How to Hike Allen Mountain High Peak in New York
ADK High Peak
Allen Mountain is said to be one of if not the toughest and most remote Adirondack 46er. It is about 20 miles round trip with little to no elevation gain until the and last 1.5-2 miles. In these almost 2 miles, you will gain about 2,000ft. This is A LOT. Safe to say this hike is not for the faint of heart.
This hike should ONLY be attempted by EXPERIENCED hikers, people in good HIKING SHAPE, and people who have some sort of map of the trail. All that being said, if you meet all the criteria listed above, this is a great challenge. In addition, it’s one heck of a mountain to cross off your 46er list!
In this article, you will read about Allen Mountain, Allen Mountain weather, Allen Mountain Adirondacks, Allen Mountain directions, Allen Mountain trail map, Mount Redfield, Cliff Mountain, Mount Marcy, Street Mountain, Rocky Peak Ridge, Armstrong Mountain, Table Top Mountain, Nye Mountain and more.
This post is all about Allen Mountain.
Allen Mountain :
Allen Mountain Directions
Allen Mountain is located in Newcomb, New York. If you are coming from the Albany area, 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. 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. Finally, in 3 miles your will arrive at your destination. The parking lot has been redone, so you will park at the Adam’s Mountain Fire Tower Parking Lot. There will be a sign above the parking area indicating where to park. It is the same as the old parking lot for Allen and Adam’s Fire Tower, just with a new name.
{Related Article : How to Hike Phelps and Table Top Mountain}
Allen Mountain Weather
Allen is just like the other high peaks in the Adirondacks, sometimes the weather is great and other times rain and thunder will come out of nowhere. The biggest thing when hiking these longer hikes (longer than 10 miles), is being prepared. This means brining the right equipment, and enough food and water. Also, having good judgement, is very important. If the weather is quickly getting worse, then just turn around. You do not want to be in the woods in a thunder and lightning storm. I know the goal is to summit but safety is more important. I’ve had to re-hike mountains because of bad weather and it’s a pain but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
In the summer is when most people hike Allen. A lot of people wait for a couple days of no rain to climb Allen. This is because Allen has its famous red slime on its slide. This red slime is very slippery, especially if it’s been raining for a couple days. You can hike Allen in the winter and walk over Lake Jimmy that will save you a couple miles. Please wait until the ice is completely frozen to walk over the lake. I would wait until late January or February.
Allen Mountain Adirondacks
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. This was marked by yellow trail markers, so we flowed those until 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 I promise, 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. This is where you will come to a 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/sandals to cross the river. We did hike Allen after a couple days of no rain, so the river was only up to our mid calves when we crossed it. The water was still very cold even in August. So, you might want to bring Crocs or water shoes instead of flip flops. There use to be an old bridge there. However, it has since been removed, so you will have to cross the river.
{Related Post : Armstrong Mountain and the Lower Range}
Allen Mountain Trail Map
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. We then asked another group which way was the correct trail to Allen, 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, in about 2 more miles, you will see a rock cairn. This indicates 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 2,000ft in elevation. The next landmark, which truly marks your ascendant is the Hanging Spiers Waterfall.
More Things to Know About Allen Mountain
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 (unless you hike Allen in the winter season). 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 the obstacles. Also, 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.
{Recommended Post : Mount Marcy & Rocky Peak Ridge}
Hiking Back to the Parking Lot
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 (this is why most people wait to hike this in the summer for more daylight). 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.
Final Thoughts About Allen Mountain
Overall, Allen was not my list favorite high peak. Now, that doesn’t mean, I would be eager to hike it again, but I would re-hike this mountain 10 times more before I ever re-hiked Mount Redfield and Cliff Mountain. Yes, in my opinion, Redfield and Cliff are the WORST high peaks. Yes, Allen might be one of my least favorites but it is by far, NOT my least favorite. I would rate Allen a 6 out of 10. Whereas, Cliff and Red I rate a 2 out of 10. I would rate it a zero out of ten but I enjoyed being outside on that day and after MANY days later and LOTS of thought, I did appreciate the challenge. With all that being said, thank you so much for reading and get hiking!
