Giant Mountain rises to 4,627 feet in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks, earning its nickname "Giant of the Valley" from the way it dominates the view from Keene Valley and St. Huberts below. The twelfth-highest summit in New York, it rewards the climb with a fully open rock top and sweeping 360-degree views across the High Peaks and east to the Lake Champlain Valley.
Two trails serve as the main approaches. The Ridge Trail departs the Zander Scott Trailhead and climbs 3,050 feet over 3.2 miles along an exposed rock ridgeline; at the 0.7-mile mark it passes Giant's Washbowl, a scenic tarn set in a hollow below the ridge. The Roaring Brook Trail begins at a separate trailhead, gains 3,375 feet over 3.6 miles, and passes the dramatic Roaring Brook Falls low on the route before the two trails converge near the summit. A longer loop combining both trails with Rocky Peak Ridge adds a second High Peaks summit to the day.
The exposed ridgeline demands respect in any season. Summit temperatures routinely run 20 or more degrees colder than the trailhead, and the open upper slopes collect ice quickly. Microspikes are useful well into spring; full crampons and winter experience are required from late fall through early spring. The open summit makes Giant one of the finer vantage points in the range, with autumn foliage lighting up the valleys on all sides.
