What is there to do in Keene?

The Keene region of the Adirondack Park includes 12 named peaks, 83 lakes and ponds, and 8 hiking trails within or near its boundary, plus lodging, dining, outfitters, and seasonal events. Hiking, paddling, fishing, swimming, and scenic driving are the most common visitor pursuits depending on the season.

What are the best hikes in Keene?

Popular hikes near Keene include Porter Ridge Trail, Pitchoff Mountain Trail, Little and Big Crow Trail, Upham Trail, and Baxter Mountain from 9N. See the full trail map and difficulty/length details for each on its trail page.

What lakes are in or near Keene?

Notable waters in the Keene area include Connery Pond, Heart Lake, Avalanche Lake, Copperas Pond, and Holcomb Pond. Each lake page lists surface area, public access, fishing species, and boat launches when available.

Where can I stay in Keene?

Keene has 77 published listings across lodging, dining, outfitters, and attractions. Lodging ranges from family-owned inns and lakeside cabins to historic resorts, with options for every budget and season.

When is the best time to visit Keene?

Keene is a year-round destination. Summer (June–August) is busiest, with peak swimming, paddling, and hiking; fall (mid-September through mid-October) brings foliage and quieter trails; winter offers skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling; spring brings ice-out fishing and waterfalls.

Keene is in the Adirondack Park, a 6-million-acre constitutionally protected ("Forever Wild") forest preserve in northern New York State. The Park is roughly the size of Vermont and contains 102 towns and villages, 3,000+ lakes and ponds, and 2,000+ miles of trails.

What is there to do in Keene?

The Keene region of the Adirondack Park includes 12 named peaks, 83 lakes and ponds, and 8 hiking trails within or near its boundary, plus lodging, dining, outfitters, and seasonal events. Hiking, paddling, fishing, swimming, and scenic driving are the most common visitor pursuits depending on the season.

What are the best hikes in Keene?

Popular hikes near Keene include Porter Ridge Trail, Pitchoff Mountain Trail, Little and Big Crow Trail, Upham Trail, and Baxter Mountain from 9N. See the full trail map and difficulty/length details for each on its trail page.

What lakes are in or near Keene?

Notable waters in the Keene area include Connery Pond, Heart Lake, Avalanche Lake, Copperas Pond, and Holcomb Pond. Each lake page lists surface area, public access, fishing species, and boat launches when available.

Where can I stay in Keene?

Keene has 77 published listings across lodging, dining, outfitters, and attractions. Lodging ranges from family-owned inns and lakeside cabins to historic resorts, with options for every budget and season.

When is the best time to visit Keene?

Keene is a year-round destination. Summer (June–August) is busiest, with peak swimming, paddling, and hiking; fall (mid-September through mid-October) brings foliage and quieter trails; winter offers skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling; spring brings ice-out fishing and waterfalls.

Keene is in the Adirondack Park, a 6-million-acre constitutionally protected ("Forever Wild") forest preserve in northern New York State. The Park is roughly the size of Vermont and contains 102 towns and villages, 3,000+ lakes and ponds, and 2,000+ miles of trails.

Things to do in Keene — hikes, lakes, lodging | Adirondack Region

ClosureHigh Peaks

Calamity Brook Bridge Washed Out: The High-Water Bridge on the Calamity Brook Trail has washed out from snowmelt.

Calamity Brook Bridge Washed Out: The High-Water Bridge on the Calamity Brook Trail has washed out from snowmelt. This crossing is located about 1.8 miles before Flowed Lands. The Calamity Brook Trail, starting at the Upper Works, is the main access to Flowed Lands, Lake Colden and hikes radiating from that basin. Combined with the closure of the Avalanche Pass Trail, access to this area will be more difficult for the remainder of the winter. Alternative routes will also have high water crossing challenges, including the two crossings of the Opalescent River on the East River Trail and the crossing…

Source: NYS DEC · last updated 16 hours ago

ClosureHigh Peaks

The gate at Clear Pond will remain closed until after mud season.

The gate at Clear Pond will remain closed until after mud season. Hikers must park at the Upper Elk Lake Road parking lot on the west side of the Elk Lake Road approximately 2.3 miles south of the Elk Lake parking lot and trailhead. Please respect the parking rules to help ensure this access is maintained and there are no impacts to fire and rescue access.

Source: NYS DEC · last updated 16 hours ago

ClosureHigh Peaks

The Avalanche Pass Trail is closed and impassable due to mud/rock slides, effective immediately.

The Avalanche Pass Trail is closed and impassable due to mud/rock slides, effective immediately. Crews are working to assess the damage in the area and clear a functional path through the debris. Hikers must seek an alternative route until otherwise posted. Routes impacted include: Passage south to Lake Colden area from the Adirondak Loj; loop routes over Algonquin Peak, Mount Colden, and Mount Marcy back to the Adirondak Loj through Avalanche Pass; alternate route through Lake Arnold is possible but extremely wet and muddy.

Source: NYS DEC · last updated 16 hours ago

+ 53 more advisories for this area — see the full DEC backcountry page.

The climber's gateway to the High Peaks..

Keene is the village you drive through to get to the trailheads, and then — if you have any sense — the village you stop in. It sits in the valley below the Cascade Lakes, ten miles east of Lake Placid by Route 73, and it is the working trailhead-density capital of the Adirondacks. The Adirondak Loj, Roostercomb, the Garden parking lot for the Great Range, the Ausable Club at St. Huberts: all within a twenty-minute drive. More 46ers start their climbs from inside this region than from anywhere else in the Park.

It is also smaller and quieter than Lake Placid in ways that matter. Keene Valley has been a destination for climbers — meaning the kind of person who reads Yvon Chouinard for fun — since the late nineteenth century, when J. M. Hopper and the Trudeau-era guides started leading parties up Mount Marcy. The climbing-school culture is still here. The Mountaineer in Keene Valley is the equipment shop most Adirondack climbers stop in before any serious objective. The Noonmark Diner is where they eat afterward.

Lake Placid puts on the Olympic show; Keene runs the trailheads. Visitors who want the polished resort experience go ten miles west; visitors who came to climb park here and walk into the woods.

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