Parking
Use the Deer Leap lot on Route 9N, across the road from the trail entrance. A trail brochure describes the lot as ample, but no published capacity or recurring fill time was found.
Overview
About Fivemile Mountain Trail from Deer Leap
Why go
- Nearly two miles of open, lichen-covered bedrock ridge
- A lean-to lies on the route before the mountain high point
Heads up
- A long out-and-back with repeated climbs over smaller peaks
- The survey-marker summit is reached by an unmarked spur outside this route
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake George map
Full mapElevation1,109–2,247 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Lake George alerts
- ClosureFishbrook Pond North Lean-to site closedThe entire Fishbrook Pond North Lean-to site is closed because the lean-to burned down. - No camping or campfires are allowed at the site until further notice.Official details
- CautionNo Parking Zones enforced along River RoadDo not park in the No Parking Zones along River Road in the Hudson River Special Management Area in the Towns of Lake Luzerne and Warrensburg; DEC is enforcing the restriction.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake George Tour Guide
Your drive to Fivemile Mountain Trail from Deer Leap, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake George NY. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Lake George audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Deer Leap Overlook Trail0:00 / 0:22
“You're coming up on Deer Leap's trailhead, for a rocky overlook of Lake George and Black Mountain. Allow two to three hours for the out-and-back, with rolling climbs and rocky footing on both legs.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake George Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Boats Sunk for Safekeeping
- The Trees That Shade the Streams
- The Fisher’s Swiveling Feet
- The Loon’s Underwater Chase
- 113 audio storiesacross Lake George’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Timber Rattlesnake, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 67 trails, 64 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Fivemile Mountain Trail from Deer Leap
A long ridge walkFivemile Mountain Trail from Deer Leap is a 7.
Fivemile Mountain Trail from Deer Leap is a 7.2-mile out-and-back on the Deer Leap and Tongue Mountain Range trails. It climbs through forest, crosses several small peaks, and spends nearly two miles on open, lichen-covered bedrock with blueberry patches and broad mountain views. This is a half-day hike for people who like a long, rolling ridge walk. Allow about five to six hours. A state trail sign lists the mountain at 3.6 miles one way; the current turn-by-turn distances add to 3.5, so plan for about 7 to 7.2 miles total.
Find the right junctionThe parking lot is across Route 9N from the trail entrance, so cross carefully. The first 0.
The parking lot is across Route 9N from the trail entrance, so cross carefully. The first 0.6 mile climbs about 300 feet to the junction. Turn south, to the right, onto the blue-marked Tongue Mountain Range Trail. The branch left leads toward Deer Leap’s cliffs and overlook; keep right for Fivemile Mountain.
Across the Tongue RangeThe ridge section is about 2.
The ridge section is about 2.9 miles and its route description lists another 826 feet of climbing. The trail rises and dips over Brown Mountain and Huckleberry Mountain, alternating among wooded stretches, open rock, lichen, and low blueberry patches. Footing on the bare bedrock is uneven, and the repeated little climbs make the return feel longer than a simple downhill walk. The Fivemile Mountain lean-to sits along the route before the mountain; there is no drinking-water source listed, so carry what you need for the full outing.
Where to turn aroundThe mapped walk stops at the high point on the marked route.
The mapped walk stops at the high point on the marked route. The surveying-marker summit is reached by a separate, unmarked herd path and is not part of this route. From the open ledges, frame the view with some of the foreground rock to show the ridge above the lake and distant forested peaks. Turn back the way you came.
Dogs and wildlifeDogs may accompany you.
Dogs may accompany you. Keep them leashed at the trailhead and at the lean-to campsite, and under control elsewhere. Timber rattlesnakes live in the broader Tongue Mountain area; if you see one, stay well back and let it move away.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake George
34 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
26 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
22 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
60 sightingsLoonMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
33 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
84 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake George. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
