Wright Peak

Wright Peak is in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park of New York and the northernmost peak in the MacIntyre Range.
Known to have one of the windiest summits in the park.
The usual approach to Wright Peak is from the Adirondak Loj up the Van Hovenberg Trail to the steep MacIntyre Range Trail to the junction for Algonquin Peak; a left turn takes the climber up the last few hundred feet of elevation through the alpine zone.
Wright is often hiked in conjunction with Algonquin and sometimes Iroquois Peak by pursuers of the ADK 46ers challenge. Many of these pursuers search for B 47 bomber wreckage and the bronze plaque just north of the summit, which memorializes the four airmen who lost their lives in the crash.
Backcountry skiing is popular on Wright Peak.
There are long slides from the summit that lead to Marcy Dam and are often skied in winter.
Also, the Wright Peak Ski Trail, cut by the CCC in the 1930s, descends the northeast side of the peak in a series of switchbacks.

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Routes

Wright Peak Trail

74 summits • 10.8 mi • 4,177 ft gain • 7 hr 54 min

Algonquin Peak Trail

27 summits • 10.6 mi • 4,373 ft gain • 8 hr 29 min

Wright Peak via Van Hoevenberg Trail

2 summits • 7.9 mi • 2,528 ft gain • 6 hr 3 min

Wright Peak 13.5 mi route

1 summit • 13.5 mi • 5,092 ft gain • 6 hr 39 min

Wright Peak 7.6 mi route

1 summit • 7.6 mi • 2,534 ft gain • 5 hr 56 min

Wright Peak 8.3 mi route

1 summit • 8.4 mi • 5,589 ft gain • 5 hr 58 min

Wright Peak 8.4 mi route

1 summit • 8.4 mi • 2,333 ft gain • 6 hr 22 min

Latest summits

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"On October we had set out to do Algonquin, Iroquois and Wright. Unfortunately, parking and logistic allowed us only to do the first 2. Today we did Wright and advanced to 41 on list. What a fantastic day it was. We wanted to go on Saturday but the weather was too cold. So today was perfect. It was quite windy at the top but still what a great view. This is one peak that I would do again in the winter. Not too hard with a beautiful reward at the top. Looks like we now have 5 left for next year. This will be our last High peak for 2019. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/wright-peak-via-van-hoevenberg-trail--163" — CPaquin • Nov 17, 2019

"Halloween themed hike with my hubby Dave. Full trip included Algonquin, Boundary, Iroquois, and Wright Peak. The morning was pretty socked in but we were lucky to get a view on each peak during our return trip :)" — pandyabear • Oct 26, 2019

"Great day with Matt Topgun Peacock on our w46er climb to Wright Peak,, Day with light clouds then sunny periods and light winds made for an incredable climb to the summit offering amazing views of the ADK Park,, with Algonquin and Colden as well as Mount Marcy in the background,,, Amazing day with friends doing what we love!" — ramjet1963 • Feb 23, 2019

"Today looked like a Presi day. So I decided to finally get my views on Algonquin and Iroquois that I missed out on the last time. Parked at the ADK Loj and went up Wright first. No wind on the summit. Then I made the steep ascent of Algonquin. Beautiful views. Then over to Iroquois. The 1.1 miles went by quickly here. I felt like I was far into the wilderness on this summit. Then I headed back. Made quick work going between Algonquin and Wright, including some butt sledding." — newenglandwarrior • Jan 5, 2019

"Climbed up to the ridge from Lake Colden and made the traverse across the Macintyres. Summitting Boundary, Iroquois, Algonquin and Wright and taking in the gorgeous views all along the way. " — Right-On • Jun 16, 2018

"One of my most enjoyable hikes so far. Perfect conditions, hardly anyone around, no insects. Took my time and just enjoyed the journey. Reaching the top of Wright and spending some time at the summit out of the wind was lovely. Was very pleased to have enough energy to tackle Algonquin as well and this felt like a real achievement. Will have to head back up at some point to bag Iroquois! " — rhinteractive • May 8, 2018

"Très belle journée avec Mélanie. Nous avons fais un bon 22km avec Wright, Algonquin, Bouandry et Iroquois. Le retour c'est fait par Avanche Pass. Beaucoup de glace pour monter. Les crampons furent nécessaire. Très boueux en descendant. " — fsoucy76 • Nov 4, 2017

"I actually had no intention of doing Wright today, but as I came down from Algonquin with another gentleman, we decided to do it despite the day getting on and my overwhelming fatigue already. My only wish is that I'd had time to look for the wreckage. Also my camera died, but my hiking companion took a pic and said he'd send it to me." — MarkEarle67 • Aug 14, 2017

"Came in from ADK Loj. We started late, around 11:30. It's not too bad on the way up. Definitely tougher after the trail breaks for the .4 to the summit. windy doesnt even describe the top and Algonquin looks enormous! It was cloudy but still had gorgeous views." — bbergman • Aug 6, 2017

"Started out from the Loj at 6am and headed out with the goal of hiking Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquois. Trails were decent until we got to the junction of the Wright ski trail, nobody had been past that point since before the storms that dropped 18-24 inches of fresh powder. We headed up to Algonquin first and spent a lot more time than expected route finding and breaking trail. After summiting Algonquin in 20-30mph winds we decided to skip Iroquois and head back down and summit Wright before heading back to the car. Wright was really ice above treeline, but a short hike from the junction. We met a lot of people on the way down that we're happy to see that we had broken the trails out all day. While we didn't get Iroquois it was a great day out in the mountains." — LGH-Tom • Feb 17, 2017

