Hike to Mill Brook Ridge Mountain from Alder Lake |
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| View of the Alder Lake - Taken from the side of the dam |
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OVERVIEW |
| | Trail Name: | 
Alder Lake Loop Trail |
| | Trail Name: | 
Mill Brook Ridge Trail |
| | Forest: | Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest |
| | Parking Area : | 30+ spaces at Alder Lake |
| | Winter Access: | None - Cross Mountain Road is now plowed in the Winter |
| | Camp sites: | 11 major Camp Site locations |
| | Lean-to sites: | One - Beaver Meadow Lean-to |
| | Access & Activities: | Hike and snowshoe |
| | Cost / Reservations: | Free - no reservation system (first come - first serve) |
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| | Trail Length: | 3.74 miles one-way / 7.55 miles (round-trip) |
| | Trail Type: | 68% Single-track trail - 32% Double-track trail |
| | Hiking Time: | 5 hour |
| | Lowest Elevation: | 2,209' (A) |
| | Highest Elevation: | 3,493' (A) |
| | Views : | Beautiful view of the lake near Trailhead |
| | Difficulty: | Moderate - Route finding skills needed |
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| | USGS Map: | USGS Arena Quad Maps |
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| | DEC Trail Map: | DEC Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest Map (free) |
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| | Notes About Hiking the Mill Brook Ridge Mountain Trail and Camping at Alder Lake |
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| | TRAIL |
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The beginning of this hike is easy with nice views. After about 8/10 of a miles, the hike moves to Mill Brook Ridge Trail. The first 1.5 miles is on an old logging road, which is a double-track trail. Once past the Beaver Meadow Lean-to, the trail changes to a single-track trail, and is usually overgrown in the summer months, so some route finding is necessary. The total mileage is around 7.5 miles for this hike.
You can extend your hike past Mill Brook Ridge Mountain by continuing another 1.2 miles to Beecher Lake View Spot. This option would extend the total mileage of the hike to 10 miles.
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| | CAMPSITES |
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There are numerous campsites all around Alder Lake. So, if you want to extend your stay in the Alder Lake region, this is a good choice to camp. In the Summer months, Alder Lake is very busy.
Due to the large number of campsites around Alder Lake attracts Black Bears. We very rarely see them during the day. At night, they come down to the campsites looking for food and scraps that people leave out. Make sure you read the section on Black Bears below.
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| | LAKE |
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Alder Lake is not that deep. The deepest section is down towards the dam. It is an excellent to kayak or canoe on. It you take water from the lake, make sure you sterilize the water.
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| | PARKING |
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Finding the entrance to the Alder Lake Parking Area is not marked, nor are there any signs denoting that the entrance goes to Alder Lake. The entrance is basically at the end of the dirt Cross Mountain Road, and the paved Alder Road (CR 54). There is also Old Edwards Road at the intersection of Cross Mountain Road and Alder Road.
The entrance for the DEC road to Alder Lake has a yellow metal gate near Cross Mountain Road. The DEC Road to Alder Road is not marked on some maps.
In the winter months Cross Mountain Road is NOT plowed. But, Alder Road is plowed. You may be able to park on Alder Road if you want to cross country ski. We are not aware of the DEC plowing the Alder Lake Parking Area. If they do, then park in the Alder Lake Parking Area.
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| | OTHER INFORMATION |
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There is limited cell phone service in some parts of the region (as of 2023).
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| | DIRECTIONS to the Alder Lake Parking Area from Exit 19 (Kingston) |
| | Alder Lake Parking Area - WGS84 (DEC): 42.049767, -74.682417 - Elevation is approximately 2,279 feet |
| | Alder Lake Parking Area - Deg/Min/Sec: N42 02 59, W74 40 56 - Elevation is approximately 2,279 feet |
| | Alder Lake Parking Area - GPS: N 42 02.986, W 74 40.945 - Elevation is approximately 2,279 feet |
| | Alder Lake Parking Area - UTM: 18N 526281 4655351 - Elevation is approximately 2,279 feet
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| | Get off New York State Thruway at Exit 19 (Kingston). |
| | Take a RIGHT out of the NYS Thruway onto Route 28 West. |
| | Go approximately 45.4 miles on Rt 28 West |
| | Take a LEFT onto Spur to BWS Road No 10
(Look for Brown hiking signs for Huckleberry Loop & Kelly Hollow) |
| | Take a RIGHT onto BWS Road No 10 |
| | Go approximately 3.75 on BWS Road No 10 |
| | Take a LEFT onto Millbrook Road |
| | Go approximately 1.4 miles on Millbrook Road |
| | Take a RIGHT onto "Cross Mountain Road" (DO NOT take "Old Cross Mtn Road") |
| | Go approximately 4.3 miles on Cross Mountain Road (dirt road) |
| | At almost the end of the dirt road section is a dirt road on your LEFT |
| | Take a 180 degree LEFT turn into the DEC dirt road (NO DEC sign at entrance) |
| | Go approximately 0.4 miles on The DEC road to the end |
| | DEC Parking Area is at the end of the DEC Road |
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MILEAGE CHART - Hike from Alder Lake PA to Mill Brook Ridge Mountain |
| | Mileage |
Mile Point |
Altitude |
Notes |
| | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2,230' | Adler Lake Parking Area (30+ cars) |
| | 0.06 | 0.06 | 2,230' | Adler Lake Loop Trail (north) - Coykendill Lodge Ruins - view of lake |
| | 0.83 | 0.77 | 2,249' | Trail Junction for Mill Brook Ridge Trail |
| | 2.34 | 1.51 | 2,720' | Beaver Meadows Lean-to |
| | 3.74 | 1.40 | 3,493' | Mill Brook Ridge Mountain Summit |
| | 5.14 | 1.40 | 2,720' | Beaver Meadows Lean-to |
| | 6.65 | 1.51 | 2,249' | Alder Lake Loop Trail (south route) |
| | 7.55 | 0.90 | 2,230' | Adler Lake Parking Area |
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Hiking the Mill Brook Ridge Mountain Trail |
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A DEC sign does not exist on Cross Mountain Road. But, a DEC sign can be found at the Alder Lake Parking Area. The Alder Lake Parking Area is 4/10 of a mile from Cross Mountain Road.
