Mud Pond Mountain offers great views for a modest effort. This route passes through a conservation easement and the area is closed to the public from June 24 thru August 22nd.
| Directions | From Long Lake, drive toward Tupper Lake on Route 30. After a half mile, turn right on Kickerville Road. Follow Kickerville Road to where the pavement ends. Signs indicate that the continuing gravel road is private, but there is an easement and you can continue. After .8 miles on the gravel road a DEC sign points to a parking area on the left. From the parking area, return to the road and walk along the road for an additional four tenths of a mile to an intersection of three gated roads. Take the hard left. Signs indicate that this is the way to Mud Pond. |
| Difficulty | Easy to Moderate. Five-and-a-half miles round trip with 550 feet of elevation gain. Nearly the entire climb is in the last half mile. |
| Family-Friendly | Yes. The last half mile is steep and a bit rough, but, overall, this is an easy walk. |
| Winter | The Cedarlands easement offers great skiing and snowshoeing options. Mud Pond Mountain is steep so you'll want microspikes or showwhoes for the last half mile to the top. |
| One Thing to Know | The tract is privately owned by the Boy Scounts and access to the easement comes with some restrictions. With the exception of Mud Pond, the tract is closed to the public from the third weekend in June through the third weekend in August. In addition, the area at the south end of McRorie Lake, where the Scout Camp facilities are located, is always closed to the public. |
| NY DEC Webpage | Cedarlands Easement |
| Photo Gallery | Cedarlands Photo Gallery |
Cedarlands Trail Map
Mud Pond Mountain offers a lot of view for a relatively modest effort. The round trip covers 5.5 miles with an elevation gain of just 550 feet. The catch is that the entire climb comes in the last half mile. That last stretch is steep, and, as of 2020, the trail is lightly used and a bit rough in places.
The mountain, and nearby Mud Pond and McRorie Lake, are found in the Cedarlands Easement Tract (DEC Map). This 5000 acre tract, located just a few minutes drive from Long Lake, offers outstanding hiking and canoeing opportunities.
View from Mud Pond Mountain