Easy Short Lake Placid Hikes: Hiking Cobble Hill

By Diane Chase

Take the family for this short hike located right in the center of the Adirondack's Lake Placid.  The kids of all ages will enjoy this scenic view of the High Peaks and village of Lake Placid.

We are lathering the children with sunscreen. What a wonderful word, sunscreen. Up to this point we have unintentionally thwarted the sun’s rays by numerous scarves and ski masks. Sunblock would have been an unnecessary layer. Now the car has that smell of beach and summer and masks the musty road salt remnants of winter.

We have discovered that a trip to the grocery store is best served after a bit of outdoor activity. Cobble Hill provides a quick remedy. The most challenging part of our climb up Cobble Hill is finding the entrance. Whitney Road is a private road so there is no sign posted. We are here at the good graces of easements and owners. A few cars are already squeezed against the side of the road. We park and walk up the road a bit then turn around. The trail is about 20’ from main gate on the right. The cars and snow are blocking our view.

We sign in at the register and follow the rectangular signs marked “Cobble Hill.” There is no need to search for trail markers. The trail is an easy walk for the first ¼-mile then turns slightly rocky for the final assent.

The first  time we climbed Cobble Hill my daughter referred to the mountain as Steve. She muttered the whole way up about how Steve scraped her knee or Steve tripped her. This time when we remind her of her Steve calling days she smiles and pats a boulder and comments, “Good ol’ Steve, still here after all this time.”

Ice and snow line the path so we gingerly walk or rock hop around the edges, and sometimes slide. Springtime is near. We can smell it in the earth and hear it in the running water. But the snow still holds on and the appeal to throw just one snowball and build the last snowman is too much to resist.

We get to the first outlook and the view is dramatic. To the south are the ski jumps and the High Peaks, to the northwest the village and Mirror Lake. Farther up is the summit with a different panoramic view of the ski jumps with clear outlooks of Cascade and Pitchoff.

This .9-mile walk has spectacular views of the High Peaks and Olympic Village.
To access Cobble Hill take Mirror Lake Dr. to Whitney Rd., a private road with stone pillars. The trailhead is about 20’ from the entrance. Turn right at the stone boulders and cross the wooden plank bridge.
©Diane Chase

(first published in Diane Chase's FamilyTime column in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise)