Region
Highlights
- Mount Haystack is in the Great Range of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
- 3rd highest peak in New York, after Mount Marcy and Algonquin Peak.
- Named based on the resemblance of its rounded, conical peak to a haystack. Offers incredible views from its bare, alpine summit.
- Not climbed by many outside of those pursuing the Adirondack 46ers challenge due to its remote position from the nearest trailhead and the steep and challenging approaches from either direction.
- Most frequent approach if Haystack is the main goal is to follow the Johns Brook Trail from the popular Garden parking area in Keene Valley to the Phelps Trail and then use Shorey's Short Cut to get over to the Range Trail.
- Possible to combine this with an attempt on Marcy itself, but that makes for a long day and the approach from Panther Gorge is even steeper than that from the north.
- Some hikers come along the entire Great Range itself, making the peak their last stop before Marcy itself, or combine it with neighboring Basin and Saddleback. This is known as the "Great Range Traverse"
- One of the most famous elements of Haystack is the infamous "Devil's Half Mile". This stretch, which is technically 3/4 of a mile, is the extremely steep last stretch of the trail. The reward is what many peak connoisseurs choose as the finest summit in the Adirondacks.
- Haystack is consistently listed #1 on View Ratings for the Adirondacks.
Routes
/-73.9006205172,44.1056905117,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
15 summits • 18.2 mi • 5,678 ft gain • 15 hr 34 min
/-73.9006205172,44.1056905117,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 23.2 mi • 4,602 ft gain • 13 hr 41 min
Latest summits
"Kathryn and her dog Rex arrived at the B&B last night. She joined Tom and I for a trio of Haystack, Basin and Saddleback today. Nice sunny weather with some strong winds on the summits particularly Haystack. Got Tom up to #43 and Kathryn up to #25 for their 46r quest." — Nimblefoot • Sep 5, 2020

"Tom. Black and I left the Garden lot at 5:10 am. Started early to get a parking spot. Temps in the 60s. Trail up Haystack was brutal. Summited Haystack at 10:15. Spectacular 360 degree view. Best view in the whole ADK 46. Off to Basin." — garyogden • Aug 8, 2020

"What can i say,, WOW! 3 mountain day and a few bumps along the way with an amazing crew to finish the winter hiking season in the Daks. Special Congrats to Ian Hamelin for finishing his Winter 46er and to Ray Finney for finishing his Regular 46er Journey, It made for a very special time to be part of this amazing event. Have to admit was a cold, snowy and very windy day on the summits that challenged my every step but with the right gear and great guides was able to finnish the day to hike another day," — ramjet1963 • Mar 16, 2019

"Last High Peaks hike of an epic 17-peak season. Cold and windy. Brutal trails. Overcame my fear of the "Saddleback Cliffs". Basin was 10x harder. Party of 2. Camped out at Deer Brook lean-to the night before." — ndru-virus • Sep 29, 2018

"Et voilà. En un peu plus de 2 ans après s'être donné l'objectif de compléter les 46 sommets, nous en venons à bout. Le plan étant de camper près du JBL et de faire Saddleback, Basin et Haystack pour devenir des 46ers. Heureusement que le JBL n'est pas trop loin, les sacs à dos de 50 lbs sur 30km n'auraient pas été les bienvenue! Tout à bien commencé et le moral était bon, malheureusement nous n'avions aucune vue sur Saddleback et Basin, tout était dans la brume. Nous avions espoir que le ciel s'éclaircirait en courant de journée, mais une fois arrivés sur Haystack aucune vue ne s'offrait encore à nous. Lors du retour, c'est la pluie qui est arrivée, comme durant tout l'été... Après le long retour vers notre campement, nous avons pu célébrer avec vin, porto et whisky. Ce qui restera le plus mémorable, c'est le réveil le lendemain avec le chien avec la queue morte hahaha" — PL5 • Sep 9, 2017

"Deb and I finished up on Haystack today #46. Couldn't ask for better weather and such clear skies. We loved this hike and the entire 46er experience. Not our end, we will be up and down many of them a 2nd, 3rd or even 12th time in the future. Moving on to New Hampshire next, well after MacNaughton." — hbotc • Sep 2, 2017

"Solo. Haystack, Basin, Saddleback. Started out my day at around 0730, by pulling into the Garden parking area only to discover that I only had a 5 & a 20 in my wallet... And there was no attendant on duty. As the parking fee is currently $7, & I didn't want to find out what happens if you don't pay, I slipped my 20 dollar bill into the envelope with a note saying it was all I had. (Imagine my pleasant surprise when by the light of my head lamp 11.5hrs later I discovered my envelope taped to my driver's side door handle with $13 change & a "thank you" written on it! But I digress..) Despite trail conditions being wet and gross I made great time from the trailhead to the JBL, and got to Slant Rock (way cool!) in just about 3 hours. Trail maintenance was severely lacking after the JBL, most log bridges were unstable and returning to nature, very degraded. I decided to take Shorey's Shortcut (Range Trail) which being only a smidge over a mile was a tough one.. Once I got to the junction between Haystack & Basin I was sad to see that it was still super foggy despite it now being well past "morning fog" time, but assured myself it would clear up as the weather prediction had promised. WR..." — kellieirene • Sep 28, 2016
"The Real Marcy’s Playground: A One Day Great Range Traverse
From the inception of my days as a hiker, I’ve strived to get better—both in terms of my mental and physical well-being. For some reason, the former has been appeased by abusing the latter to the point of misery. What exactly do I mean by that? Insanity fuels my happiness. More specifically, hiking 25 miles with roughly 9400 feet of elevation gain in one day is my cup of tea.
I had been eyeing a one day Great Range Traverse for a long time. I talked it up and talked it up to the point where it seemed as if it had already been done. But had I known then what I know now, it would have been apparent that I had my work cut out for me, regardless of how good of shape I was in. The opportunity sprung up after Lauren and I discussed a great way to start off our second year of dating with a 25 mile death march through the Dacks.
***
A Great Range Traverse commences at either the Garden or the Roostercomb trailhead, and often ends with a 2+ mile hike to the other lot. Fortunately, we hitched a ride back to the latter trail from the Garden late at night—but that’s a story for later. At a minimum, the hike ascends Hedgeho..." — justinraphaelson • Sep 5, 2015
"After Marcy, I hiked Haystack. I really wanted to get some views into Panther Gorge. I sort of did, but was hoping for better. Looking off the backside of Haystack, it was incredible to just gaze further west into the ADK. Next was Basin. " — newenglandwarrior • Sep 4, 2015

"We joined two friend as they completed their 46er journey with a hike of HaBaSa. The loop from the Garden is ~18.9 miles with a significant amount of gain but it is one of the best hikes in the High Peaks. The cliffs were nice an easy today as their was no wind." — deb-and-rob • Aug 8, 2015