"Started from AMR parking lot, reservation system very useful! Straight up Lake Road, Gill Brook to Elk Pass to Nippletop. Cloudy to the south but great views of GR. Quick travel over to Dial, still decent views. Best views from Noonmark Shoulder past Bear Den!" — hunterjfrost • Oct 17, 2021

"Nippletop & Dial 7/31/21 Day two of my pre-booked weekend in Lake Placid. We knew the forecast for Sunday looked even worse than Friday for rain, while Saturday looked beautiful. So I decided I would attempt to do back-to-back hikes. I had a reservation for parking at AMR so Jenn and I aimed for Nippletop and Dial. Hannah considered but ultimately decided she wasn’t up for two in a row, which I can’t blame her for. I didn’t sleep as well as a I wanted but I woke up not feeling too stiff and sore. I did some yoga stretching and put on my dry trail shoes and chose from my overpacked selection of hiking clothes my capri hiking tights and layers on top. I was very happy to have brought an extra jacket and lots of socks and shirts. We started off from the parking lot right at 7 am and headed up the Lake Road – making this my third trip up and down this road for hikes. This time we did not get on the Gil Brook scenic or easy route trails at the first intersection, although those are much nicer scenery we had just done them a few weeks ago and in the interest of saving time and energy we went with the road farther up to the cutoff trail. Once we got on the trail, it started to easy to..." — kvander • Jul 31, 2021

"18.3 miles in 12 hours. Sunny and clear skies, in the 20's with light wind. Started at 6:30 am from the St. Hubert's lot. Walked through Ausable Club and down Lake Road until the Gill Brook cutoff (put on snowshoes at the cutoff). Met up with Gill Brook Trail and continued towards Colvin then Blake. Great views of Lower Ausable Lake, the Great Range, and Giant/Rocky Peak from Colvin. Peaks of Nippletop and the Dix Range from Blake. Steep ascents and descents between these two peaks, switched to spike because it was easier. Doubled back through Colvin after hitting Blake until the Elk Pass junction and continued up towards Nippletop. Steep ascent, quick up and down to get to actual summit. Amazing views of the Great Range, and many more ranges to the South and West. Continued the loop with the Leach trail towards Dix Mountain, more views of the Great Range as the sun was starting to set in the background. A couple more ascents and descents to Bears Den and Noonmark Shoulder (timed perfectly with the sunset), then a very steep descent back down to Lake Road, where we needed headlamps right as we met up with it. Easy walk back to the lot to finish the day. Overall, t..." — gregoryskiba • Mar 13, 2021

"Becca, KJ, Emily and I hiked in from St Huberts Parking lot. First was Bears den, then Dial, and finally Nippletop. On the way back, we had to choose between returning the way we came, or descending the steeper Elk Pass trail in the hope of getting to the access road before dark. We chose the Elk Pass trail, and on the way I decided to slide on an inviting patch of ice. My foot caught, and I broke my leg as I fell. KJ organized the first aid, Becca called 911, and other hikers passing through stopped to assist with my care. They splinted my leg with hiking poles, kept the wound elevated, and kept me warm as we awaited evacuation. About 2 hours later (just before sunset), I was lifted by helicopter and taken to Adirondack Medical Center. I had surgery the following day, and was discharged the day after that. " — mikebenjamin • Nov 21, 2020

"Started at the AMR with Kim around 7:30. Parking lot was already packed and there were very few spaces left. We decided to go up the Leach Trail thinking that most people would walk the road and head up from Elk Pass. We had a couple groups in front of us and one that we played leap frog with throughout the day. The weather was very good. We had to take some layers off and ended up in mid layers for the majority of the day. Snowshoes on everywhere except for the Lake Road. Decent views from Noonmark shoulder and Dial. Socked in on Nippletop. We used our sleds to make quick work of the descent. " — LGH-Tom • Feb 22, 2020

"Hiked with Tom. The weather was good, not too cold or windy. We saw a lot of groups during the hike. Snowshoes all day except for the Lake Road. We brought the sleds and used them a ton on the way down from Nippletop. " — Kim-Stilson • Feb 22, 2020

"Returned to the AMR and the Lake Road to complete the Colvin Range. Went up Gill Brook again to jct. with Elk Pass. Up Elk Pass to ridge and over to Nippletop. Returned back and along the ridge over to Dial. Really enjoyed the stretch of trail between Nippletop and Dial." — JMindlin12463 • Aug 23, 2019

"My very first High Peaks! Hiking to Dial, Nippletop Mountain And five other summits to make for an Epic day in the mountains with some great friends,, Very warm day @ 42degrees with the humidity factor and the black flies were biting,, great breeze on the summits, Beautiful day to be in the Adirondack Mountains" — ramjet1963 • Jun 30, 2018