Lake George Hiking: Sunrise Mountain & Jabe Pond
This past weekend, my friends and I hiked the Jabe Pond path, in Bolton Landing, New York. This is a great hike for immediate hikers, as the summit is not too far. It is about 1.5 miles to the summit of Sunrise, but very uphill throughout the entire hike. After the summit, to get to the pond it is another 1-1.5 miles, thus roundtrip this path is about 6 miles. However, my friends and I did get lost a couple of times, thus the total milage is probably, more around 4-5 miles roundtrip.
Traveling to this trail, is fairly easy, but you might miss the parking area. From Albany, NY, you want to, get onto interstate, 87 North. Then, you will take exit 24, toward NY-9N and US-9, and drive about 24 miles (give or take). On your left you will see a tiny parking area, that only holds about 5 cars maximum. This parking lot is VERY easy to miss, it will be right before you see Sunrise road. Keep in mind the parking lot is on your left and Sunrise road is on your right. Thus, once you see the sign for Sunrise road on your right, you’ve gone too far.
Once you have parked, the trail is to the right of the parking area, and you will follow that until you reach an intersection. This intersection will have different signs for which trails to follow and what color the trail markers are. For the Jabe Pond loop, you want to follow the Bob James trail. However, to start, you can just follow Sunrise Mountain trail, because they both go to the summit of Sunrise.
You will follow the red trail markers all the way to Sunrise summit. When hiking to the summit of Sunrise, it’s uphill the ENTIRE way. The last bit of this trail is extremely steep, so be prepared for that. But, the views are very pretty, I felt like I had stepped into Scotland and the Highlands, it is so majestic.
This would be a great hike to watch the sunrise or sunset at, as it is not too long, but still has an incredible view (hence it’s name, Sunrise Mountain!). I would definitely advice you to bring headlamps if you wish to do this, you can find some here.
On your way down, if you only wish to hike Sunrise, then just follow the same trail up, to go down. However, if you want to continue to Jabe Pond, follow the white markers, which are past the summit. There will be an intersection, informing you if you wish to continue to the pond, or a couple other trails accessible from this hiking region as well.
Once on the trail to the pond, you will follow the North Jabe trail to the red trail, then to the white trail, then you will follow the blue trail. The blue trail will bring you to a parking lot, which means you’ve made it to the pond. Walk past the parking lot, and you will find the pond (lake, it’s a pretty big body of water). There is also another hiking/walking trail that goes along the pond.
There are many places you can sit and relax at, when you are at the pond. You can also kayak at the pond, and there is a way to access the parking lot, where you do not have to hike Sunrise Mountain. However, to get to the pond parking lot, you will need a vehicle with four wheel drive and a high under clearance, it is mostly dirt and rough roads.
To get back to the Sunrise parking lot, go back the way you came. So you will travel back through the parking lot, and onto the blue trail. There will be the same intersection that you pasted on your way to the pond, and again, you want to follow the Bob James trail.
Be very careful, because it is very easy to get lost coming back, because there are so many other trails you can access from this hiking area. There are also many more intersections you will come across, so again, just make sure you follow the Bob James trail.
Also, you can download the AllTrails app, that will tell you where to go, that you can follow when you are hiking as well. That being said, this is a great loop, that you can easily make into an afternoon or all morning hike. You can stop at the pond and have lunch, take a little swim, kayak, or do more walking around the pond! All around, this is a great hike, and great way to spend your day!
Pole Hill Pond
Another great hike to do within the Adirondacks is the Pole Hill Pond loop, where you hike Pole Hill and it’s pond. This trail is a beautiful hike that goes along lake George, New York, specifically in Bolton Landing. My friends and I found this trail on All Trails app, which is a great app. This hiking trail is about 45 minutes from Saratoga Springs, New York, about an hour and 25 minutes from Albany, New York, and about four and a half hours from New York City. If you want a nice weekend gateway from NYC, definitely look into staying in the Lake George, Adirondack mountain region.
The drive to Pole Hill Pond, is not bad, because the trail is located right off the main road. However, the parking area is very limited, there is only room for about four cars. So, get there early if you want to hike! The Pole Hill Pond trail, is a loop that encounters a summit and a gorgeous pond. There were two times, my friends and I, thought we had arrived at the summit and pond, but they were merely fakes, and much smaller than the real deals!
This trail, if you follow the blue, is very steep, and really gets the blood pumping, so be ready for that. Also, the trail was about two miles longer than what was written on the trail head and All Trails. On the trail head it said the loop was 4.5 miles, although, when we finished, my phone informed us, we had walked a little over 7 miles. Overall, this was a beautiful hike, the summit was gorgeous and I have pictures below to show you all what it looked like and a link to some video footage of the hike!
There is also another way to the top, if you do not wish to follow the blue trail, as it is pretty steep at parts. If you wish to follow a more gradual incline, there is the yellow trail you can follow instead. However, I am not sure if the yellow trail is longer than the blue, so I would keep that in mind as well, if you are interested in the yellow trail. I think my favorite part of the hike was the pond. The pond was gorgeous and immensely serene, my friends and I even put our feet in the water, and it wasn’t too cold! But, if you are looking for a beautiful summit and maybe a swim after your ascent, than this is a great trail for you to check out!
