Ampersand Mountain

Ampersand is unique because nowhere else in the Adirondacks is there so much contrast in the views. One can look directly into the Seward Range, many of the other more distant High Peaks, but also take in the beauty of the Saranacs and the lake country.

Routes

Ampersand Mt. Trail

73 summits • 5.5 mi • 1,636 ft gain • 4 hr 44 min

Latest summits

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"Kim and I were staying at Fish Creek campground for the holiday weekend and decided to hike Ampersand to watch the sunset and maybe catch the Saranac Lake fireworks from the summit. We started hiking around 7:00pm and after a nice slow climb arrived at the summit around 8:15pm. The sunset was incredible with tons of color. We were pretty far away from the fireworks, but we were still able to see them along with tons of other amateur shows. We headed down around 10:15pm and arrived back at the car just after 11:00pm. " — LGH-Tom • Jul 5, 2019

"I wanted to enjoy the views on St Regis without freezing to death this time. So I went up there first. Then drove up to do Azure. Then drove down and did Ampersand to finish my Saranac 6. Incredible mountain to finish on. " — newenglandwarrior • Jun 23, 2019

"Clear sunny and beautiful Sunday. Hiked with my daughters and husband. Loved this trail. Challenging parts, beautiful 360 views. Should have brought more than my 2 litters of water, as I ran out on trip back." — suzannerunciman • May 5, 2019

"After completing the Saranac Lake 6ers in April/May 2018, I went back with my niece Serena for Columbus Day weekend. Thank you for starting the Adirondack 29er Peak Challenge... we will be back next year : )" — lancehansen • Oct 6, 2018

"3rd trip up here. Looks like we'll have to come back in Spring to finish the "Season" grid. We came here to help our good friend Roger on his Saranac 6 journey. Views were awesome, even though we were in a cloud. It was windy as always on this summit, and a bit wet due to us being in a cloud. But, spirits weren't dampened. Another great hike with great company." — UK-Ranger • Sep 29, 2018

"Was a cool Sept morning start , Trailhead parking full (9;30am) so parked along road, Trail was awesome other then a few downed trees and some wet slippery areas from some over night showers,, Cold and windy on the summit to the point you could see your breath but the views to die for,, great day on the trails with some great friends" — ramjet1963 • Sep 29, 2018

"Nice hike up this very busy mountain (even on a Tuesday). I hadn't expected to complete this one (certainly more challenging than I should have been on less than 3 months post surgery), but the scrambles were not too difficult and the view from the top was great! " — PJSelmer • Aug 21, 2018

"Started out under blue sky t-shirts and shorts. The ice for the whole approach required crampons and once on summit the rain line broke and driven rains came accompanying us for the descent. Plenty of snow near summit but the top was bare. Nice hill wish we were about one hour earlier for the blue sky views. " — larrybee • Feb 21, 2018

"La deuxième partie de la montée a été difficile. Le sentier devient assez escarpé, et les roches, la boue et l'eau compliquent la tâche. Mon petit coeur battait très vite et j'ai dû m'arrêter régulièrement afin de pouvoir reprendre mon souffle. Le sommet est vaste et tout en pierre! Les points de vues sont différents tout autour du sommet. Magnifique! Nous sommes restés un bon moment pour dîner, profiter de la vue et prendre des photos. Lors de la descente, il fallait être prudent, car c'était glissant et presque tous les randonneurs se retrouvaient sur les fesses à un moment ou un autre. Nathan s'est blessé à une cheville et le retour s'est fait très lentement. " — mlaniel • Jul 15, 2017

"Stephen and I did a sunrise hike to the top of Ampersand mountain. The hike started in the dark. The ground was lit by the beams of our headlamps as we ran the flattest part. Once we got to the base of the mountain it rose steeply. We saw some remnants of winter snow between the boulders near the top. Once atop Ampersand we were greeted with an amazing 360 degree view. It was incredibly windy! We took some shots of the sunrise and shared some hot cocoa. It was lovely!" — LisaBisa • Apr 29, 2017

