Region
Highlights
- Mount Colden is in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, New York.
- Known for its distinctive Trap Dyke, a large crevice running up the center of the mountain which can clearly be seen from Avalanche Lake.
- There are two maintained trails up Mount Colden: 1) The first approaches from the northeast, passes by Lake Arnold and crosses over several false peaks before ascending to the summit. 2) The second trail, which is steeper, approaches from the southwest, starting from Lake Colden. Both approaches are reached from the popular Adirondak Loj trailhead.
- Finally, the summit of Mount Colden can also be reached by climbing the infamous Trap Dyke from Avalanche Lake. This approach leads to a long slide and a short bushwhack to the summit. It doesn't follow a maintained trail, is extremely steep in places, and should be taken with caution. The Trap Dyke is also a challenging backcountry ski descent only in the right conditions.
Routes
43 summits • 12.6 mi • 2,597 ft gain • 8 hr 30 min
13 summits • 13.3 mi • 2,909 ft gain • 7 hr 48 min
1 summit • 18.0 mi • 2,803 ft gain • 9 hr 37 min
1 summit • 11.4 mi • 4,137 ft gain • 9 hr 38 min
1 summit • 17.2 mi • 4,089 ft gain • 8 hr 28 min
1 summit • 20.5 mi • 5,527 ft gain • 14 hr 19 min
1 summit • 8.5 mi • 2,058 ft gain • 7 hr 39 min
Latest summits
"Tom and I left the ADK LOJ at 7:26 @ 10 degrees on what promised to b a beautiful day. Trail to Marcy Dam was a frozen runway. Continued on to Lake Arnold with micros on perfect trail conditions. Switched to snowshoes at the lake more to take advantage of the elevators for the final ascent. After summiting the North Face we and another couple from Mass. climbed on to the real summit. Breathtaking views in every direction on a perfect winter day following a week of dreary, dismal weather. Perfect day to recharge the mental batteries. Returned to the LOJ at 2pm." — garyogden • Feb 4, 2024
"Sat Mar.18/23, Last 46er winter credit climb to end winter Solis 2023, Mount Colden via The Adirondac LOJ 11th highest in New York state and my #25/w46 did not disappoint. Great day spent with fellow hiker and climber Shane Curless. Another day on snowshoes from car to finish hiking perfect condition trails though narrow in areas but well packed made for a great climb to the summit where we experienced snowsquall's and light winds with limited views. Perfect day in the mountains. Love what you do!" — ramjet1963 • Mar 18, 2023
"Out of the Loj on wonderful Fall day with crisp morning temps. Had fun in the mud and early ice closer to the summit where deployed the micros to avoid any awkward slips. Since it was a holiday weekend there plenty of unprepared hikers slip slidding around on various trail challenges and braving the sudden cool temps. The crew of five was Ed and three frisky gals- Amy, Dawn and Samantha(Sam)." — Nimblefoot • Oct 8, 2022
"ADK LOJ to Colden to avalanche lake and back to LOJ. Fabulous hike with crazy amazing views. Avalanche Lake is breathtaking. Forgot to bring my lunch or snacks so spacey hungry for the finish." — johnpursell • Sep 3, 2022
"Partly cloudy in the 10-20s, light wind, ideal weather for winter hiking. Started from the Loj and ascended on the East side of Colden, through Avalanche pass and over the frozen Avalanche Lake, which were gorgeous terrains to travel through. Saw a few hikers attempting to ascend Trap Dike. Slow, steep climb to the summit, which had 360 views of all the surrounding ranges. Snowshoes needed all day, except for on some of the steep and icy parts. Continued NE through the summit and looped back to the Loj. Ran into a good number of skiers throughout the day. 13.67 miles in 7:45 hours, 4,350 total elevation gain. " — gregoryskiba • Mar 5, 2022
"Short story - Jeff, Meenu, and I went to get this peak #45 done. The forecast had been a little iffy with rain earlier in the week but improved, so we took the chance. It ended up being a beautiful day, although chilly and windy at the summit especially when the sun was behind clouds. But the view was amazing. We did the Lake Arnold trail up and back and it took almost exactly 8 hours. We were on a mission, and got it done, but still enjoyed a beautiful hike. Just as we were signing out of the trail register, it poured rain and we felt very lucky we had finished. It only lasted a few minutes and then it was on and off sunshine and showers for most of our drive home. Colden eluded me last time but today was a great day to do it, so perhaps meant to be." — kvander • Sep 26, 2021
"Left camp at 9:20 am. We spent the day before going back to the van to get more food. Summited Colden at 11:08 am. This was a tough climb. Lots and lots of ladders. Definitely worth it when you get to the top. " — mmeyerpflug • Aug 5, 2021
"This was a very challenging hike. Got to the Lake Colden the day prior from the ADK Loj at Heart Lake, spent the night. It rained overnight. in the morning we started the hike. It is not too difficult at first but that changes as you get to the steeper parts of the trail. This trail gets very steep and rocky, which was made very slippery by the rain. Had to get on all fours multiple times on the way up and the way down. The view at the summit was very pretty and 360 degrees. If I would do this peak again, I would come from the other side via Lake Arnold." — ThermarestCompressiblePillow • Jul 26, 2021
"After we hiked Marshall, we returned to camp at dusk and ate dinner. That night, it poured rain and James' hammock area flooded. When he woke up, all his gear was in a lake below his hammock. It was still sprinkling and misty the next day when we hiked Colden. There were no views and it was cold and rainy all day. " — hanawalton • Jul 13, 2021
"
Hiked Colden with Dan DeMarsh today.
0612 start from the Loj via Van Ho and Lake Arnold approach. Temps were in the 30’s all day with packed snow conditions. Not much snow to be found but that will likely change with the coming storm. Skies were unexpectedly clear allowing for amazing views out and back.
Micro spikes were fine so shoes went for the ride. Managed to catch a micro spike on a downed tree tearing the chain from the rubber, did not impact performance and can likely be fixed.
We returned to the lot in a little over 7hrs. An amazing day that we were sad our friends Scott Wells and Tom Russell couldn’t join the fun." — davelaurenty • Jan 15, 2021