Saddleback Mountain rises to 4,515 feet at the heart of the Adirondack Great Range, the 17th highest of the 46 High Peaks. Its name comes from the shape of the summit ridge, a narrow, dipping spine with high points at each end, just as Orson Schofield Phelps and Frederick Perkins described it when they named it in the nineteenth century. The ridge itself is about a quarter mile long, and from its twin crests, hikers get sweeping views across the Great Range to Gothics, Basin, and Haystack.
The standard approach follows the Phelps Trail from the Garden trailhead in Keene Valley to Johns Brook Lodge, then continues on the State Range Trail past lean-tos and brook crossings before the final climb to the summit. The round trip covers roughly 13 miles with more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain, a full day in any season. The most distinctive feature on the approach is the Saddleback Cliffs, a steep, exposed rock face between Basin and Saddleback that demands careful hand-and-foot climbing. In dry conditions it is manageable without technical gear, but the same pitch becomes serious in wet weather or ice.
Many hikers combine Saddleback with Basin and Haystack in a single long day. Several routes connect these summits, with the HaBaSa traverse among the most popular. Parking at the Garden trailhead is limited and fills early on summer weekends, so an early start is advisable.
