Hiking Big Slide Mountain: An Easy 46er!

Are you an aspiring 46er?  Or are you just looking for a great hike in the Adirondacks?  Because either way, you will love hiking Big Slide Mountain!

This hike has it all!  Beautiful views, open face sections of the trail, 3 peaks to summit before you summit Big Slide and even ladders.  It’s a great hike to get you started on the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks, or a great hike if you are just passing through.  

Let’s jump right in, because this hike is awesome!

Important Links (Map, State Park Website, Link to Camping Article)

AllTrails Map – Download before the hike

Big Slide Info

46er website

Camping in Macomb Reservation State Park

Hiking Algonquin Peak – a harder 46er!

Location

Let’s start with the basics.  Where is Big Slide Mountain?  Big Slide Mountain is located in the High Peaks Wilderness area of the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

The Adirondacks require a bit of a hike (pun intended) to get to.  A good 5 hours away from New York City, 2 hours from Albany, NY and 5 hours from Boston, MA, Big Slide Mountain isn’t the best hike for a day trip.  But there are plenty of camping options in the area where you can easily stay for a night or two in order to hike this 46er.  

What is a 46er?

But what even is a 46er?  In the Adirondacks, there are 46 peaks that are taller than 4000 feet, and Big Slide is one of them.  

Some of the 46ers are much more challenging than others and can require nearly 20 miles in a single day just to summit.  But Big Slide Mountain is a great 46er to start with as it’s only about an 8 miles round trip.  

For more information on the 46ers, check out this website for all the details.  Now, back to your upcoming hike!  

Parking 

There are several trails to summit Big Slide Mountain, but the one we are going to be talking about is known as Big Slide Mountain via the Brothers.  And for this trail, you’ll want to park at what is known as The Gardens.  

This parking lot has a $10 fee, but there isn’t an attendant to take your money, and it’s often full by 6am.  Here is my advice with this parking lot

1. Arrive EARLY!  Some have reported it full by 5am on a weekend.
2. Bring Cash, exact cash.  This is the easiest option for you to drop your exact cash into the envelope provided at the entrance.

In short, you’ll want to park here.  Or you can use this address _______ in your favorite maps app.  

Trail Stats

Hiking Big Slide Mountain is definitely a hard hike, but one of the easier trails for the 46ers.  And if you’re new to the Adirondacks, the trails are often very rocky, steep and contain ladders.  But while hiking Big Slide, we recorded these stats!

• Distance: 8.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 3,200 feet
• Time on Trail: 6.5 hours
• Difficulty: Hard

Trail Overview

Hiking Big Slide Mountain via the Brothers is an awesome hike and this trail is highly recommended for summiting.  Yes, there are other trails, but this is a lovely hike.  

The trail starts off at the parking lot and once you pay, you can easily see the trailhead at the back of the parking lot.  The trail for Big Slide is clearly labeled with wooden signs, but essentially, you will want to head to the right.  After this turn, the trail is a straight shot up over the 3 brothers, and then one other right hand turn to the summit of Big Slide Mountain.  

As you hike up, you’ll summit First Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother and then you will finally continue to the summit of Big Slide Mountain.  The view on Big Slide is incredible and you’ll be glad you hiked those 3 mountains to get there.  

This trail is an out and back, which means, once you’ve had your fill, you’ll then turn around and go down the way you came.  Now that you have the basic details, let’s really get into it.  

What to Expect

This is not an easy hike, but for the 46ers, this is one of the easier hikes.  The difficulty is definitely considered hard, but if you are an aspiring 46er, this is a good hike to start with.  So let’s get into it!

The Ascent

The first 1.5 miles of this hike are primarily in the woods as you hike to the summit of First Brother.  You’ll cover about 1400 feet of elevation gain and there isn’t a flat section until you reach the summit of First Brother. 

As you reach this first summit, you’ll come out of the woods and now it’s just you, the rock below your feet, and the sky.  The gorgeous views on First Brother leads you on to the Second Brother, which is equally as gorgeous.  Once you reach the Second Brother, you head back into the woods and the trail flattens out.

