""

Cat Mountain – A Longer Walk to a Great View

This hike is on a nature preserve made possible by the Lake George Land Conservancy. Please respect their property and the rules that they have made to protect the beautiful lands that they have purchased.

This is a longer hike for families and is an gentle introduction to the rough Adirondack trails. The roundtrip is 6.5 miles, but much of it is on woods roads with good footing.

The trailhead for this walk is off of Valley Woods Rd just after you turn right off of Warren County Route 11 which runs from Exit 24 of the Northway (I-87) to 9N near Bolton Landing. Valley Woods Rd is about 2 miles from the exit.   When there is no snow, there is a good parking lot sufficient for several cars.  While the route would be an excellent intermediate Nordic ski route, the parking lot is not plowed in winter, so be advised.  

The trail coincides with the the Thomas Mountain trail up to a clearing some 0.75 miles from the trailhead. At this point it diverges to the left onto a yellow marked trail and begins a modest descent until it crosses a stream which is dammed up on the right to form this picturesque pond shown here.

After this crossing on the woods road bridge, the trail begins its ascent to the Cat Mountain summit. After it passes through a gate, it turns right and works it way up to another roughter stream crossing. At this point, the trail footing becomes tougher and the serious climbing begins. Presently after a number of false flat spots, the last flat spot finally announces the end of your journey at the excellent Cat Mountain lookout.

As can be seen there is an excellent view of Lake George. One can also find a location to look west to pick out Crane Mountain and Gore Mountain.

NOTE: For a more complete description of the trails, please see ADK's GUIDE to ADIRONDACK TRAILS - Eastern Region, p 120.

Have a great hike!
Bob Goodwin