Six peaks within ten miles of Saranac Lake village. A friendly community challenge with a patch, a certificate, and the tradition of ringing the bell at Riverside Park when you finish.
The Saranac 6 was launched by the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce as a community alternative to the 46 — a challenge anyone reasonably fit can finish in a long summer, with peaks that bracket the village instead of an hour's drive away. None of the six is on the 46 list. None requires a herd path or an alpine zone. All six can be done as day hikes from a single base in town.
Baker Mountain rises to 2,441 feet in the southern Adirondacks near Saratoga Lake. The trail is short — 1 mile to the fire tower summit — and the views span from the High Peaks north to the Vermont ridges east.
Haystack Mountain rises to 2,864 feet in the central Adirondacks. The summit offers open ledges with views across surrounding ridges — accessible by unmarked herd paths that require map work and route-finding skill.
McKenzie Mountain rises to 3,822 feet in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, reached by a 5.4-mile out-and-back trail from the Whiteface Inn trailhead. The summit delivers open views of the Saranac Lakes chain and surrounding High Peaks — a moderate climb less trafficked than its taller neighbors.
Saint Regis Mountain rises to 2,838 feet in the northern Adirondacks, topped by a staffed fire tower with 360-degree views across the St. Regis Canoe Area. The 6.2-mile round-trip from the Paul Smiths trailhead climbs steadily but ranks among the easier fire tower hikes in the park.
Scarface Mountain rises to 3,054 feet in the northern Dix Range, named for a prominent rock slide scar visible from Route 9N. The standard route from Route 73 is a steep 6.4-mile round-trip with exposed ledges near the summit — views of the Dix peaks and Ausable Valley justify the climb.
Ampersand Mountain rises to 3,353 feet in the Saranac Lake Wild Forest. The 5.4-mile round-trip trail climbs steeply through birch and spruce to open ledges with panoramic views of the High Peaks and the Saranac Lakes—a shorter summit day than most in the region.
There’s no required order. Most finishers save Ampersand for last — the bald summit offers a 360° view of the Seward Range and the St. Regis Canoe Area, which makes for the finisher’s photograph people actually frame. Baker is the shortest at 1.8 miles round-trip and gets bagged on most visitors’ first afternoon. McKenzie is the longest and most committing — pair it with a clear-weather day and a full breakfast.
The unwritten season is June through October. The higher three (McKenzie, Scarface, Ampersand) glaze with verglas by late October — doable in winter conditions with traction, but that’s when the “Winter 6er” patch starts to mean something. Black flies peak from late May through mid-June; mosquitoes carry July; deer flies own August. By September the bugs largely give up.
All six trailheads sit within fifteen minutes of downtown Saranac Lake, which makes the village a real base camp rather than an hour-each-morning drive. Hotel Saranac, the Adirondack Brewery, and a half-dozen cafés are within walking distance of the bell at Riverside Park. Bring a paper map — cell service drops on three of the six approaches, and the McKenzie summit ridge has confused more than one party that planned to navigate by phone.
Register your climb, download the log card, claim the finisher's patch + certificate.
Where to base out of, where to eat between peaks, and what else to do on rest days.
If the 6er sparks the next project. Education, stewardship, and trail-crew programs.
Closures, advisories, and bridge-outs across the Park, refreshed hourly from the DEC feed.
Sortable table of all 46 with difficulty, mileage, suggested order, and routing notes.
Browse the full Adirondack trail network. Filter by region, length, and difficulty.
Trail stewardship, the Adirondak Loj, education programs, advocacy. Membership funds the trails you hike.
Register at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber, summit all six, then ring the community bell at Riverside Parkon Lake Flower to finish. The Chamber sends a patch and a finisher’s certificate; many hikers add the “Ultra 6er” (all six in a single day) or the “Winter 6er” (all six between December and March) as next chapters.
