How to Hike New York’s 2nd Highest Mountain, Algonquin Peak
Algonquin Peak is a great hike for anybody who is able to physically climb this mountain. The views on this peak are incredible! I mean they should be, being the second highest part of New York. Mount Marcy is the tallest, being, roughly 200ft taller. Safe to say, you’ll get an awesome view at the top of Algonquin. In addition, many people who are completing their Adk 46, also pair this hike with Wright and Iroquois high peaks. This is how I hiked these 3 and highly recommend to aspiring 46ers.
Even if you are not completing your 46’s, this is still a great hike to incorporate all three of these peaks. Everyone has an awesome view. Now, please DO NOT attempt this hike if you are a beginner, this is a difficult hike, and I only recommend this to experienced hikers. However, with that being said, this is an “easier” difficult hike to complete.
Alright, in this article, you will learn about, Algonquin peak elevation, Algonquin peak hike, Algonquin peak trail, Algonquin peak difficulty, how to add Wright and Iroquois Peak, Algonquin peak AllTrails, Algonquin peak NY, Algonquin peak trailhead, Algonquin peak hike time, more about all of the 46 High Peaks, and much more.
This post is all about Algonquin Peak.
Algonquin Peak:
New York’s 2nd Highest Peak
As the heading says, Algonquin is New York’s second highest peak, standing at, 5,114ft. This peak, plus Wright, and Iroquois peak, are no joke. Mount Marcy (New York’s highest peak), is 5,344ft in elevation, so once you do Algonquin, you’re not that far from the highest. Iroquois comes in at New York’s 8th highest, at 4,840ft and Wright, at 4,580ft in elevation, being New York’s 16th highest. So yes, once you tackle these peaks, you will feel VERY accomplished.
How to Get to Algonquin Peak Trailhead
These peaks are located in Lake Placid, New York, at the Adirondack lodge. You will get on Interstate 87 North or South (depending where you are coming from), and stay here until exit 30. You will take exit 30, then take a left (or right, if coming southbound) onto route 73. In about 2-3 miles, you will come to an intersection, that you want to stay left, towards Lake Placid/Whiteface mountain.
You will stay on Route 73 for 13 miles, then you will come upon another slight intersection. For this intersection, you want to take a SLIGHT left towards the High Peaks, you will see a small sign for this on your right, informing you to stay left. For the next 11 miles, you will stay straight, then you will turn left onto Adirondack Loj Road. You will drive all the way down this road for about 4.7 miles, then come to an attendant window. It is $15 to park here, so I would check the weather before you drop the money, so you know it’s worth it (aka, try not to hike on a cloudy/rainy day).
Once you have paid the attendant, you will proceed to the parking area, which is on your left. If an attendant is not at the window, don’t worry. You can take an envelop from one of the boxes on the window. In this envelop you will get your parking pass then put your cash in the envelop and return back to the box. There are a couple different lots, and you can park where you feel. Also, they have bathrooms and an information center to your right. Once you park, you will walk towards the first parking lot, and come upon the trail registration/trail head. You can then write yourself and group in for the day, weekend, or however long your stay is. Then, you will walk straight onto the trail.
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Hiking to Algonquin Peak
Once on the trail, you will walk for about .7 of a mile, where you want to follow the signs straight for Algonquin. Then continue walking for about 2 miles, and you will see some more signs. You will see on a rock, a W (or wiggle) for Wright, SLIGHTLY to your left and straight for Algonquin. It’s very hard to see the sign for Algonquin on the rock, but there is a white sign where Algonquin is written vertically with an arrow pointing straight ahead.
If you want to solely hike Algonquin peak, then you will continue straight. However, if you wish to hike Wright and Iroquois peaks then, verge to your left towards Wright peak. Even if you aren’t completing all the 46 High Peaks, I still HIGHLY recommend hiking ALL three peaks. ALL of them have BEAUTIFUL summits, so, you won’t be disappointed.
Adding Wright and Iroquois Peak
If you are hiking to Wright, and stay to your left, then in about .4 of a mile, you will reach the summit! The summit on Wright is incredible. The first time I hiked these 3 peaks, Wright was in the clouds, and the skies didn’t open up until I reached Algonquin. So, the following summer, I re-hiked Wright on its own and it DID not disappoint. Wright has just as beautiful views as Algonquin. The summit is huge and you have 360 views of the Adirondack High Peaks. It’s absolutely gorgeous up there. Below is a picture on top of Algonquin, but if you go to the next picture, that is Wright on a clear day. Gorgeous! You can’t get better views.
