Watch Hill - Snowy Mountain’s Most Distinctive Foothill

By Bill Ingersoll

Watch Hill stands between NY Route 30 and Indian Lake, and it has long been traversed by an informal trail network once maintained by the neighboring Timberlock resort. In more recent years, the Department of Environmental Conservation as adopted this trail network as its own, resulting in a well-marked hiking trail to the summit of this small wonder.

The rock ledges at the top of Watch Hill feature fine views of Snowy, and especially of the Griffin Brook Slide on its eastern flanks. The views toward Indian Lake are less impressive, but Watch Hill has just the right balance of short distance, fun terrain, and open rock to ensure that it will remain a popular day-hiking destination.

Getting There

There are two ways to approach Watch Hill from Route 30. The preferred trailhead is a relatively new parking area (created in 2013) located on the east side of the highway near Griffin Brook. You will find it 15.9 miles north of Speculator, or 8 miles south of Indian Lake, directly across from a scenic wetland.

The northern approach begins at the Snowy Mountain trailhead 16.8 miles from Speculator and 7.1 miles from Indian Lake. Immediately south of the parking area, look for the start of the path behind a guardrail. It leads to an abandoned section of the highway, which will take you in 0.5-mile to the trail to the summit.

The Trail

For our purposes, let’s focus on the southern approach, beginning at the new parking area by Griffin Brook. The view across the road, toward the large slide on Snowy’s flank, is not unlike the view you will soon have from the summit. The marked foot trail leads east into the woods, reaching a junction with a very wide trail in about 300 feet. Turn left.

This wide trail is no mere footpath; prior to 1955, this was a section of the main highway. Originally constructed in 1878, the old road linking Speculator and Indian Lake was considered inadequate for automobile travel, but it took many years to replace it. Today, it is one of the more obvious hiking trails you’ll ever see. Follow it northeast on a gentle grade, passing a junction with a ski trail on the right. The old road levels off and reaches a second junction at 0.5-mile.

Here, bear right onto a narrower foot trail. In just 500 feet it reaches the foot of Watch Hill, which is here a steep and somewhat rocky slope. Rather than climb it directly, the marked hiking trail swings abruptly left, circling around the small mountain for a better way to ascend. It finds that spot on the northern slopes, where the grade is far more moderate.

Just 0.5-mile from the old road (one-mile overall) you reach the ridgeline. This area is handsomely forested with shady hemlocks, which probably exacerbate the winter ice problem; this is a beautiful snowshoe climb, but a healthy snow cover is helpful. Without snow, there is a substantial amount of ice build-up on Watch Hill during the winter months.

You reach the first open ledge 1.1 miles from the Griffin Brook trailhead, where the view of Snowy Mountain is good, but not as good as what lies ahead. Continue another 500 feet to the main ledge, encountering a few more spots of steep climbing along the way. You’ll know you’ve reached your destination when the ridge comes to a precipitous point. There is a steep drop-off on one side, with partial views of Indian Lake to the south.

The best view is to the west, encompassing nearly all of Snowy Mountain’s sprawling eastern slopes. The large rock scar is the Griffin Brook Slide. Just below you, skirting the wall of rock on which you’re standing, is a band of juniper. All of this is pretty good for a hike that is only 1.2 miles long total, with an elevation gain of only 375 feet!

The continuing hiking trail leads southeast from this last ledge toward Watch Point on the shore of Indian Lake. If you are just looking for an easy hike, you definitely won’t want to go that way, as it leads steeply down in the wrong direction. Just turn back along the ridgeline to return to NY Route 30.

Bill Ingersoll of Barneveld is publisher of the Discover the Adirondacks guidebook series (hiketheadirondacks.com). For more information on this region, consult Discover the South Central Adirondacks or his recently-published 50 Hikes in the Adirondack Mountains (Countryman Press).