"Hiked with Tom and my cousin Nick. We hiked this mountain after summiting Algonquin first. After breaking trail all day even the short half mile spur trail to the summit was tough. We made the summit on hung out for a short time behind a boulder partially out of the intense wind. All in all it was a good day. " — Kim-Stilson • Feb 17, 2017

"Got a 622am start time. Heading to the Macintyre Range today. Hiking by myself and the trails were empty. The peace and quiet and serenity is amazing! After what seemed like a crazy long climb I finally reached the summit of Algonquin at 934am. I was the only person there. Only stayed for a few minutes and took some pictures and headed over to Iroquois. I reached that summit after a short but strenuous hike at 1014am. It was warm with mild wind. Some clouds but still had visibility. Took some pictures and then headed back towards Algonquin. There was rain in the forecast and I could see it coming! Around 1050am it started raining so I didn't even stop at the summit of Algonquin again. I wanted to get off the rock faces before it got too wet and slippery. I was debating climbing Wright with the weather but decided I had to since I was already there. I reached the summit of Wright at 1215pm and then got the hell out of there. The wind gusts were strong enough to blow me over and there was some hail mixed in with the rain. Once I go back to the junction to Wright the rain had stopped. It was still a long, wet, slippery hike back down. I reached the parking lot at 204pm. I was surp..." — tscha1 • Jul 25, 2016

"National Trails Day Hike to summit. We brought rocks up and did some rare plant protection, as well as installing a privy at the Wright/Algonquin intersection. It was a great day!" — PJSelmer • Jun 4, 2016

"Solo hike. My first of three summits for the day. Started out from the ADK Loj around 0830. This would prove to be a bad idea- I should have started earlier. . Only 2 other people signed in ahead of me, & they were destined for Marcy. I didn't see a single person all day. The trail in was a bit muddy, followed by ice on the upper elevations, but not a lot of snow- the skies were the bluest blue and I was really excited when I finally huff & puffed my way up from the junction the final .4mi to the summit. I maintained a very slow pace the entire day. I'm not sure if that was due to not sleeping enough coming off of my midnight shift rotation, how much steeper these hikes were, or just general out of shapeness. I forgot how steep a bald summit could be, and coupled with hard packed ice, it made the last push to the top kind of scary, I put my hands down numerous times. I did not locate the plane crash or the plaque commemorating it which was disappointing, though it didn't occur to me until well after I had left the summit. Looking over at Algonquin, my next summit, was completely humbling as it really looms over ya. Lots of helicopter traffic around Colden, still not sure what w..." — kellieirene • Apr 13, 2016

"Didn't think I'd have the energy for this after Algonquin -> Iroquois -> back over Algonquin, but I made it. Great views, but I didn't stick around for too long because I was running out of time and it was too windy for my liking." — cbp5800 • Aug 29, 2015

"Started off at the Loj under mostly blue skies, 20 degrees and hit the trail ~8am. From here we headed to the Wright/Iroquois junction. The first part of the trail as nicely packed with only a few scramble sections (mostly iced covered) before beginning the climb to Al. The last time we were heading up Al was many years ago and the steep slab section seemed much nicer in snow shoes! We had nice views until just about tree line which is about when the clouds came in and the winds we heard all morning at the lower elevation really picked up. The climb up Al was extremely windy - we felt as if we were being sand blasted between AL and Boundary! We were on Al by noon and over to Iroquois by 1. We made quick work getting back Al in an attempt to save ourselves from the wind. The skies opened a bit as we descended Al which offered excellent views of Wright. We were on the summit of Wright by 2:30 or so and back down to parking by 4:30. Enjoyable hike with many people on the trails - overall ~10.8 miles and 8 hours of hiking time." — deb-and-rob • Jan 18, 2015

"Le lendemain matin, nous étions de retour sur les sentiers vers 8h30 pour l'ascension d'Algonquin, les bières de la veille n'ayant pas trop d'impact au moment de notre départ. Néophytes que nous étions, nous croyons que Marcy était une randonnée plus difficile étant plus haute. Tout s'est bien passé à la montée jusqu'à l'embranchement pour rejoindre le sommet de Wright. Rien n'étant à notre épreuve, nous avons attaqué ce dernier en premier. La montée s'effectue en grande partie sur la paroi rocheuse nue et il ventait assez fort lorsque nous sommes sortis du couvert des arbres. La sensation rendu au sommet était toutefois gratifiante, c'est un sommet plus tranquille et nous y étions les seuls. L'aller-retour de l'embranchement au sommet s'est fait en 1 heure environ. " — PL5 • Jul 17, 2014

"Hiked up with Rob, John and Greg from Loj. Just before junction with Wright Greg fell on ice and hurt his back. Since we had already hiked it Greg and I slowly started our way down while John and Rob continued up and reached the summit. " — deb-and-rob • May 10, 2014

"Climbed with Zak on the way to Algonquin and Iroquois. Very windy and very cloudy so we didn't stay at the summit long! Never did find the downed plane at the summit, although we didn't stay long enough to really look." — LukeG0903 • Aug 3, 2013

"Great day in the high peaks. Wright was our 2nd 46er, hit this, had lunch and then went on to Algonquin. I almost wished we did Algonquin first, as we ended up pushed for time for our attempt at Iroquois. We turned and headed home after Algonquin, due to fading light. We saw the wreckage and paid my respects. Wasn't too windy Today, as people seem to report it as being. Clear blue skies, nice trail." — UK-Ranger • Oct 27, 2012