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Round Mountain – An Introduction to

High Peaks Hiking

The Round Mountain trail starts on the Ausable Club property, and you must park in a lot they kindly provide down near NY 73 or in the lot across the highway for Roaring Brook Falls. There are two routes up Round. The closest trailhead is a short walk up the Ausable Club road. The other trail starts further up the Ausable Club roads on the same route as the Stimson trail up Noonmark. If you chose to start at the closer trailhead, then after a brief flat section, you climb steeply for about a 200 foot ascent. This is followed by maybe 0.3 miles along what is almost the top of a cliff. Next you resume a moderate ascent of an additional 800 or 900 feet until you come to a couple of great view points of Giant and the Giant's Nubble (seen here).

 

After that, the ascent becomes noticeably steeper.   The final 700 or 800 feet to the summit is covered in around a mile. Once on the summit, you get to walk maybe 200 yards over the open summit ridge to the actual high point with fine views of the Great Range along the way.  

 

 

From the summit this is the view of Giant and Rocky Ridge. Round Mountain is not one of the premier peaks in the High Peaks, so you are not as likely to run into other hikers there. One can make a loop trip by descending the steep western side of Round on a trail which is not as steep as the contour lines would suggest. This is because the trail descends across the face of the mountain and actually includes some switchbacks.  

Once you reach the valley floor, you can take the Old Dix trail back to the Ausable Club. This route is about 0.3 miles longer than returning the way you came, and for some could be the preferred route to both ascend and descend Round. I would say that there are a few 46'er peaks that are no more than 1.25 times harder to climb that Round while there are others which are way more than twice as hard to climb. So if you want to see what High Peaks hiking is all about, Round could be just your ticket.

NOTE: For a more complete description of the trail, please see ADK's (guide to) ADIRONDACK TRAILS - High Peaks Region 13th Edition, pp 92-93.

Hope you have a great hike!
Bob Goodwin