Big Slide Mountain

Big Slide is one of the Adirondack 46ers in Adirondack Park in New York.
Named for the prominent steep cliff that rises to its summit.
Because it's relatively close to trailheads and offers a close view of the nearby Great Range, Big Slide is a popular day hiking destination.
The most popular approach is via the Brothers, a set of rocky crags which offer several views on the way to the summit.
It can also be climbed via the Slide Mountain Brook Trail from the Phelps trail in Johns Brook Valley, or combined with Yard Mountain via the Klondike Notch trail (Yard's elevation is 4018 feet, but it is not one of the ADK 46ers as it is too close to Big Slide to qualify for the list).
Slide Mountain Brook Trail crosses and recrosses the brook many times.

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"Was an amazing hike in the ADK! The trail was snow packed and was doable in micros if you stayed "on" the trails The Elevated rock scrambles were a little tricky but doable, On This Day! Was the calm before the storm, First winter storm of the season for the area expected later today,12 to 24" Blustery snow Expected in the area, Hit the trail around 8:15am With Matt Peacock And made it to the summit In about 4 hrs,, Got Amazing views! Then in the distance we could see the storm approaching so we decided time to get off this mountain, Back at car around 2:30pm,, Light snow and light gusty winds" — ramjet1963 • Jan 19, 2019

"Mostly dry with some mud high up and a very small amount of ice left on the trail at a couple of spots near the top. No spikes needed. Bluebird conditions with light to moderate wind. Saw about 12 people on the trail through the day. 50-70 degrees. " — rhinteractive • May 24, 2018

"We started early around 6h45 from Garden parking lot (we took the shuttle from Marcy Fields).It was a cloudy morning but still looked like it was going to clear up.The view from the 3 Brothers was fantastic. However we could see the the summit of Big Slide was in the clouds.Since it was windy we would hope it would clear up as we arrive to the top. Unfortunately a mix of light rain and total cloud cover prevented us to have a great view.As we head back down the view again from The Brothers was fantastic. We also could see that the cloud were moving from the summit of Big Slide.Oh well, at least we made it to the top. Number 13 it is for Big Slide." — CPaquin • Oct 7, 2017

"On Sunday the 7th mom and I backpacked into the Deer Brook lean-to from the Garden parking Lot. It was dark by the time we hiked in. Unfortunately in the dark we couldn't find the lean-to or the trail to the lean-to, just the initial sign. So we set up our tent a ways off the trail and called it a night. The temperature got so low that it was snowing during the night and I was freezing the whole time. So much for a good nights sleep! On the 8th we woke up around 0645, broke camp and hiked back out to the Garden (1.4 miles). We dropped all the heavy camping gear at the car (we were originally going to hike the look and spend a second night at the lean-to) and took off up the trail to Big Slide via The Brothers at 0750 hours. The hike was steep quick and we had a view once we reached The Brothers and partially at the top of Big Slide, until a snowfall and clouds blew in. We weren't sure if we had reached the summit or not so we kept hiking and climbed Yard mountain as well (oops)! We definitely needed the microspikes near the top as everything turned snowy and icey. We didn't hang around to eat lunch as whenever we stopped moving bodyparts began to freeze! Mom didn't have any fa..." — tscha1 • May 8, 2017

"A great hike in over the Brothers. I found the views were actually better from the second Brother than Slide. I did get to use microspikes for the first time and they were worth their weight in gold." — MarkEarle67 • Nov 12, 2016

"Wow! Did this hike exceed my expectations. The trail we took over the Brothers was such a good way to go and I suggest it anyone looking to hike Big Slide Mountain. There were so many outlooks, and we kept thinking, "Ok, this must be brother #2?" and then a bigger and better view would come about when we hiked just a tad further! And Big Slide was rather big. There was a small area to hangout at the summit but enough to chill out and catch a view while eating lunch and relaxing before descending. Once again, we met some really nice hikers at the top who had come up another way. We had a good hike down, and ended some in the dark on Lake Road back to our car but by that point it was a straight shoot. " — Flyhighrunfast • Aug 18, 2016

