Kipp Mountain is a 2 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Johnsburg, New York that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until September. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This is an easy-moderate, very well marked trail with yellow arrow signs almost every 20 feet or so. This is due to the close proximity of private land. There are also many signs denoting private property, so please be respectful! The trail starts off as an easy walk in the woods. There are two maps along the trail that mark your current location in relation to the peak. About halfway up, the trail becomes moderately steep until the trail ends. There is a sign that literally says "Trail Ends" at a beautiful view of Loon Lake and Gore mountain in the distance. There is also a nice sign noting different peaks that can be seen from this vista. HUNTING SEASON CLOSURE: This area is subject to seasonal closure for hunting. For more information, please visit https://visitadirondacks.com/recreation/chester-challenge.
No facilities.
Open all year, I went early March with some snow/ice still on the ground. A light crampon could be useful.
If coming from the south: Take exit 25 for NY-8 toward Chestertown/Hague 0.3 mi Take Landon Hill Rd to Ben Culver Rd 8 min (5.1 mi) Turn left onto NY-8 S 1.6 mi Turn right onto Landon Hill Rd 2.9 mi Turn left onto Ben Culver Rd 0.6 mi You'll see a Kipp Mountain sign about a mile on the right. Parking is off of the road.
April 10, 2021Great weekend hike to do mid-morning in the spring. Great view of Loon Lake and Gore. Easy to follow trail. Good for dogs and kids.
April 10, 2021Great hike! Took our 8 month old puppy for his first hike and he did great. Well maintained and an amazing view.
April 6, 2021Hiked 4/5/21. All ice and snow is gone. Trail is mostly dry. Great, fast jaunt in the woods.
March 24, 2021Hiked 3/21/21. Icy in the beginning, I used my spikes but they weren’t needed after that. Probably doable without, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Starting to get a little muddy in some areas too. My AllTrails Map said I still had a little ways to go, but there was a sign “trail ends” so obviously I stopped there. At that point there was just a smaller lookout area. No real summit.
March 22, 2021March 22, 2021little icy to start. no problem with just hiking boots. beautiful day!
March 13, 2021Awesome hike spikes where needed for some parts.
March 8, 2021Short but steep with great views. At a moderate pace, this took us just over an hour with some time spent at the top enjoying the view. A bit icy at points so spikes and hiking poles were helpful.
March 7, 2021Beautiful morning up to the Kipp Lookout. Trail was hard packed and icey.
February 28, 2021Easy to hike. Snowpikes are a definitely plus but you can go without them if you have good shoes
February 28, 2021Great little family hike! Views very nice at the top. Snowshoes recommended. Be sure to stay on the trail to avoid going on private property.
February 25, 2021Beautiful day, very windy at top. Used snowshoes but micro spikes would have been fine. Kids were light enough to stay on top of trail in just hiking boots. Snow getting a little soft in last 0.3 mile.
February 7, 2021Nice trail. Easy to follow and was good for the dog. It was snowing so the pine trees were beautiful! I’ll be back when it’s clear for a better view of Loon Lake.
January 26, 2021Beautiful day, packed out nicely. Microspikes were really helpful on the couple steeper sections but you could probably get away with regular Yaktrax.
January 24, 2021Pretty! Well broken out
January 24, 2021Great hike today, had micro spikes but they weren’t 100 percent needed. Great views at the top.
January 17, 2021Decent trail, except with the winter it seems a bit unclear how to cover the last 1/10th of a mile from where there is a trail ends sign to the summit. Since the trailhead sign shows a route to the summit it might make one wonder why there is a trail ends sign before it. Anyway, with this as an ADK 29’er Jr hike and doing it with my son, we didn’t finish that last little bit since it wasn’t really well hiked and was essentially bushwhacking; if I was by myself wouldn’t have been a problem.
January 16, 2021Nice. First real snow shoe trek. Tough in wet snow.
January 9, 2021Pretty little hike! Perfectly family friendly. Came with my 5 year old and 59 year old mom. Took us an hour with a break on top and plenty of time for pictures. :) Clear day so the outlook had a great view of the surrounding area.
January 6, 2021good hike!
January 1, 2021December 30, 2020great hike
October 15, 2020sign at the trailhead says closed October 15th through mid-December due to hunting.
October 12, 2020Fun walk with good views of gore and other nearby mountains as well as loon lake. Not very difficult or crowded, would definitely suggest as a good 1/2 hour activity
October 12, 2020Beautiful easy hike. Brought my 1 year old chocolate lab and my 11 year old golden retriever. Perfect for the older dog. Beautiful views.
October 10, 2020Super easy trail for the fantastic views. Mostly level until the second half where is picks up steepness. Just when you are getting a bit winded, you are there! The mix of trees is just beautiful, and the view of Loon Lake and surrounding mountain ranges is amazing. Well maintained trail, and super easy to follow. I did this in the summer and said I had to come back in the fall, so glad I did!
October 4, 2020awesome trails nice easy hike
