Region
Highlights
- In 1839 Esther McComb, a 15 year old schoolgirl set out to climb Whiteface Mt., but accidentally became the first person to climb Mt. Esther. There is a plaque on the summit in her honor. Esther is often climbed in conjunction with Whiteface, even though it is listed as an unmaintained trail.
Routes
37 climbs • 10.1 mi • 3,622 ft gain • 7 hr 44 min
25 climbs • 11.6 mi • 3,928 ft gain
7 climbs • 9.4 mi • 3,502 ft gain • 7 hr 58 min
4 climbs • 9.3 mi • 3,536 ft gain • 7 hr 49 min
3 climbs • 6.4 mi • 2,542 ft gain • 6 hr 0 min
Latest climbs

"Had a bluebird day on Esther today from the ASRC. Perfect trail conditions, with pretty snow and ice on Lookout and Esther. Nice sliding on the way own. Some of the trees are low hanging, so prepare to get whacked in the face. Took 7 hours." — elimihuta • Feb 22, 2025

"Started 6:50 am at ASRC trailhead for Marble mountain. Warm and sunny. clear views at summit of Whiteface. Slightly muddy to Esther. Summited Esther at 9:30am, summited Whiteface at 11:45am. Back to car at 3pm. " — catearonson • Aug 26, 2024

"After the parking lot at the ASRC, you follow a short trail and a short section of gravel road to the main trail. You are greeted right off the bat with a steep and straight section of trail a little over a half-mile long and 800ft of ascent. It seems the trail used to be some sort of clearing for a lift or power lines. After this rather brutal section, you are greeted with a more friendly and pleasant trail that takes you another 1.3 miles to the crossroads between Esther and Whiteface, marked by a stack of rocks.
The trail to Esther is pretty tame and has multiple good lookout spots of Whiteface. The summit itself is wooded and not very notable. It is marked by a plaque on the ground.
The trail towards Whiteface is a very interesting one. It is a very typical trail for the first major portion. There is one spot where you will find the top of the lookout mountain triple ski lift for the ski resort on the mountain. Eventually you reach a tall stone wall where the road to the top of the mountain is built up on. You follow the trail along this wall for several yards until you reach a rock pile that takes you to the road's level. A few more yards and you climb over an easy level b..." — ThermarestCompressiblePillow • Jul 3, 2024

"What an incredible day, so beautiful! Although gorgeous, the crowded summit of Whiteface is just not for me. I'm glad I decided against finishing my 46 here.
10 left!
ADK 46ER 36/46
NE115 41/115" — Derek-Goodreau • Jul 2, 2024

"Hitting the trails again in the beautiful Adirondacks on my first solo day since 2019. Today's adventure consisted of Marble, Whiteface, Lookout and Esther Mountains. For some w46er credit, #23-#24 of 46. Trails had lots of soft packed snow, especially in the higher elevations, temps around freezing and barely a breeze, Thought Esther would never end, and Marble is steep both ways lol, Weather was amazing considering the recent forecast. Home safe makes for a perfect climb. Do what inspires you!" — ramjet1963 • Mar 10, 2023

"We hiked over Lookout Mt. headed for the summit of Esther. Trail was in great shape . Summited at 9:25 am. No view of Whiteface from Esther due to cloud cover. On to Whiteface." — garyogden • Jan 21, 2023
"An Esther and Whiteface hike with friends. It was Denise's and Marielle's ADK46r and NE111 finish on Whiteface for them. The weather wasn't the greatest. We had limited views when the cloud cover drifted the right way. We were socked in on Esther. " — newenglandwarrior • Jul 9, 2021

"Great hike with Dan DeMarsh, Tommy Russell, and Scott Wells. 20s to start about the same all day. Spikes to Esther and Whiteface just fine. Today I Hok skied the toll road from the turn. It wasn’t as epic as I was hoping but still fun and would come back to skin with my AT gear. Great views all day, a tad windy on Whiteface, maybe 30-35 gusts which made the cirque traverse a ‘don't look down’ for me. About 6.5 hours " — davelaurenty • Jan 9, 2021

"Parked right at trailhead, first 0.5hr in dark. Straight up to Whiteface (alone on summit, observatory closed due to COVID), then doubled back for Esther, and descended to trailhead. Very muddy, and icy for last 0.5mile to Whiteface. Left knee troubles made for tedious ascent of Esther." — hunterjfrost • Oct 18, 2020

"Snow!!!!! Had a meeting of both seasons today. Set out for Whiteface and Esther Mountain. Started as a late Fall day and turned to full blown winter a half mile from the junction and white out conditions. Made it to Esther and was greeted by a mouse that crawled on my boot before scurrying off with a nut, we named it Esther of course. Returned to the junction where Jen made the call to head back and we didn’t make the venture to Whiteface. 100% fine as she is just getting peaks under her belt and experience for not having hiked much. A confidence builder in varying conditions and another high peak bringing her to 4/46 is always a success. Will return on a clearer day. Nice job! " — scottturner • Oct 8, 2020