Marcy Dam Trail is a 4.2 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Lake Placid, New York that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from February until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
birding
camping
cross country skiing
hiking
nature trips
snowshoeing
forest
lake
river
views
wild flowers
wildlife
muddy
rocky
snow
This trail is rocky and full of up and down. Great views at the end and opportunities to link up to other trails to utilize different routs on the way in or out. This trail is mostly made up of an access road to Marcy Dam. It can be a nice summer hike but is best suited for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing. The trail is full of up and down so it can be a lot of fun for intermediate and expert skiers, but it can be a real handful for beginners because there will be many falls coming down the curvy slopes.
Different without the damn.
Lot’s of bears that aren’t afraid!
Sweet little trail, when I arrived the top parking lot was completely full so I needed to park in the overflow and walk the mile back in to the trailhead. The rangers were very present and warning about the high bear activity and providing safety tips. While on the trail a ranger came by and warned me to be on alert as there was currently a bear on the trail just ahead of me, because they are not super aggressive bears and it was daylight, I was not really worried, I just made the determination to not break out my lunch, so the bear would not be tempted. One thing I noticed was that others were not as conscious about their eating habits-there were apple cores and banana peels all along the trail, which of course was drawing in the bears.
Good hike. Not easy, but not hard. Nice pond.
beautiful
Stunning
Great quick trail if just going to Marcy Dam. Was about an hour hike from Adirondack LOJ. We continued on to Avalanche pass for the 10 mile round trip.
nice easy hike in, nice area for a family hike
Completed this trail as part of the Marcy Dam, Avalanche Pass, Avalanche Lake out and back. It is a gentle 2-mile hike to the dam that is a good family hike. There are a few breakpoints along the stream with large rocks the kids loved to play on. The dam itself was a little disappointing, but the scenery was beautiful. I would have loved to see it before it was damaged. I recommend this trail only as a means to access other areas of the ADKs or as an intro trail for beginner hikers.
I love this trail!! so sad to see that the state has decided not to fix Marcy dam!! to me was landmark of adirondack. I remeber 1st time hiking mt. marcy Marcy dam was highlight and was gorgeous. now not having the pond there so sad...
I was on this trail about a year and a half ago... in late August. It was the beginning of my hike to Mt Marcy. But the views of the high peaks from the Marcy Dam were breathtaking, especially for such a short and rather level hike.
At the time I was here, the dam was damaged and you had to cross via a footbridge nearby. I'm not sure if that has been repaired yet, but it really makes no difference because the footbridge only adds about 10 minutes to your hike.
Good hike overall, with some pretty rewarding views at the dam. It wasn't steep, but the ice and mud made it slippery. For families who don't want to hike the full Mount Marcy, this trail is highly recommended.
This is my first winter hike of this trail. The trail was pretty much packed snow that was iced over and the sides of that was crunchy snow that wasn't packed down. You definitely needed microspikes for traction, but I used Hillsound Trail crampons and they worked nicely. There was blowdown on the trail, but was negotiable. There was a moderate amount of people that were out.
This trail looks to be in pretty bad shape. Very wide, lots of mud and signs asking people to bury their human waste off trail.
When I was a child the dam was a beautiful sight and a magical place. After Hurricane Irene, it looks like the damn is now going to be left to rot. What a shame.
I would probably only be on this trail in the future out of necessity.
This is an easy hike to do. This is a gentle 2.3 mile trail from the Adk Loj. The view of Mount Colden is nice from the dam area. The new bridge isn't that far from the old dam. This area gets real crowded with campers. This trail is usually busy with people hiking up to Mount Marcy, Tabletop, and Phelps Mountains.
Le mont Marcy qui culmine à 1 629 mètres d'altitude est la plus haute montagne de la chaîne des Adirondacks et le point culminant de l'État de New York
Altitude : 1 629 m
Proéminence : 1 498 m
Première ascension : 1837
Chaîne de montagnes : Adirondacks
Tres belle randonnée. Le trajet pour se rendre est un peu long depuis le Québec. Je conseil donc de dormir sur place car c'est une randonnée d'au moins 5 heures a un rythme modéré. La vue est magnifique et plusieurs sommets sont a proximité.
Haven't seen it since the dam was damaged a couple of years ago, but for the 45 years that I've been hiking, this trail has always been one of the best introductory trips into the Adirondacks. Gorgeous Pine forest at the start gives way to a pleasant up and down jaunt for just a couple miles to the inspiring view of Mt. Colden where the pretty pond used to be. Popular camping spot but often full in summer, and don't forget the bear canisters. Leads to the shortest ( but not best) trail up Marcy or to the fantastic Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden.