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14095 Hits
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74.92% Score
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5 Votes
Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon:
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43.80279°N / 74.33483°W |
County:
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Hamilton |
Activities:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Elevation:
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2600 ft / 792 m |
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Overview
Sawyer Mountain is an enjoyable short hike in the central Adirondack Mountains. The standard 1-mile trail starts at 1960 feet elevation, directly off of NY State Highway 28/30. The 640-foot climb to the summit makes a pleasant brief diversion, and can easily be done in an hour. The trail is well marked. Ledges close to the top provide great views to the north and east of the Adirondack High Peaks. The actual summit is wooded. Well, according to the topo. map, the trail doesn't cross the actual summit. The trail continues over the top of the ridge to a ledge with views to the west of the Cedar River Valley. The most prominent feature in the view is Sugarloaf Mtn., arguably the largest Adirondack rock face south of the high peaks. This mountain doesn't get a lot of traffic. You can often have the summit to yourself on a nice summer day.Historically, a trail started from the same parking area in a more southerly direction to the summit of Little Sawyer Mountain. This summit has more open ledge and an interesting balanced rock near the summit. The trail has been lost, but it makes for an interesting and not difficult bushwhack.
See the routes description for the south ridge bushwhack to the main summit from the Cedar River Road.
Getting There
The standard route trailhead is on New York Route 28/30. It is 2.2 miles west of the intersection of the state highway with the Cedar River Road. This is about midway between the towns of Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake. A parking pull off on the west side of the road will accommodate at least six cars.Red Tape
Please sign the register at the trailhead. This is NY Forest Preserve land. No cutting of live trees, blazing your own trail, etc.Camping
A state drive-in campground is located at Lake Durant, approximately 5 miles west of the trailhead on Rt. 28/30. This campground has services and is fee-based.Free primitive camping is available on a first-come, first-serve basis at Wakely Dam. This is located 12 miles in the Cedar River Road from the state highway.
External Links
A brief trip report and additional photos can be found here.A wide variety of hikes in the central Adirondacks are cataloged on the Hamilton County, New York website.
1 Routes