Mount Marcy is the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks. The Van Hoevenberg Trail from Adirondack Loj is the most traveled approach — 14.8 miles round trip with 3,166 feet of gain through boreal forest, past beaver ponds, and up onto the broad windswept summit.
The Adirondacks have a personality unlike the Rockies or the Sierra. The forest is dense and dark, the trails rooted and rocky. The summit of Marcy emerges suddenly above the treeline — a tundra plateau with 360-degree views of the entire High Peaks.
I climbed Marcy on a cold October morning. The sky was that particular shade of Adirondack blue that only comes in fall. From the summit I could see dozens of other High Peaks spread out below, each one waiting its turn.
Van Hoevenberg Trail from Adirondack Loj
The most direct route from the Adirondack Mountain Club's High Peaks Information Center, climbing through boreal forest before the open summit plateau above treeline.
“Cold and clear October morning. The Adirondack forest is rooted and dark — nothing like the West. Every trail here is a negotiation with the terrain, not a simple path. The summit appeared suddenly above treeline, a wide tundra plateau ringed with krummholz. I counted 26 High Peaks from the top in the sharp October light. The Adirondacks rewarded patience.”
28°F at summit, clear, wind 20 mph from the northwest
Full winter kit — nearly froze my hands on the descent.