§ Field Notes
About Mount Jo via Heart Lake.
Mount Jo sits above Heart Lake at the trailhead of the High Peaks — a short loop hike (~2.6 miles) with roughly 700 ft of elevation gain that summits onto an open rock dome with panoramic views south to **Mt. Marcy, Algonquin, Wright, and the rest of the MacIntyre Range**.
The trailhead is at the **Adirondak Loj** (operated by the Adirondack Mountain Club) at the end of Adirondak Loj Road, 8 miles south of Lake Placid. The two loop options are the Short Trail (steeper, faster to the summit) and the Long Trail (gentler grade, slightly longer).
**Parking:** lot at the Loj has a daily fee (non-members). Note: **winter parking reservations are required from late fall through spring** — see the Adirondack Mountain Club site for current rules.
**Named for** Josephine Schofield, fiancée of philanthropist Henry van Hoevenberg who built the original Adirondack Lodge in the 1880s.
Editor's note
“Best first-summit in the park. The view out to the High Peaks from the rock dome is what sells the region.”— the publisher
§ Trails from here
Routes that start nearby.
Hiking trails within roughly 3 miles of this trailhead, drawn from our OpenStreetMap-sourced almanac.