The ADK46ers, the mega-classic Adirondack challenge. First created in the 1920s, it includes New York's 46 Adirondack peaks over 4,000 ft high with at least 300 ft of prominence or separated from the next closest summit by 0.75 miles. Recent surveys have found 3 of the peaks to be lower and 1 excluded peak to be higher (MacNaughton, not included in peakery) but the challenge remains unchanged due to tradition. A unique aspect to this challenge is that 20 peaks are "trailless", i.e., without an officially maintained trail to the summit. Even many of the trailed peaks are notoriously rugged and challenging. A 4-hour drive from the heart of NYC and just 2 hours from Montreal. See more at http://adk46er.org
Highest peak
Mount Marcy
5,344 ft / 1,628 m
Most prominent peak
Mount Marcy
4,917 ft / 1,498 m prom
Most climbed peak
Cascade Mountain
622 climbs
Most difficult peak
Mount Marcy
Class 1
Difficulty breakdown
Class 1/2 2 peaks
Highlights
- Visit the treasured alpine zones on the tops of the highest peaks in New York: Mt Marcy, Algonquin, Haystack, and more. Remember to always stay on the trails up here to protect the endangered vegetation.
- Burn some serious calories on a traverse of the Great Range with its steep ups-and-downs and tortured, rocky, rooty footing. So many classic peaks all in a line. Do them all in a day... if you're a little bit insane.
- Get away from the crowds on any of the 20 peaks without officially maintained trails... just bring some overnight gear just in case you get lost.
- Summit Mt Colden via the infamous Trap Dike, a steep, rocky Class 3 scramble from Avalanche Lake
Latest climbs
"The day went really smoothly, summit conditions were icy above treeline, bring aggressive snow shoes and microspikes, and exercise caution!
I had summited at 9:00am, started at 5:20am. The trail conditions when I went was really good, the snow had a really good boot pack, and it allowed for a speedy ascent! And I caught a break in the weather summit. Definitely recommend this climb to those who want to improve their experience when doing days out in the mountains in the cold, and testing layering about treeline. " — sebastienauger • Jan 5, 2026
"Hiked with Tom today. We left St.Huberts at 6:30 am @ 10° and partly cloudy skies. We took the Leach trail up over Noonmark Shoulder and then Bear Den to Dial , then Dial South Peak and then on to Nippletop. " — garyogden • Dec 27, 2025
"Tom and I summited Nippletop at 12:50 pm after a long slog from St.Huberts. Just below the summit, we broke out above an inversion to full sun, warmth and low winds. The inversion gave the feeling of looking out over a huge frozen lake with a few mountain peaks poking above the clouds like islands. Truly a beautiful sight." — garyogden • Dec 27, 2025
"day started in pather gorge and made our way to upper ausable lake. hiking to the base of Mt colvin, we started our trek up the elevator shaft. which was very damp and slick since it had been quite moist the past couple days. clearly not many people had used the trail this season because the leaves were practically untouched.
summit had one of the nicest views I've seen in ages, tiny summit though, but carried an amazing view. " — sebastienauger • Oct 12, 2025
"we started our day in the Orebed Brook Campsite (which was amazing, with easy access to water and flat ground). Once we packed up we headed towards the gothics and saddleback junction, and headed up the west side of gothics and up the cable route. In fall i would heavily recommend you wear microspikes in some sections, but with confidence you'll do alright.
once descended from gothics we started our trek towards haystack, descending from saddleback was a tight squeeze with our backpacking packs (we had gear for 4 days, around 20lbs). but the hardest challenge was up basin, many parts of the trail were eroded, and covered in ice. it was a little tricky to maneuver with our packs, luckily we had some help in icy sections. Than the trek up haystack was gruelling since we were already fatigued. but once we got up haystack we knew our time was short, the sun was setting and we had to descend the mountain via the south side which was rather slabby.
finally after a rough day we retired to the panther gorge campsite in the pitch darkness. after a good 10hrs of hiking, and 6000 ish feet of elevation gain." — sebastienauger • Oct 11, 2025