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Thomas Mountain – A Gentle Walk to a Great View

Elevation: 1980 ft

Ascent: 780 ft

Distance: 1.5 miles

Location: Off of Valley Woods Road (County Road 11, Exit 24 of I-87).

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 good hike for families who are not used to the rough Adirondack trails quite yet. 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.  

The start of the trail, marked by orange markers, follows a good logging road.   There is very little elevation change until you reach the open area where the side trail to Cat Mountain begins.   The trail to Cat is marked with yellow markers and is 2.5 miles each way from the intersection.   At this point, the trail/road to Thomas Mountain begins a steady ascent of about 600 feet heading west, then arcing back south to a switchback. Please respect the cabin, using only the edge of the front porch to rest.  The view of Lake George is kind of limited, but as this picture shows, the views of Crane Mountain and Gore Mountain are quite good.

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NOTE: For a more complete description of the trails, please see ADK's GUIDE to ADIRONDACK TRAILS - Eastern Region, pp 119-120.

Have a great hike!
Bob Goodwin