Sawteeth takes its name from the serrated profile its ridgeline traces against the sky, one of the more recognizable silhouettes in the Adirondack High Peaks. At 4,100 feet, it sits near the center of the Great Range, and its summit rewards hikers with some of the most dramatic close-range views in the range: the slide-scarred anorthosite faces of Basin, Gothics, and Pyramid fill the northern horizon at close quarters.
All approaches to Sawteeth pass through the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, which requires a parking reservation from May 1 through October 31. Dogs are not permitted on AMR land. From the AMR gate, Lake Road follows the valley floor roughly three miles to the dam at Lower Ausable Lake. Two trails diverge from there. The Scenic Trail climbs 3.0 miles from the lake dam with roughly 2,275 feet of gain, threading through the "teeth" of the ridge on a route that includes rock scrambling and fixed ladders at the steeper passages. The Pyramid-Gothics Trail offers a slightly longer but more moderate line, reaching the col between Sawteeth and Pyramid before a short 0.5-mile push to the summit. Many hikers combine the two into a loop, ascending the Scenic Trail and descending via the Pyramid-Gothics route.
Sawteeth is frequently paired with Pyramid and Armstrong in a single outing. The exposed ridgeline can be icy well into May and again by November; microspikes are commonly needed outside the summer season.
