Hannah the hiker

Giant and Rocky Peak are two of the Adirondack 46 High Peaks. These two High Peaks are pretty popular since they are shorter trails and are not terribly difficult. The trail is around 8 miles with 4,700 feet in elevation gain. 

You do not need to make any reservations to park/hike here. However, I would suggest that you arrive early because parking fills up quickly. Parking is along route 73, and is limited. I arrived at 6:30 and got one of the last parking spots. so, go early and on weekdays. 

I started the hike on July 15 at 6:45 a.m. The trail register is just off the road and is an immediate uphill climb. There is not really any chance to warm up before you start going uphill on this hike. Sometimes I like these trails more than gradual elevation gain because it feels like you are working hard during the entire hike. 

There are a couple of nice features along this trail. There is a lookout about half a mile in with a nice open rock face to sit on. Farther along the trail is the Giant Washbowl, another nice place to rest and enjoy the view. There are a couple campsites here in case you want to make the hike a backpacking trip. The lean-tos face the washbowl which is probably a pretty scene to wake up to. More information on lean-tos in the Adirondacks can be found here.

The trail has a tremendous amount of switchbacks, which makes sense since it is a steep hike. Large sections of the trail are open rock that you need to scramble up. Its not anything terribly difficult but it can be scary if you are scared of heights and not wearing proper footwear. When I went there were two boys I caught up with on the rock scrambles who were both wearing gym sneakers. I think that sneakers can work on flat trails but it is important to have footwear with traction when you are hiking. The boys were able to get to the top but it took a bit longer since they had to walk on all fours in some sections. I’ll talk more about being prepared in a different section.

Despite the rock scrambles the rest of the trail to Giant was relatively easy. You will keep going straight up and follow the Roaring Brook Trail to the summit. You will reach the summit around the 3 mile mark. I got to the top at 8:50. The summit has amazing views of the surrounding mountains and there is a lot of space to spread out from other hikers and take a break. 

From the top of Giant to Rocky Peak you lose 300 feet in elevation. The trail between the two mountains is the East Trail. This part of the trail kinda stinks because it feels like you just keep up and down. There is one section that gave me some trouble going up and down. There is a rock that you have to go down on the way to Rocky. But the rock is too tall to just jump over, and doesn’t have any great handholds or steps. So, I just stuck myself to the face of the rock and shimmied down a narrow shelf in the rock. There is a little rope tied to a tree that I saw some people use, but I would not trust putting all of my weight on that thing. The rest of the trail is alright and goes by quickly. There is no summit sign on Rocky Peak but you will know that you’re at the top since it is an open rock with 360 views. I reached Rocky Peak at 10:30 a.m.

To make it back to your car you just need to go back over the same trails. The rock slides can be harder to navigate when going downhill but just take your time and follow the yellow/white paint. I made it back to my car at 2:30 p.m. so, my total time hiking/resting was around 7.5 hours.

overall thoughts on the trail

This is one of my favorite hikes in the Adirondacks. You are able to knock out two High Peaks within 8 miles and are rewarded with amazing views.

When I went the weather was perfect and sunny, and there wasn’t too much mud/water on the trail. There were also a bunch of friendly people on the trail, so I walked and talked with a couple different groups of people on my way up and down.

The one thing I didn’t enjoy so much about this trail was how many ill-prepared hikers there were. I saw the two boys struggle to get up the rock scrambles, I had to steer people in the right direction on the trail, and on my way down that sketchy section of rock I had to coach a woman on how to get over it. In all of these instances I was glad to be there and help people out, but I was concerned with how they were not prepared. Oftentimes if a hike is short and is known for having great views it draws all sorts of crowds. But, I want to stress that this does not mean that the hike is suitable for you or for any beginners. So, make sure you read up on the trail, bring the right equipment and footwear, and if need be maybe have a backup hike planned if this one is too much for you. Better to be safe than sorry.

what I brought