"Less than 24hrs before, we weren't going anywhere due to the Weather forecast. After checking last minute, I saw a window of opportunity, if we hit the trails early enough, we could avoid the storm set to hit. Great decision !!! It was around 12ºc at the trailhead, which when in the Adirondacks in February, is rare !! The trails were turning into streams as the snow and ice melted and ran down. Microspikes were needed in spots, and the rope came out. At the summit, the winds were hitting around 70mph and it was extremely difficult to stand up in spots. All in all a great, and very memorable hike, and a hike that marked success in our quest to become Winter 6ers, despite the conditions not being very "wintery"." — UK-Ranger • Feb 25, 2017

"Me and my Dad became Winter 6ers on this peak today, and brought my sister and my fiance along for the adventure. Despite the incoming storm, after looking at the hourly forecast, we figured that if we left early enough we could avoid the bad weather - and it was worth it! The wind at the summit was extreme - we got blown over a few times and the water on the summit was splashing around everywhere - but it's all part of the experience. The clouds were high enough that we saw most of the great views that Ampersand is known for, so overall a great hike." — RangersApprentice • Feb 25, 2017

"My first winter hike. It was a mostly cloudy day with a wind, sleet and blowing snow at the summit. butt slid part of the way down and ended up snowstorm before reaching the car. fantastic hike!" — amandagomez • Jan 29, 2017

"Ultra 6er challenge - We met at the Green just after 4 am, signed in and we were on our way at 4:17 am. Started with McKenzie at the Jackrabbit Trail at 4:37 am and after ~3.8 miles and ~1900' of gain we reach the summit at 6:56 am. We stay for ~15 minutes and then make our way down for the trek to Haystack. We reach the junction after the 1.7 mile descent and hook the right (west) towards Haystack until we reach the cairn ~0.3 miles further. From there it is a quick shot to the summit for a beautiful view. Summit after 0.8 miles, 500' of gain at 8:29 am. From here it is ~2.7 miles back to the car to head towards Scarface. We are on trail at Scarface at 10:10 and after 3.4 miles of hot climbing we reach the summit at 12:22 pm. From here we descend and reach the car at 2:10 pm and head to Ampersand. We are on trail at Ampersand at 3:05 and gain 1800' over the next 2.7 miles (steep) to reach the summit at 5:10 pm. Stayed on summit 20 minutes and arrived back at car at 6:35 to head to St. Regis. When we arrived at St. Regis at 7:25 pm we knew we could make the sunset if we pushed it, so we pushed it and reached the summit after 3.5 miles and 1300' of gain we reach the summi..." — deb-and-rob • Jun 18, 2016

"Sitting on the open summit right now with a cold beer and a long sleeve shirt. Calling this a "winter" hike is downright BS. Still a nice hike, slightly muddy, with the summit and it's excellent views to myself." — LGH-Tom • Mar 16, 2016

"Started the hike around 7:30am with a group of 3. Started getting icy toward the top. Got to the summit at about 10:30. Started on our way back down at 11:15 and got back to the car at 1. Great day for a hike and Excellent views at the top." — country7man • Oct 24, 2015

"My final Saranac 6er! The trail was a bit muddy as par for the course this time of year, but the bugs weren't bad and the views were absolutely phenomenal. Spent a good deal of time at the summit which was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday. Got a real kick out of ringing the bell in town afterward to denote my finish. " — kellieirene • Jul 8, 2015

"This is a beautiful 2.7 mile (one way) hike. At least halfway is a gradually climbing easy hike. Then it starts steeply up over rocky stairs (some great trail work in this area). Tremendous open summit with great views! There were loons calling from Ampersand Lake far below." — PJSelmer • Jul 3, 2015

"We were on trail at Ampersand at 10am and started the trek in. Ampersand is ~5.5 miles RT with a gain of ~1800' to reach the summit at 3352'. The first 1.5 miles is very mild terrain with the gain starting shortly after this point. There are several sections where it gets steep and rock stairs were added to reduce the erosion on the trail. These were covered by snow and ice which added to our fun. The snow got deep at the top and the ice increased but the big change came at the open summit where we encountered major winds. Another great day!" — deb-and-rob • Jan 5, 2014

"After hitting Scarface Mtn. we headed out Rt.3 to go charging up Ampersand. Trail is slowly turning into slush and puddles with water streaming down the trail in spots. Steady light rain adds to the wonderful winter experience. Very gusty on the open summit." — Nimblefoot • Dec 21, 2013