Hurricane Mountain, an 11 km Hike in Keene Valley, NY

This spring (aka mud season) I had 24 hours to myself to head down to the Adirondacks! For a long time, I’ve avoided the region during mud season because I know that hiking at high elevation during this time can be damaging to the trails.

But what I DIDN’T realize is that there are still a ton of trails at lower elevations that dry up early. AND still get you those classic, stunning, Adirondack views. Doing my research, I realized that Hurricane Mountain was one of them. Plus it’s part of the fire tower challenge, and so I set off to hike it immediately!

Hurricane Mountain is a fairly easy hike (compared to others in the Adirondacks). And the view from the top is amazing! There are 360° views and if that’s not enough, there’s a well maintained fire tower that you can climb to the top of.

When we visited on a Saturday in mid-May there was almost no one on the trail, but I imagine this summit gets more popular in the summer.

Quick Facts

Length: 10.8 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead Coordinates: 44.211439, -73.722690
Washroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Cell Reception: Spotty
Wheelchair Accessible: No
Parking: Right at the trailhead.
Cost: Free
Open in Winter: Yes

Getting There

There are a few ways that you can approach Hurricane Mountain. We chose to hike up from the trailhead along route 9N. There was a tiny parking lot at the side of the road, where we all had to park parallel to the road. There’s only about 6 official parking spots there, but a few more have been worn into the dirt on either side.

The sign for the trailhead hung right beside the parking lot, letting us know we were in the right place.

The Trail

Just a few steps along the trail, we found the register and signed in. Singing in at each trailhead where there’s a register helps the state know how much use trails are getting. And if you’re completing a more varied route, it also lets rangers know your plans in case they need to come and assist you! So I always make sure to sign in and out.

We headed out climbing uphill right away, and since we weren’t warmed up at all I began to huff and puff immediately. But it was worth it! After hiking along a fairly easy dirt path – with a few roots and rocks thrown in for fun – we got our first nice lookout around the 0.7 km mark. Around this same time the terrain levelled out for a bit. It was nice to have a little break from the steady incline.

So far we had been able to pick out the trail really easily. We also spotted red trail markers keeping us on track as we made our way up the mountain.

Keeping Our Feet Dry

At 1.6 km we got to a section of trail beside a small pond that was just a bit flooded. Fortunately there was another small footbridge in place, although the water was so high that the bridge was floating a bit. But we managed to keep dry, and kept going! I also saw the cutest little salamander in this spot so I was very happy.

At just over 2 km we began to head uphill again, and would do so for the next 1.5 kms before the trail levelled out. Around the 4 km mark we hiked up over a big open rock face, and the trail began to get noticeably rockier as we continued our ascent. Still, the footwork was fairly easy and so we continued along happily.

Views!

At 4.5 km the trail brought us out onto an open, rocky ledge. The view opened right up, and it was gorgeous! We spotted the fire tower ahead of us in the distance, and climbed over a few more open rock faces before heading slightly downhill.

Then at the 5 km mark we reached a trail split. The trail heading off to our left would stretch all the way to Big Crow. Which made us feel a bit lazy as our plan was actually to finish Hurricane Mountain and then go DRIVE over to Big Crow’s trailhead. The trail split was well marked so we knew the trail to Hurricane’s summit was ahead of us, and only 500 metres away.

Continuing on we passed over a bit of old snow still hanging on – in mid-May! We passed a sign on our left signaling that there was a privy off in that direction, but didn’t actually head over to confirm that it was there.

The Summit

Then, we saw the summit open up ahead of us. The summit of Hurricane mountain is just a massive open rock face, with the fire tower on top. We passed by a cool cairn that was as tall as we were, and then headed towards the tower!

Like a lot of Adirondack summits that are wide open, the wind was whipping and it was a lot colder than it had been down below. But the views, in every single direction, were phenomenal.

We had hiked 5.5 kms to get to the top and it was worth every step!

Trail Thoughts

After spending a bit of time up top getting blown around, we returned the way we had come. By the time we arrived back at the trailhead, we had hiked a total of 10.8 km. We covered this distance in 4 and a half hours.

Hurricane Mountain was a great hike for getting a few miles in without the hike being too wild. I think this trail is a great fit for anyone who wants to challenge themselves a bit with distance but not having to manage anything too technical- before moving on to some of the even longer hikes the Adirondacks have to offer!

And that’s officially 3/23 summits for the Fire Tower Challenge for me… So I guess I’ll have to head back to the Adirondacks soon!

Map and Elevation Gain

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the Indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.

Gear I Brought

Links in this section are affiliate links which means if you buy something after clicking Adventure Report receives a small commission.

All gear linked is gear that we own and use all the time! 

• Keen Hiking Boots
• MEC Hiking Poles
• Fjallraven Hiking Trousers
• Polyester/Merino Long Sleeve
• 35L Daypack from Decathlon
• Hydro Flask Water Bottle
• Headlamp
• Compass
• Map
• Rab 4-Person Superlite Emergency Shelter (this link is for the 8 person, just to give you an idea of the shelter- they sell out of the smaller ones all the time!)
• Garmin inReach Mini (since buying mine Garmin has also come out with the inReach Messenger, which also has the function of sending an SOS signal even when there’s no cell coverage, which is really the only reason I bring mine everywhere. Plus it’s less expensive!)