2.36 miles round trip
500 feet elevation gain
Cobble Hill is part of the Lake Placid 9er. I specifically picked this as I wanted to stay away from the shenanigans of all the people who came to the High Peak area to see the leaf colors. Yes, the colors were impressive in some areas. Going north on 73 all the lots were beyond full. As I drove by Adirondack Loj road, I wondered what time those lots were full. I got to the Cobble Hill trailhead at around 7:45 and I could see two cars of people there, not the craziness I passed when I passed Giant, or Chapel Pond, or the Rooster Comb lot.
This is a pretty short and easy trail; the sineage at the bottom broke the trip up into a couple of parts. The trail started out as a boardwalk, which seemed pleasant enough. The next section was crushed stone/gravel. The third section, the steepest, was more of a trail. You have a choice of going straight up the slab rock, or staying on the trail which skirts to the right of the slab rock. There is a nice overlook when you get to the top of that section. The final section of trail leads to the summit and the overlook looking south. From these rock I could clearly see the the ski jumping center a short distance aways. The colors were pretty good, and in my estimation, they were better in the southern High Peaks an the northern. I’m sure by now they are past their peak.
Down is the same way as up. However, at the first trail junction I made a right in order to make the trip a little longer, and the hike a loop. The longer descent is a little more gradual and leads towards Echo lake. There were a couple of sections that seemed to be flooded out, and a very short, steep climb rejoined the main trail back to the car.
I liked the hike, it was a little shorter of a hike than I was used to.
Here’s a view from up top:
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