Dial Mountain is the forty-first tallest mountain in New York. This peak is often completed with Nippletop Mountain. Dial is located centrally along a very long ridge which requires the hiker to summit either Nippletop first (primary trail) or the shoulder of Noonmark Mountain and Bears Den Mountain (secondary trail).
Distance: 10.1 miles round trip if going to just Dial and back or 13.8 miles round trip if including Nippletop
Ascent: 3,020 feet (Dial) | 3,420 feet (Nippletop)
Elevation: 4,020 feet (Dial) | 4,620 feet (Nippletop)
Primary Trailhead: To reach the trailhead from Lake Placid follow Route 73 toward Keene. Drive through Keene and Keene Valley into Saint Huberts. Parking is across the road from the Roaring Brook Falls Trailhead for Giant Mountain. The approach is on the private property of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) and dogs are prohibited in the game preserve.
Trail Route: From the parking lot, the hike starts along a dirt road, which becomes a paved road next to a golf course. At 0.5 miles from the parking area, go left and down between two tennis courts on Lake Road Way to the Gate House and register 0.6 miles from the parking area. A wooden gate is just beyond, where you will continue another 0.7 miles along a dirt to the start of the trail on the left. Immediately you will start a climb from the road and the climb will get continuously steeper to the shoulder of Noonmark. The shoulder of Noonmark was part of a major forest fire a few years back and the scars are still there today.
A sharp descent from the shoulder will quickly get you climbing again, but this time up Bear Den Mountain. Bear Den Mountain is a fully wooded summit. The descent past Bear Den Mountain is very moderate before you make the final approach to the summit of Dial Mountain. The trail continues past the summit of Dial to Nippletop summit of Dial Mountain is where you can pick up the primary trail above to Nippletop Mountain then make it a loop hike taking Elk Pass back down to Lake Road Way.
History:
Location: Dial Mountain is located in the Town of Keene, in Essex County, in the Northern region of New York State.