After the flat section, the mountains then kick up the elevation gain again as you work toward summiting the Third Brother.  There are a few rock scramble spots at this point, but the Third Brother doesn’t have a defined summit point.  In fact, you’ll probably pass it without even noticing.  

Big Slide Summit

Finally, you’ll be hiking up Big Slide Mountain.  This part of the trail goes downhill initially, with several wooden planks for you to cross to avoid wet feet.  Then comes the most challenging part.  

The steepness before the summit creates several scrambles and you’ll most-likely need your hands as you struggle to the top.  There are also several ladders here to help you climb up the sheer rock face in front of you!

As you continue following the markers, you’ll finally reach the summit and the gorgeous view that goes along with it!  The 180 degree view is incredible and really highlights the beauty of the High Peak Wilderness around you.  

Sit down, have a snack, and stay awhile, after all, you earned it!

We, unfortunately, didn’t get a whole lot of time at the summit as a storm was blowing in and we had to hustle back down the mountain.  But we could have taken in this mountain view for hours.

Descent

Once you’ve had your fill of the mountain views and saw all you wanted to see, you’ll head back the way you came.  And every steep section that you climbed up will now require some athleticism as you scramble back down.  

The hardest part of this hike is coming down the rock faces that you bouldered on the way up.  You might just end up sitting on your butt and scooching your way down some of these spots (we may or may not have done this…).

The descent from the summit of Big Slide Mountain is steep, but fairly easy for a 46er in the Adirondacks.  Once you reach the final flat spot and head back to the parking lot, you’ll be able to head back to your campsite, hotel or even back home.  But we added one more stop!

Our Hike

My husband and I hiked Big Slide Mountain in August of 2024 and while it was challenging in a few rocky places, we really enjoyed this hike.  We were on the trails for nearly 7 hours and we really loved all of the open mountain areas of this hike.  After all, most of the East Coast is tree-covered, so it’s pretty awesome when you can find a trail that gives you a view while you’re hiking.  

After completing our out-and-back hike and getting plenty of water, we decided to celebrate a little.  Since we had just hiked Big Slide Mountain, (our first 46er!) we decided to drive a little out of the way and grab a drink at Big Slide Brewery!

There’s a little bit of everything here as far as food and brews (or ciders) go.  I will say it’s a little pricey, but totally worth it.  We then headed back to our campsite for a shower and some much needed rest.    

Camping 

While there are a plethora of campgrounds in and around the Adirondacks, we opted to stay at Macomb Reservation State Park.  This park was about an hour away from the trailhead of Big Slide Mountain via the Brothers.  

We chose this campground because of the affordability, the electric hookups for our camper, and for the hot showers.  Sure, this isn’t roughing it, but these are a few nonnegotiable for us as full-time travelers.  

If you’re interested in staying at Macomb Reservation State Park, or just want to read about our stay, head over to my post about our camping trip!

Things to do in the area

Once you’ve hiked Big Slide Mountain, you might be saying “Now what?”  Well, there are 2 awesome towns that you can explore that we highly recommend!

Lake Placid is an awesome little town to shop hop in, take a walk around Mirror Lake, or to explore the Olympic Center/Olympic Museum.  The Olympic Games were held here in 1932 and again in 1980.  Even if the Olympics aren’t a fascination of yours, there is so much to do in Lake Placid.

Another town nearby is Saranac Lake.  This town is smaller but just as charming!  We spent a morning exploring the town and driving around the 3 lakes that are located all within the town limits.  

There are plenty of other things to do in the area as well.  But if you’re looking for more hiking, Indian Head in the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) or hike Algonquin Peak or really any of the other 46ers will definitely satisfy that itch!

Conclusion

Big Slide Mountain is a great way to get started hiking the high peaks of the Adirondacks.  With just the perfect amount of challenge paired with the stunning views, this hike is wildly rewarding!  And you can always celebrate your hike by grabbing a brew at Big Slide Brewery right after.  

Whether you are an aspiring 46er or just looking for a cool day hike in the Adirondacks, Big Slide Mountain is for you!

As always, feel free to reach out to me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Happy Hiking!