Mount Marcy

Mount Marcy is the highest peak in the Adirondacks and all of New York state.
Lies in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks Region of the High Peaks Wilderness Area.
A very popular summit due to its stature and great views.
Majority of the mountain is forested, although the final few hundred feet is above tree line. The summit is dominated by rocky outcrops, lichens, and alpine shrubs.
The shortest and most frequently used route up the mountain is from the northwest, the Van Hoevenberg Trail, which starts at the Adirondak Loj near Heart Lake. From there it is 7.4 miles to the summit, a lengthy roundtrip often attempted in a long day.
A large section of the trail is suitable for backcountry skiing.
Lake Tear of the Clouds, at the col between Mount Marcy and Skylight, is the source of the Hudson River.

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Routes

Van Hoevenberg Trail

104 summits • 14.0 mi • 3,225 ft gain • 8 hr 25 min • Class 1

From Four Corners

14 summits • 20.5 mi • 5,527 ft gain • 14 hr 19 min

From Skylight

8 summits • 18.0 mi • 5,174 ft gain • 13 hr 17 min

Mount Marcy 17.2 mi route

1 summit • 17.2 mi • 4,335 ft gain • 10 hr 13 min

Mount Marcy 18.7 mi route

1 summit • 18.7 mi • 4,274 ft gain • 12 hr 10 min

Latest summits

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"Three knuckleheads tried to do a loop of Gray, Skylight and Marcy in a high water situation do to recent rains and snow melt. Almost every trail was a stream including the Skylight spur. Tedious day of boulder hopping with wet feet practically the whole day. Fortunately we got splendid views from both Marcy and Skylight which was great for the two knuckleheads who did these for the first time. Left Loj PA at 7am and returned close to 7:30 pm. We bailed on Gray, our first peak, as it was it was already afternoon and we still had the other two peaks to do and we had to do Marcy in order to get back to our car." — Nimblefoot • Oct 23, 2019

"The day started relatively early. I was at the Adirondak Lodge parking lot close to 8 am in the morning. There were several parking spaces available. The weather was partly cloudy and the temperature was in the low to mid 20C's. The trails were in good condition and there were some typical muddy sections throughout the trip. I was able to meet a pretty nice hiker from Connecticut and we went up for the most part together. It was cloudy at the top but the view was amazing. We didn't see any bears on the way up. It is great to see mountain guides at the dam washout area and also on the peak. They were encouraging hikers and trekkers to walk on the trail and not disturb the brush and moss on the peak. It took approximately 9 hours for me to complete the trek. I ran out of water on the way down and some US trekkers shared their water filter with me so I could get some water from the river. Overall, I really enjoyed it and the view from the top is amazing! " — BillKeay • Aug 12, 2019

"Great to get to the top. Good last hour of incline. Had also done Gray and Skylight, so energy low for trip back. Did all three in 11.5hrs w/o too many breaks. Beautiful weather ." — suzannerunciman • Aug 11, 2019

"As part of a 16 or 17 state highpoint blitz of the Northeast this August while working remotely 8 hrs a day from various Starbucks. After a casual few hours off after Mansfield on Saturday, I rode a nice small ferry across Lake Champlain at sunset (beautiful) and arrived at trailhead at 10pm and it was a circus. People heading out, people arriving, people sleeping in cars. I talked to a couple who were part of a FKT with runner still out in the dark. A quick 6 hr sleep and I was up at 5:30am and off by 5:45am with a photo of the map and no headlamp but light appearing. Turned out the trail was easy to follow and I ran into my first people at the Macy Dam (a family just starting from camping towards Marcy) and a pair of guys looking at their map. I was moving with "Rockies" speed and feeling good. I passed a pair of guys descending just before I turned to head up the ridge. They said it was sh*t cold on the summit. I saw some cloud/fog (as usual on this trip) but wasn't worried. Turned out it was warmer than Mansfield and no rain but windy and blew my phone out of my hand as I was taking the summit selfie. 2h 40m up and I was on my way back as I had a 11 hr drive to Sault Ste Mar..." — alexjoseph • Aug 11, 2019

"What an EPIC Day! With three w46er Mountain summits climbed, Grey Peak, Skylight and Mount Marcy highest point of New York State. 18 miles covered with Matt Topgun Peacock. Snowshoes most of the way, good pack trails, Started around 7:30 am till 8:30pm, out in the dark and totally exhusted but we did it! It was steak for dinner tonight! Enjoy" — ramjet1963 • Mar 9, 2019

"Hiked Mt Marcy with Makenna S. on a Wednesday. This was my third time up Mt. Marcy, but it had been 26 years since the last one, and it was Makenna's first time. I let her lead to set the pace. Left Adirondak Loj/Heart Lake at 08:00. Conditions at trailhead were 50's, calm and partly overcast. Made a couple water stops on the way up, and a couple stops to admire the views at Marcy Dam and Phelps Brook. Stopped for a snack at Indian Falls Overlook, which had a nice view of Wright Peak and Algonquin, though the peak of Algonquin was shrouded in clouds. Continued on, hitting clouds around the start of the alpine vegetation zone, and the wind started picking up. From that point on, there wasn't much visibility except for brief breaks in the cloud cover. The lack of visibility made it hard to judge how much remained. Reached the summit at 13:55 with zero visibility past the summit. Peak Steward said he measured the wind at 53mph. Temp was in the low 40s - good thing we brought jackets for the top. Ate lunch at the summit then headed back down the trail we came on. It started raining within about 30 minutes after leaving the summit, then rained most of the way back down unt..." — Matt-Sz • Jun 27, 2018

"What was a questionable start to the day quickly turned into the perfect day to climb some high peaks. Summitted Marcy and Skylight before spending the night down at Lake Colden." — Right-On • Jun 15, 2018

"This was the big one. I had dreamed about summiting Marcy, the highest point in my state, countless times over the years. I had spent the past two years preparing myself for this day, incrementally building up my hiking abilities until I felt confident enough to attempt this 15+ mile climb with 3,000+ feet in elevation gain. I'm glad to say that my efforts paid off, though it certainly was no walk in the park!" — theascent • Jun 12, 2018

"This was a beautiful weekend with perfect weather to combine camping and hiking with my wife Brigitte Doyon. We arrived late Saturday at the South Meadows trail-head. We then headed pass the Marcy Dam and settled our tent. On that Saturday we took the rest of the day to go to Indian Falls lookout. On Sunday morning, we started our hike around 7h30am to head to Mt Marcy. It was so beautiful, the view at the top is amazing. The vegetation as we get near to the top reminded me of a hike we had done in the Parc de la Gaspesie for a mountain called "Mt Jacques Cartier". I have to admit that I found this hike less difficult then our previous Rocky Peak ridge. " — CPaquin • Sep 16, 2017

"Car camped at S. Meadow and got a 7:30am start at the trail head. 37 degrees to start. The trail was in great shape. My 1st Marcy summit from VanHoevenberg Trail. Took an hour lunch/rest break before descending. Stopped at Indian Falls, which is approx 1/2 way point. Arrived back at trailhead at 6pm." — johngilligan • Sep 2, 2017

"Hiked with Thomas and Nick. We hiked from the Loj starting at 6am. Used microspikes all day. It was a fun hike even though the summit was extremely cold. I had no problems all day until we got back to the parking lot and I fell on some ice as soon as I took off my microspikes. Oops. Great day and another high peak done. " — Kim-Stilson • Jan 14, 2017

