Buck Mountain
Buck Mountain is a great little hike over looking Lake George. I am going to use the phrase “little hike”, but it is 3.2 miles one way, and is quite steep towards the top.
The first mile of the trail is a rolling dirt road that climbs without incident. About a mile in, you hit a fork. Go left, and make your way to Buck Mountain Summit. Make a right and cross a small river, and enjoy a dramatically steep climb that eventually leads you to a pond. (The climb to the pond is initially steep, then levels off through some back land. I have done this trail but did not bring a camera with me the first time).
Buck Mountain is awesome, it’s beautiful, and it’s a great walk to cut your teeth on. Again, not a high peak, but will give you a view of Lake George you never had before. In addition, in the Spring and Summer you’ll find people up there picking wild blue berries.
By the way, the trail is well-marked, HOWEVER—the way down initially is confusing. Someone should douse this with a little yellow spray paint, since the markers up there are fading. The difficult part is the slew of flat rock you have to climb over. It is voluminous and all looks the same. There’s acres of it pointing every which way. There’s yellow markers on the rock pointing “this way”, but again, they are fading. Next time, I’m bringing a small can of paint for the Good of All Hikers.
Trail head: Pilot’s knob road, southeast corner of Lake George.
Exit 20 off I87. Head East. You will come to a Stewarts a few miles down on the left. Make a left, go to end of road, and when you hitlake, go straight on Pilot’s Knob instead of making left. You will go up the east side of the lake a few miles, and see the trail head on
the right. You will see several other hikers usually, some just perched on top reading a book. As always, proper footing and water.
Hey Cindy-
Of all the hikes, I can see dogs doing this. But it is a few miles each way and they need lots of water. I see a lot of dogs on hikes that wish they just weren’t there. I also saw a woman bring a tiny dog up Sleeping Beauty, which was terrible. Dogs, like people, are all different.
Check out the Tips section for travelling with pets, Fido Magazine.
Rich
Is it pet friendly? My dogs love hiking with me but some trails are just for people.