Allen Mountain
ADK High Peak
Allen Mountain is said to be one of if not the toughest Adirondack 46er hike. It is about 20 miles for one peak, and is relatively flat for the first 8 miles, then VERY steep for the last 1.5-2 miles. This is not for the faint of heart. But this is a great challenge to complete and check off your 46er list. Allen and Redfield and Cliff are all said to be the roughest hikes of the 46er Challenge, after hiking Allen, I can see why.
Allen Mountain is located in Newcomb, New York. To start, you will get on Interstate 87 North or South (depending on where you are coming from). You will take Exit 26 towards US-9 and Pottersville. From the exit, you will take a left onto Valley Farm Road (or a right, if you are coming southbound), then in .4 of a mile you will take a right onto US-9. In .2 of a mile you will take a slight left turn onto Olmstedville Road, then continue on that road for 4.9 miles. In an additional 1.1 miles, you will keep left onto CR-29, then in .4 of a mile you will take a right onto Morse Memorial Highway. Then in .3 of a mile you will keep left onto A P Morse Memorial Highway, in 2.6 miles you will take a slight right turn onto NY-28.
In 14 miles you will take a right onto Blue Ridge Road, then in 1.2 miles you will take a left onto CR-25. In .4 of a mile you will keep left onto CR-25, then in 5.9 miles you will take a left onto CR-25. Then finally, in 3 miles your will arrive at your destination. Recently there has been construction work on the parking area here, so you will park at the Adam’s Mountain Fire Tower Parking Lot. There will be a sign above the parking lot to indicate the parking area. It is the same as the old parking lot for Allen and Adam’s Fire Tower, just with a new name.
The group I hiked Allen with, started around 4:30 in the morning to hike. We started by following signs for the Flowed Lands, which are about 8.1 miles away. Thus, we started by following the yellow trail markers towards the Flowed Lands. In about half a mile, a little less, we came to one of our first landmarks, the bridge crossing which looks like a VERY sketchy bridge, but you can walk on it. Then in another half a mile, a little less, you come upon Lake Jimmy, which is really pretty. Then in another half mile or so, you will see an abandoned cottage, and you will come to the trail spilt for Mount Adams Fire Tower, which are red markers. You DO NOT want to turn left here and follow the red markers, you will continue straight to the Flowed Lands on the East River Trail.
Your next landmark which is about 2-3 miles away, which will be the crossing of the Opalescent River. We all brought flip flops/scandals to cross the river. Most times you will have to cross in water, however on our way back, we did see another group cross on the rocks. There use to be an old bridge there, but it has since been removed, so you will have to cross in the water. It was really easy when we went, and this was after about 5 days of no rain, so the water level was pretty low. This is another tip I have when hiking Allen, make sure you hike it after several days (3-5 or more) of NO rain. This trail is notorious for being MUDDY. Also, there is a slide you have to hike up. When we crossed the river, it was chilly but it was only up to our ankles. Again, we lucked out, I have heard people that have crossed the river in waist deep water. So, just be aware.
The river is about 3.8 miles from the parking lot. Then in about 1.5 miles to 2 miles you will come upon another split. One for Mount Marcy and Lake Colden to your left (red markers) and then to your right, which is NOT marked. You want to go RIGHT. Even though the grass is over grown and there are no markers go RIGHT. My group and I made the wrong choice and went left. Thank goodness, my AllTrails app notified me and we back tracked, then asked another group which way, and they did confirm that the trail went right instead of left. Here is a link for the AllTrails Map for Mount Allen. I HIGHLY suggest getting pro, it’s pretty reasonable priced and the maps will add an extra layer of safety when hiking, so you don’t get lost.
The next landmark on this hike, is the gravel road that you will stay on very shortly, until you come to an opening that will lead you to yet another wooded unmarked trail. The gravel road is about 2 miles away from the Mount Marcy and Lake Colden split. The gravel road is where the old Allen Mountain trail registration use to be, but they have since gotten rid of it. From here, again, in about 2 more miles, you will see a rock cairn, indicating the start of the Allen Brook Trail herd path, to Allen Mountain. Here marks your ascendant. In this 1.5-2 mile radius, you will gain about 2,000f in elevation. The next landmark, which truly marks your ascendant is the Hanging Spiers Waterfall.
I recommend not bringing your hiking poles if you have a pair. There is a lot of technical climbing in this hike, and the poles will only get in the way. There are some river banks and a slide you will have to hike up. It gets kind of sketchy at times, but there are plenty of places you can avoid these obstacles, and the rocks are pretty grippy, again as long as you go after a couple days of no rain.
There are two nice lookouts at Allen, one is right before the summit, and the other is just past the summit. The actual summit of Allen Mountain is wooded. But there will be a plaque, indicating you have made it to the top. I hiked 10 miles one way, just to see that plaque, needless to say, I was very happy to see that sign.
To come back down, you will follow the same way down as you went up. In total, my phone said we hiked 20.1 miles, even though AllTrails says 17.7, I feel it is a true 20 miles.
In total it took myself and my hiking group, about 13 hours to hike this mountain, including the break times we had, walking time was probably around 11-12 hours. Realistically, if you are in a hurry, you could hike this in about 9.5 to 10 hours, but if you want to enjoy your hike, I would plan for about 11-12 hours. I will say the last 5 miles of this hike DRAGGED on, I was SO happy to finally see my car and the parking lot. So, just be ready for a long day and bring plenty of water, food, stay safe, and have fun. Thank you for reading and get hiking!