"Hiked with Kim and her cousin Nick. Started early from the Loj at 6am in order to beat the rush since the weather forecast was good. The trail from the Loj to Marcy Dam was all ice and very little snow. The trail got much better from there all the way to the summit with hard packed snow. We used microspikes all day and carried our snowshoes. Only got windy once we got above treeline, there were 20-25mph winds and the temp was -10 to -15 degrees with the windchill. We didn't spend much time at the summit due to the temperature. We saw tons of people on the way down, which was expected because of the good weather. " — LGH-Tom • Jan 14, 2017

"Unbelievable hike, my third time was a charm! This was my wife's 1st time, we went up the Phelps trail, a moderate hike all the way. It was cool and partly cloudy skies but the clouds were high and the views were plenty. When we summited Marcy we figured we were feeling good so we decided to do Skylight and Gray. Skylight was another Gem and really not much effort coming from 4 Corners. Gray was actually the toughest of the three because it was steeper and more rugged terrain plus we were already 10 miles and two mountains in. But all three were worth every step, we then went out via the direction of the Felspar Lean-to and then to Marcy Dam and the ADK Loj. Actually that part of the trip was tough on the feet and legs. Glad we went up the Phelps trail, much nicer." — hbotc • Jul 30, 2016

"My 100th unique mountain! Solo summit. I started out from the Loj & was very surprised at how many people were there- I suppose a lot of folks took the entire week off following 4th of July. It was hot (85+) and humid, I actually drank my entire 3 liters of water/Gatorade I brought with me. I covered the first three or so miles very quickly, passing quite a few other hikers. The incline following that wasn't all that bad, and the bugs weren't really terrible, though I did suffer a nasty bite from a deer fly, despite the fact that I was wearing long leggings & a long sleeve shirt (& was the only one out there not wearing shorts and a tank top haha). Once I got above treeline, the elevation gain was pretty unforgiving! From the start to the summit took me about 3.5 hours, my watch indicating 7.4mi of distance. I got to meet my very first summit stewards, one man and one women who looked to be about my age. They were very friendly and helpful in stating why they were there and taking photos for people (& of course warning us to stay on the rocks not the vegetation!). I spent about an hour at the summit hanging out and enjoying the view & a couple of beers, and made my way back to my ..." — kellieirene • Jul 7, 2016

"Snow showers most of the day. Wet trail with icy sections - spikes were needed about halfway up to be comfortable. About six inches of snow on the summit. Celebrated Jessica's 46R status at the summit!" — PJSelmer • Oct 18, 2015

"Enjoyed a great Fall/winter hike up Marcy with a friend celebrating her 46th peak! A light dusting of snow turned to ice and a foot of snow on top - a little chilly hovering around 0 on the summit with windchills - perfect day! " — deb-and-rob • Oct 18, 2015

"First hiking trip decided to climb the tallest peak in the state. Took me ten hours to make it to the top and get back out. I got a late start so I did not make it out until 11:30pm. I had laid down to sleep next to the trail but some hikers from Montana named Dexter and Lisa stumbled onto me and I followed them the remaining 2 miles out." — coledonnelly • Sep 27, 2015

"Decided to do some State-Highpointing on the East Coast for Labor Day weekend. We flew out of Las Vegas Thursday night into Boston, then bagged the highpoints of Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont & New Hampshire (with short stops in Pennsylvania and Maine for good measure) before flying back out of Boston on Monday. What a weekend!" — Kevin • Sep 6, 2015

"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

"First mountain of the day. Started early. Got to the summit early. Wasn't the first there, but I did have the summit to myself for 10 min. Views were incredibly. Little haze. There was a group of 3 guys, one of them was working on being on the high point of every state. Not necessarily hiking them, just being there. There plan for the day was to hike Marcy, which they did, then hike out, drive to Mansfield in VT, and hike that, then spend the night in Franconia, NH. The next day, they were going to drive up Washington, and I think they said, try to hike Katahdin the same day. I thought my plan was crazy, I felt much more sane after listening to them. I left around 10am, which a trail steward had reached the summit by then. Onwards to Haystack." — newenglandwarrior • Sep 4, 2015