"We hit the road at 5 am, determined to climb something, but no idea what. Around 630 the brainstorming kicked out the idea of Big Slide. As the night before I had seen a box of Big Slide IPA, and finally connected the name with the mountain, we took it as an omen. To big slide we went. As Jay had previously climbed big slide some 11 years ago, we decided to go the other route over the brothers. The day was perfect, and we took longer than we needed to and kept enjoying the views. The summit views of big slide are amazing, looking out over the great range. We enjoyed our lunch, took some pictures and headed back down. #15 down, 31 more to go. " — Kazmuglin • Jul 4, 2016

"Took the shuttle bus in to Garden's PL, and did a loop hike, going towards the Lodge first then up. Great views from the summit. Then went down the Brothers. Lots of views points there too. Waited for about 30-40 minutes for the shuttle bus to return. That was very annoying, espcially since I was heading back to Portsmouth as soon as I got back to my car." — newenglandwarrior • Sep 5, 2015

"Enjoyed a great hike with friends including one who was finishing her 46 on Big Slide. Weather was very hot and humid but the open rock hike to Big Slide offered a nice breeze and raspberries! Started at the Garden at 8:30, hiked to the Brothers, Big Slide and then onto Yard and returned via the Klondike trail and JBL to the Garden lot. The hike was just over 11.7 miles with 7.5 hours of hiking and raspberry picking and 1.5 hours enjoying the views from the Brothers and celebrating on Big Slide." — deb-and-rob • Aug 16, 2015

"Voilà que l'on se retrouve exactement 2 semaines après notre ascension décourageante des monts Esther et Whiteface et que nous nous dirigions cette fois vers Big Slide. Cette fois-ci, Antoine amène assez d'eau et nous sommes tous deux armés de chasse-moustique. Nous avions ciblé cette montagne pour le paysage qu'elle promettait d'offrir sans être une trop longue et difficile randonnée (j'avais un souper de prévu le soir même à St-Zotique). Première surprise lors de notre arrivée, le stationnement Garden à Keene Valley est plein! Il nous a fallu se stationner en ville et se rajouter un 4km de marche sur l'asphalte… Nous avons accompli la montée par les Three Brothers qui offrent un paysage à couper le souffle pour nous aider à oublier nos aventures précédentes. Durant la première heure de la randonnée, nous avons perdu de vue le sentier et avons fait un peu de hors-terrain qui a été bien amusant avant de retrouver le chemin balisé. On faisait de la course d'obstacle plus que de la marche! Autre point positif: aucun maringouins, mouches ou insectes en vue! Comme mentionné précédemment, la vue sur la vallée et les montagnes environnantes depuis les Brothers était époustouflante, à..." — PL5 • Jun 13, 2015

"I got a late start and had to take the Marcy Field shuttle to the Garden Lot. Signed in at TH 10am and it took me a good hour before I got into a rhythm and broke ahead of several small groups in from of me. I stopped on the 2nd and 3rd of The Brothers for a few photos and a short rest. The trail from the Garden to the summit of Big Slide was immaculate and in mid season form. Very little mud. The summit was busy, but it was Memorial Day Weekend. I reached summit at 12:15 for a 30 minute lunch and photos. I made quick time coming down in approx. 2hrs 15 min. This is a dog-friendly hike and I wish I brought my 20 lb. Boston Terrier. I hope to come back and do this in Autumn. (photos soon)" — johngilligan • May 23, 2015

"Hiked with Tommy. Beautiful day with great views albeit cold. My third 46'er. Got some absolutely stunning photos and videos. Tripped and fell at the summit like a dork attempting to walk backward in my snowshoes. Did a good deal of butt-sliding on the descents. This hike was very physically challenging for me." — kellieirene • Feb 18, 2015