All of these peaks are rock tops, so if this freaks you out, I would not advise doing any of these. But if not, then I HIGHLY recommend, because they are all AWESOME!! There are a couple difficult rock scrambles to climb, but overall, very manageable with the proper shoes/gear, and trekking poles if you want.
Now, to continue onto Algonquin, you will walk back the .4 of a mile that you did to get back to the trail intersection with the rock. This will be the rock with all the writings. Now, you will turn left to Algonquin. In about .7 of a mile, you will be at the summit of Algonquin Peak. Algonquin Peak is a lot like Marcy, in the sense, you will be walking a complete rock scramble/ridge line for about the last .7 of a mile. It’s beautiful. Algonquin is a spectacular mountain. It really does deserve all the love it gets, it really is something special.
Getting to Iroquois Peak
After I spent a decent amount of time at Algonquin, I headed to Iroquois. Iroquois is pretty tricky to find, I had to ask several people, if I was going the right way, and if I was finally, indeed, at the top. From Algonquin, you will walk down the other side of the mountain/slope, and follow the yellow markings on the rocks, and the different mounds of rocks/rock cairns.
When you reach the bottom of the mountain/slope, you will come upon a more enclosed area. There will be a sign saying to go left, but you want to go RIGHT for Iroquois. I repeat, you want to go RIGHT for Iroquois! If you go left, as the sign says, you will end up at a lake, and be even farther from where you parked.
Also, when you go right, the path is VERY NARROW, honestly, only one person can walk through it at time. It will make you feel like you went the wrong way, but it is the correct path. Now, I believe they have since changed this, and put new signs informing people where to go for Iroquois. So, it shouldn’t be as difficult to find. Iroquois is a REALLY COOL peak! It’s often overlooked, because it’s much harder to find and it’s not the 2nd highest peak in New York. But, it’s beyond WORTH it, to hike to! I would say it’s about a mile to a mile and a half from Algonquin.
{Related Post : Mount Marcy, New York’s Highest Peak}
Hiking Back & Overall Impressions
You can find the AllTrails directions here. I hiked this peak without AllTrails, but it’s so highly trafficked, that the AllTrails map is pretty accurate and will let you know if you’re on the wrong path. You really don’t need AllTrails until you hike to Iroquois, then it is helpful, so you take the correct right. To get back to Algonquin, you just follow the same trail that you took to get to Iroquois (just retrace your steps backwards). My phone said I had walked 13.1 miles, which I think is more accurate than what AllTrails says. I would allow yourself at least 8 hours to complete all three peaks. Algonquin peak elevation on its own is about 3,000ft of elevation gain. However, doing all four peaks is about 4,300ft of elevation gain.
However, if you are just planning on climbing Algonquin, I would allow yourself 5-6 hours (you’ll probably want to spend some time at the summit). On it’s own, Algonquin peak hike is about 9-10 miles. I arrived at the lodge around 7:45 am, on a Monday, and didn’t get back to my car until 5:30 pm. I also spent about a hour to an hour and half all together, at the different summits.
Overall, hiking all 3 of these peaks, was not bad. However, I was in really good hiking shape when I hiked these peaks and expecting a lot worse. As far as difficulty level goes, these three peaks are not horrible. But, I am comparing them to OTHER 46ers. Compared to other Adirondack hikes, Algonquin and adding the two other peaks is a DIFFICULT hike.
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Preparation for hiking Algonquin, Iroquois, and Wright peaks
As far as preparation goes, I brought a rain/wind breaker, which I highly recommend. Even if you hike this trail on a sunny summer day, the summits are usually always VERY windy, so I would bring it just in case. Now, I hiked these peaks in early fall, so, I brought gloves and a hat, and extra long underwear, and a sweatshirt, because when I hiked this trail, it was about 40 degrees up top (Fahrenheit).
In addition, I brought my 3 liter CamelBak, 3 cliff bars, 3 mini bottles of Gatorade and a HUGE bag of trail mix with me. I also had a bowl of cereal before I drove to the mountains, and a banana, right before I started hiking. Overall, I had a great time at these peaks, I hope for you, if you decide to hike these summits, you have a WONDERFUL experience too. Thank you so much for reading, and get hiking.
And that wraps up everything you need to know about Algonquin peak. I hope this article was helpful to you if you plan on hiking Algonquin, and adding Wright and Iroquois. Thank you so much for reading and get out there!
