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Harmon Hill

Andy | May 14, 2026

Harmon Hill is a short but steep hike outside of Bennington, VT. You go up some 1,200 feet in a little over 1.7 miles from the parking area deep in the Dunville Hollow just west of Bennington for modest views up north and west of Bennington.

The trail up it is part of the Long Trail, which is duplexed with the Applachian Trail in Vermont. Here is the sign near the parking area.

It is a steep 1 mile as you make most of the 1,200 ascent. There are not much views as you climb out of the Dunville Hollow, just a lot of rock-steps and steep switch backs as one climbs up the mountain.

Likens along the trail.

A destination sign tells you that you’ve reached the Pioneer Valley section of the Long Trail and are starting the Bennington section.

When you come to the top you have an interesting view of Mount Anthony, Bennington, and in the far distance the Champlain Valley and the Adirondacks.

You can see the Bennington Monument and the surround farms near Bennington from the mountain.

Towards the North, you can see some of the Adirondacks towering over the much lower range of the Green Mountains, including Grass Mountain.

This is the second peak of Harmon Hill, which is view less. I hiked to Harmon Hill and the viewless points further south on the Long Trail.

Here is a map of the hike.

Goodnow Mountain

Andy | June 20, 2022

Goodnow Mountain 🗻 🚶‍♀️

A couple of weeks ago I hiked up Goodnow Mountain, on a beautiful clear afternoon, that by the time I reached the mountain it started to cloud up and the humidity started to increase. I had previously in the morning attempted to hike up Giant Mountain in the High Peaks, and wanted to do something easier for the afternoon.

Goodnow Mountain is located at the SUNY ESF (Environmental Science-Forestry) College, just south of the Adirondack High Peaks on NY 28, just to the west of Newcomb. It’s a bit of a drive from the Adirondack Northway from the east or even a little ways from Long Lake to the west, but well worth it for the views.

About a quarter mile up the trail you pass an interesting tree grown over a rock. This is not as uncommon as you might think in the Adirondacks where the soils are poor and the ground is rocky, and trees seek to put down more roots to pick up nuetrants.

At about 1/2 mile you reach the old woods road that at one time, decades ago, provide vehicular access to the tower for forest rangers. Part of the trail is flat, but then it keeps steeper and erosion is noticable on the old road bed, no longer passable by anything then ATV in an emergency.

Further up the mountain, the trail follows a series of boardwalks that keeps most of the trail out of the mud and the muck.

Then you reach an old abandoned barn, a well, and some interesting old debris like what appears to be a tank from a hot water heater storage unit.

You ascend a ledge, with some limited views to the south.

Then their is a thick planation of White Pines along the trail as you make one relatively short ascent to the firetower.

Eventually at the last possible moment, you break through the White Pines to see the Goodnow Firetower, and almost instantly want to start climbing it for the views, unless your suffering from heat exhaustion, then you might want to look for the relatively limited shaded but open sections on the mountain.

SUNY ESF has restored to the Ranger’s cabin, and the porch is a farely popular place to sit, enjoy the view, beat the heat for a few moments.

There are many interesting views from the firetower. Here are the High Peaks looking North, the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest to the east, Kempshall Mountain / Long Lake to the west, and Blue Mountain / Blue Ridge to the South.

Here is a map of the hike.

Map: Doodletown Wildlife Management Area

Hiking Lyon Mountain

Andy | October 16, 2012

Last October I went for a hike up Lyon Mountain. The first 3/4 of a mile you can drive up to the parking lot, then from there, it’s a two mile hike to the summit, or about 3 miles if you take the new trail.

The old trail, following an old woods road is eroded and rough in places, but it well traveled as it much shorter. The new trail, being so twisty is not as well traveled, but it is far less steep and tends to be less wet in the spring time.

Heading up from the parking area, the first part of the trail follows the old trails route, before swinging left near a registration kiosk.

It was very colorful along the new trail as all the maples where at about peak color going up the mountain.

I decided to switch over from the new trail to the old trail, once I reached the point where the trails reached their closest point at the midpoint up the mountain.

As you get about 2/3rds the way up the mountain, you can look back and see Lake Chazy.

The old trail certainly is eroded and in rough sape in some parts. You can understand why they re-routed it.

Ah, finally see the fire tower.

Hazy day, but there’s Lake Chazy and the farms along it.

Wind turbines of the Chazy Highlands…

Lyon Mountain is a popular hike, as seen by all the hikers on the ledge.

Why Jones Hill is One of My Favorite Fall Hikes

Andy | September 17, 2012

One of my favorite fall hikes when I am out in Syracuse is to hike Jones Hill, which is about 10 miles east of Tully. It’s a quick hop down I-81, as you climb into the mountains, and then take NY 80 through some farm land, and south past Labrador Hollow and Labrador Pond.

You should probably do the hike in the morning, for the best views of country east of here. The fall leaves up here turn earler then in Syracuse.

What makes Jones Hill so unique is what you see in the vista. Below you is Labrador Pond, a 101 acre lake with many unique and endangered species. Across the way is Labrador Hill, and to the north to the farm country around Tully.

The leaves are always quite spectulator up here, especially if you catch them at peak, which is usually a week prior to Columbus Day Weekend. On Columbus Day Weekend, in contrast, you should go to Green Lake State Park — preferably at sunrise, before the crowds arrive.

Why Jones Pond is One of My Favorite Campsites

Andy | September 16, 2012

Jones Pond has 5 drive-in campsites on Jones Pond, a small public-private lake a little ways from Paul Smiths. A popular area on weekends, on weeknights, it is little used, but right on this beautiful lake.

View Larger Map

All of the campsites have “filtered” views of Jones Pond with tall white pines growing throughout the campground. The sun, year round sets on the lake, with views of Saint Regis Mountain te background. There is much beauty at all of campsites, with high sand dunes a little ways behind campsites, and sand dunes providing sound and light barriers between campsites.

Part of the generalized St Regis Canoe Area, it one of many nearby lakes. It provides a great place to make the night after a long day paddling, after watching the sunset, and the fire burn as the night progresses. Walk down to the shoreline, and look at the stars sparkle in the sky.

It’s not perfect. There is some road noise from Jones Pond Road, and certainly part of lake shore is privately owned, so there are some power boats occassionally on the lake. But still, it’s a wonderful experience.