"We started in the garden parking lot at 7 AM with the intent to camp overnight, so fully loaded backpacks. We went up three brothers to Big Slide and then took the loop around passed Yard Mt and down to Johns Brook lodge. We spent about 2 hours on the top before heading down. The day was perfect with great sunny and blue skies and 75 degrees. When we got to Johns Brook lodge we ate our dinner and then decided to go for it and head back out. It was about 10:30 PM when we got out. This evening was a super moon. Oliver and Macey came along and it was Oliver's first hiking outing. Overall it was hard and we had pretty sore feet at the end. Good to know we could do that with fully loaded backs!" — SummitSusie • Aug 10, 2014

"The weekend before Thanksgiving I decided that it was time for me to stop procrastinating and head back up to the Adirondacks for some hiking. I had been itching to get back to the High Peaks region since my backpacking trip at Cranberry Lake in September. Cranberry Lake was nice but I was ready to get another High Peak under my belt. So I left work an hour early Friday at 4pm 11/22 and headed up to Keene Valley from Rochester. The weather was very crappy, it was dark and raining, so I decided to take the less entertaining route of route 90 to Amsterdam and then north on 87, as opposed to cutting across on route 8 at Utica. It took me exactly 5 hours to reach my destination and pulled into the Keene Valley Hostel’s driveway at 9pm. I grabbed my gear and headed inside. I quietly walked upstairs with my headlamp not knowing if anyone else was there sleeping. There was one occupied bed so I selected my bed and headed back downstairs to hang out for a bit before hitting the sack. I ended up going to bed around 11pm and quickly fell asleep. At about 1am, I was woken up by a group of 4 coming into the hostel and getting straight to bed. I fell back asleep soon after and slept soundly ..." — cuterocky • Nov 23, 2013

"Zak and I enjoyed a late afternoon hike up Big Slide via The Brothers and then down via the Big Slide Brook trial to JBL trail out to the parking lot. What an awesome hike with great views!" — LukeG0903 • Aug 9, 2013

"Picture perfect day - 12 below at the 8 am start, probably about 20 at the summit - no clouds, no wind. Not a lot of snow - snowshoes up, microspikes (and butt sliding) down. Awesome!" — PJSelmer • Feb 10, 2013

"First solo hike. Great clear day, missed the garden lot being filled by a few minutes, took the shuttle which I plan to use from now on. Met a friendly bearded driver, left him a nice tip. Followed a large group of 20 somethings, I tried to keep my distance but had to pass them several times. Friendly group. Enjoyed the summit but not a lot of place to be alone up there. Studied my map, at lunch and played name the peaks with myself. When another group summited I ended up leaving." — matthewwitherell • Jun 30, 2012

"5th ADK High Peak. We departed from the Garden Parking area where we were lucky enough to find a parking spot since we were told the shuttle wasn't operating/running yet for the season. On ascent we took the trail via the Brothers which provided for some great, wide open views (espcially the first brother!). One descent we took the John Brook Valley Trail which did not provide for as many views/scenery. This trail was wooded, quiet and peaceful however. The trail on ascent becomes significantly steeper near the summit. A series of wooden ladders is present to assist with ascent. Black bugs were out in full force again! We were able to gain a great view of the Great Range from the summit! The original Colvin Benchmark was found. Highlights: View from the First Brother (360 degree view) and extended view of Great Range on Summit. Seeing original Colvin Bolt/Benchmark" — elizabethsweet • Jun 16, 2012

"Up The Brothers, over Big Slide, Down to Yard and back down the other side via Johns Brook Valley. Saw an owl, very few people on the trail. No one on the back side on the way down." — edwardconway1 • Mar 24, 2012

"Climbed with my mom on September 5th 2010. We went up via Brothers Trail on a mostly cloudy day. We saw some people going up and some going down as it was later in the day. The wind and drizzling rain sporadic. It is amazing how once you get to the top you can point out the mountains you already did. We tried helping a French Canadian couple out because they were looking to spot Mount Marcy. Because it was my fault, my mom and I ended up taking the longest possible trail home, but I gave the excuse that we should enlighten ourselves with a new trail. We ended up at John Brooks Lodge and took the JBL trail home. I would have to say the JBL trail was a nice, enjoyable, smooth trail to the parking lot. Total time: 8.5 hours." — heyjudeee • Sep 5, 2010