Chris Hikes

Trip reports and information, mostly about hiking in the Northeast United States.

Hiking Challenges

Hiking challenges are popular in the Northeast United States. Keep a log of your hikes to earn a patch or sticker! This page lists many hiking challenges in New York State and a few in New England. This is not a comprehensive list, but provides information about many of the popular challenges. The PeakBagger web page and app is a great way to keep track of the mountains you have hiked and discover more lists of peaks to conquer!

Working through a list of hikes to complete a hiking challenge gives me motivation to go out and hike. Some people use “peak-bagger” as a derogatory term for people who are more interested in checking summits off a list than in enjoying the journey. In my experience, having a list of hikes to complete encourages me to explore different places. I make sure to take time to look around and enjoy my surroundings while I’m bagging the peak!

View my Disclaimer and General Information about Hiking.

New York Hiking Challenges

ADK 46 High Peaks

  • https://adk46er.org/
  • Difficulty Level: moderately difficult to very difficult 
  • My Status: Completed in August 2022
  • Description: Hike all 46 Adirondack Mountains that are (based on historical surveys) over 4000 feet in elevation to become a 46er. More recent surveys determined 4 of the mountains are under 4000 feet, and another mountain (McNaughton) is 4000 feet in elevation. For historical reasons and consistency, the original list of 46 mountains continues to be the goal. Necessary resources for this challenge are the ADK’s “High Peaks Trails” guide book by Tony Goodwin (purchase from ADK or Amazon) and “High Peaks Adirondack Trail Map” (purchase from ADK or find at local stores in and near the Adirondacks).

ADK 29er and Junior 29er

  • http://adk29er.com/
  • Difficulty of Hikes: easy to moderately difficult
  • My Status: Completed ADK 29er in October 2022
  • Description: The ADK 29er challenge requires hiking 29 mountains from the provided list. The hikes are generally between 5 and 10 miles, providing a moderate challenge and good training for harder hikes. I completed many of these hikes while I was starting out on the high peaks and needed more training hikes. The Junior 29er challenge requires hiking 29 mountains from a list of easier hikes and is a family friendly challenge. Both versions of the 29er have mountains located in various areas of the Adirondack Park providing motivation to visit different areas.

Fire Tower Challenge

  • https://adk-gfs.org/firetower.challenge.php
  • Difficulty of Hikes: range from easy to moderately difficult
  • My Status: Completed in September 2020; Finished hiking all of the fire tower mountains in November 2023.
  • Description: Hike a total of 23 mountains: 18 of the fire tower mountains in the Adirondacks and the 5 fire tower mountains in the Catskills. The mountains in this hiking challenge are located all over the Adirondack and Catskill parks, providing you with a reason to travel to different areas. This was the first hiking challenge I embarked upon and it helped me get ready to hike the high peaks. It is a great challenge for working from smaller hikes up to more challenging hikes. A few of the fire tower mountains (Snowy, Adams, Hunter) are at a similar level of difficulty as the easier high peaks. Because you select 18 of the 27 Adirondack fire tower mountains, you can choose to stick to lower difficulty hikes or to try the challenge of a few harder hikes. There is a guide book that provides great information about the hikes: “Views from On High” by John P. Freeman and Jim Schneider (purchase from ADK, Amazon, or find it at your favorite book store)

Lake Placid 9er

  • https://lakeplacid9er.com
  • Difficulty of Hikes: moderately easy to moderate
  • My Status: 2 of 9 (as of August 2024)
  • Description: Hike 9 mountains in the Lake Placid region. If you are newer to hiking you are recommended to hike the mountains in the order listed on the web page. This gets you started on the easier mountains and working up to more challenging hikes. This is a good challenge for getting ready to hike the high peaks.

Saranac Lake 6er

  • https://www.saranaclake.com/saranac-lake-6er
  • Difficulty of Hikes: range from moderately easy to moderately difficult
  • My Status: 2 of 6 (as of August 2024)
  • Description: Hike the designated 6 mountains in the Saranac Lake region.

Tupper Lake Triad

  • https://www.tupperlake.com/tupper-lake-hiking-triad
  • Difficulty of Hikes: moderately easy
  • My Status: Completed as an ultra (within 24 hours) in June 2023
  • Description: Hike 3 mountains near Tupper Lake. These are short hikes that are family friendly. I understand there are nice views from the summit, but I did the hikes as a rainy day activity and had no views.

New England and Northeast US Hiking Challenges

52 With A View

  • http://www.kenmacgray.org/52/
  • Difficulty of Hikes: likely moderate (I don’t have first hand experience)
  • My Status: not currently pursuing
  • Description: Hike 52 mountains in New Hampshire as identified by the Over The Hill Hikers club. These mountains are under 4000 feet elevation and have nice views.

New England 4000 Footers

  • https://www.amc4000footer.org/the-lists-we-recognize.html
  • Difficulty of Hikes: moderate to difficult
  • My Status: 37 of 67 (as of August 2024)
  • Description: Hike the 67 mountains in New England that are over 4000 feet in elevation. This encompasses the 48 in New Hampshire, 14 in Maine, and 5 in Vermont.

Northeast 111

  • https://www.amc4000footer.org/the-lists-we-recognize.html
  • Difficulty of Hikes: moderate to difficult
  • My Status: 85 of 115 (as of August 2024)
  • Description: Hike the 115 mountains in the Northeast United States that are over 4000 feet in elevation. This encompasses the 48 in New Hampshire, 14 in Maine, 5 in Vermont, 46 in New York’s Adirondacks, and 2 in New York’s Catskills.

Terrifying 25

  • https://www.theterrifying25.com
  • Difficulty of Hikes: difficult, and terrifying!
  • My Status: not currently pursuing
  • Description: Hike 25 trails in New Hampshire that are terrifying due to steep slides, rock scrambles, and boulder caves.

Vermont 5 Challenge

  • https://www.vermont5challenge.com
  • Difficulty of Hikes: moderate to moderately difficult
  • My Status: Completed in May 2023 (but have not registered)
  • Description: Hike the 5 mountains in Vermont that are over 4000 feet in elevation.

White Mountain 4000 Footers

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