the parking lot.

The trailhead is near the beginning of the parking lot and that is where you will beginning your hike. This way takes about 9-9.5 miles to hike both mountains with a 4,721ft elevation gain. Again, follow the trail markers, the worn in path, and or AllTrails.

New Russia Trailhead

A third way to hike Giant and Rocky Peaky Ridge are via the New Russia Trailhead. This is located on the backside of Rocky Peak. To get here you follow the same directions but, when you get to the intersection between Whiteface/Lake Placid and Elizabethtown, you will stay right towards Elizabethtown & US-9N instead of towards Whiteface & Lake Placid. Stay straight for about 4.8 miles, then you will see a fairly large parking lot on your left to park in. You can also access Bald Peak from this parking area.

I would only advice hiking this way if you want to hike Rocky Peak Ridge because just to get to Rocky Peak alone, the total trip will be about 11.7 miles with an elevation gain of 4,806ft. That’s a lot, thus, I would only do this if you want to hike Rocky Peak and you want a challenge.

{Related Post : How to Hike the Seward Range}

Giant Mountain Hike Time

In terms of how long Giant mountain hike plus Rocky Peak takes to complete, I would allow yourself at least 7-8 hours to complete this hike. To hike both these peaks, it is about 9 miles with an elevation gain of over 4,000ft. If you just want to hike Giant Mountain, it is about 6 miles with an elevation gain of about 3,000ft.

I would consider myself a moderate pasted hiker, meaning, the time AllTrails says it will take to hike a mountain, is usually how long it takes me, maybe 30 minutes less. And AllTrails says about 7-8 hours, so again, I would allow this much time. I also stayed at the top of Rocky Peak for about 30 minutes the last time I hiked these, so I would allow yourself some time at the top as well.

Usually you can take the total mileage in half and divide by two and that’s how long it will take you to complete your hike, plus adding 1-2 hours for breaks. However, Giant and Rocky Peak are WELL over this estimate and it’s ALL because of their elevation gains.

Giant Mountain Difficulty

This is another reason why I think Giant and Rocky Peak is such a difficult hike. I think after you hike more high peaks/harder peaks and you build up your stamina/endurance/elevation gains, you’ll be MUCH better off to hike Giant and Rocky Peak. Together, Giant and Rocky are about 8.5-9 miles, with an elevation gain of over 4,000ft. Again, these two high peaks are NO joke, and I don’t think they should be the second high peak trip that people try and conquer, because they are DIFFICULT climbs.

I would suggest doing Street and Nye or Big Slide, after hiking Cascade and Porter. I say this because even though the mileage is more than Cascade and Porter, the elevation gains are not nearly as bad as Giant and Rocky Peak. Cascade and Porter have an elevation gain of a little over 2,000ft. And Street and Nye have about a 2,600ft elevation gain and are about 2.5 miles longer than Cascade and Porter. Street and Nye are about 9 miles together and Cascade and Porter are about 6.5 miles together. Also, Street and Nye are trail-less trails, once you get to a certain point. Thus, I would advise doing research before you go, and bring some sort of trail map, or follow, AllTrails.

{Related Post : How to Hike Street & Nye High Peaks}

Other Mountains to Hike with Giant & Rocky Peak

In addition to Giant and Rocky, you can also hike Giant’s Nubble. This is a great beginner hike that is also accessible via the Ridge Trail trailhead. You can also hike this one on its own, without Giant and Rocky. Giant’s Nubble is about 3 miles round trip, give or take. You will follow the signs to Giant Mountain (blue trail markers) and Giant’s Washbowl. Then you will see signs for Giant’s Nubble, and that’s when you want to start following signs to Nubble instead of Giant Peak/Mountain (follow the yellow markers instead of blue). There are some steep parts, but totally doable. The view, is STUNNING, especially for a short hike!

Giant Mountain Wilderness

Giant Mountain Wilderness (where Giant, Rocky Peak, Giant’s Nubble & more are located) encompasses 23,100 acres of land, with 6 different hikes (2 being Adk 46ers), and 5 different bodies of water to fish or kayak in. You can hike, fish, swim, hunt, snowshoe, cross-country ski, and much more as well in this area.

Another great hike apart of this wilderness area, is Owl’s Head Lookout, this is more of a moderate hike, but is SUPER BEAUTIFUL! It’s kind of a hidden gem. Because of it’s location, many people don’t know it’s there. Also, a lot of people get it confused with Owl’s Head Fire Tower, which is located in Long Lake, NOT Keene. Hopkins trail is also a hidden gem that most people miss, simply because it’s trailhead/parking sign is very low-key. Bald Peak and Baxter Mountain are also great hikes, but are more popular and easier to get to.

{Related Posts : Different Mountain Ranges in Keene Valley, NY}

Giant Mountain Wilderness Camping

You can camp at a couple different locations, in the Giant Mountain Wilderness, but only at designated camping sites. The designated sites will have yellow marks with black arrows and tents on them, indicating you can camp there. There are some rules to follow though, if you want to camp in the Adirondacks. Specifically, no campfires (on certain sides of the mountains), following “Leave no Trace” rules and regulations, and no camping above 3,500ft. Here is more information about camping in the Adirondacks. Also, here is more information, specifically about Giant Mountain Wilderness.

Giant Mountain Wilderness Swimming

Okay, after you die on Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge, a great way to cool down is by swimming, specifically, at Chapel Pond. Chapel Pond is a quick walk down the street from the Ridge Trail. You can could drive to it, because Chapel Pond does have its own parking area. However, the parking area is usually full during the summer, so I would walk.

{Related Post : How to Hike the Santanoni Range}

There is also a great spot to swim shortly into your hike at Owl’s Head Lookout, that is wonderful. However, I do forget the name of it, but you will see it, you can’t miss it. So, just remember to bring a bathing suit or extra pair of clothes when hiking Owl’s Head Lookout.

And that wraps up our article about the Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak. I hope you learned some great new hikes, and bodies of water to swim at, or camp at in addition to Giant and Rocky. The High Peaks and Keene Valley, New York have truly become one of my favorite places in the U.S., especially because I am a hiker and outdoor lover. Thus, I’m sure if you enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, you will love this this area as well. Thank you so much for reading and take care!

In this article, you will read about Giant Mountain Adirondacks, Giant Mountain parking, Giant Mountain Wilderness, Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge, Roaring Brook Trail, Giant Mountain hike, and more.