Catamount Mountain sits by itself above the plains and lakes north and east of Whiteface Mountain. The views from the summit are expansive, and include Whiteface, Taylor Pond, Union Falls Pond and even Vermont on a clear day.  

This is not a trail for the faint of heart. To get to the trailhead take the highway to the Whiteface Auto road out of Wilmington, and continue on the county road (right) encountered just before the auto road entrance station. At the bottom of the hill, take the first right, right at the next T intersection, and then you will see the mountain across the meadow as you drive a little north of east. The trailhead (on the left going east) is marked by a DEC sign and a large parking area. The GPS cordinates are N44 26.587 W73 52.772.

From the parking area take the trail past the yellow gate. The hiking trail gets progressively steeper as you go, culminating with a climb through a "chimney". After that you scramble up more rock onto the nose of the spur.   This is followed by a scramble up and across to the summit ridge. The ascent from the road is about 1540 feet over 1.8 miles. Since the first about 0.7 miles is nearly flat, the rest of the trail is pretty much all up hill. 

By walking around on the summit, views in all directions are available. The terrain below and the hills to the north show a variety not often seen in the High Peaks. Look below for a map of this hike.

DEC Sign along Forestdale Road

Catamount Mountain Trail starts beyond this gate