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This is the Alder Lake Parking Area. You can see the DEC sign in the distance near the porta-a-poddy. While this parking area is large, it is completely full on summer weekends. So try to park close to other cars. Some people will back into the parking space so that it is easy to get out later. This picture was taken at the Trailhead.
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This is the Alder Lake Loop Trailhead. Please register in the brown DEC box on the left. If there is an emergency, the New York Rangers will use this information to find you. The number of people Registering will also allow money to be funded to maintenance and improvement of the Alder Lake Region.
Also check the Kiosk on the right of the DEC Registration Box for any information that might be important to your stay or hike here.
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About 400 feet after the Alder Lake Loop Trailhead, is the ruins of the Coykendill Lodge that overlooked Alder Lake. The Coykendill Lodge was 10,900 sf. The pillars were used to hold up the porch. There is a link at the bottom of the page with more information about the history of the Coykendill Lodge.
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This is the view from the Coykendill Lodge Ruins of the main body of Alder Lake. This is also the beginning of the Alder Lake Loop Trail. For the purpose of this page, take a LEFT at this trail junction in front the ruins of the Coykendill Lodge.
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This is the Alder Lake Loop Trail on the north side of the lake. Fairly easy hiking.
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This picture is very close to one of the smaller inflow to the lake. You cannot see this part of the lake from the Coykendill Lodge ruins. This part of the lake is fairly shallow.
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A bridge that goes over the inflow on the northeastern side of Alder Lake.
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These wild flowers bloom around the end of July and early August. This picture was taken on August 1st, and the blooms were just past prime. This location is located on the northeast side of Alder Lake It is between Campsites #3 and Campsite #4 on our map above.
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The unmaintained trail will come out on the Mill Brook Ridge Mountain Trail a little further down the trail. When you come to this point, you want to take a RIGHT down the Mill Brook Ridge Mountain Trail. Left will take you to campsite #4. The tree across the trail confuses some campers and hikers.
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As you continue down the Alder Lake Loop Trail, you will encounter a trail off to the left. You want to go LEFT onto Mill Brook Ridge Trail and hike up the mild uphill incline.
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This is one of the signs at this trail junction for the Mill Brook Ridge Trail. It is about 1.5 miles to the Beaver Meadow Lean-to. During the 1.5 miles, you will climb about 500 vertical feet. The incline is mild, but a steady uphill climb.
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This is what the typical view of the Mill Brook Ridge Trail from the Adler Lake Loop to the Beaver Meadow Lean-to.
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Along the Mill Brook Ridge Trail, you will cross a couple small streams. Nothing difficult to cross.
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About 150 feet before you reach the side trail to the Beaver Meadow Lean-to, there is a side trail to the pond. The Beaver Meadow is actually a pond. It was probably a meadow before the beaver showed up to flood the meadow. In any event, most hikers like the pond. If you look on the very left side of the picture, you will see a little part of the beaver home in the pond.
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After slightly more then 1.5 miles, you will see the Beaver Meadow Lean-to. It also has a Spring and open outhouse (stainless steel toilet without walls).
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There is a Spring about 250 feet from the Beaver Meadow Lean-to. The pipe flows very slowly. Much of the water escapes from the source.
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Once past the Beaver Meadow Lean-to, the trail narrows to a single-track path. Sometimes overgrown in spots, so some route finding is required.
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As you approach Mill Brook Ridge Mountain, the trail starts to climb up the mountain to the summit. The path was not that hard to follow, but the trail is a little steeper then most of the trail.
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Once up on the larger summit is rather flat with a little bit of incline. The trail weaves through the forest to the actual summit.
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We found two locations on the summit that are almost identical in elevation. This rock is one of two locations that could be consider the summit of Mill Brook Ridge Mountain. This rock is about 10 feet off the trail. The other location is about another 100 feet further on the trail. It is actually on the trail itself. Either could be consider the summit of Mill Brook Ridge Mountain.
After you are done, you can turn around and return back down Mill Brook Ridge Trail. Once back to Adler Lake Loop Trail, we will take the southern route of the loop. You can skip images if you are NOT going to extend your hike to the OPTIONAL Beecher Lake View Spot.
If you would like to extend your hike, you may consider going a little further (1.21 miles one-way) to the Beecher Lake View Spot. We will show you what the view spot looks like in the next three images. It will extend your hike about 10 miles total for the day.
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OPTIONAL: If you decide to continue another 1.21 miles further down the trail, this is the Beecher Lake View Spot.
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OPTIONAL: This is the view of Beecher Lake from the Beecher Lake View Spot. Most of the lake is blocked by the leaves of the trees. In the Fall months when the leaves are not on the trees, the view is probably better. Unfortunately, this is another view spot that has become over grown.
Once done reverse your course down the Mill Brook Ridge Trail to Alder Lake.
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OPTIONAL: If you visited the Beecher you will return back to Mill Brook Ridge Mountain in about 1.2 miles.
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About 1.4 miles from the summit of Mill Brook Ridge, you will come back by the Beaver Meadow Lean-to. If you need water stop by the Spring.
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After another 1.5 miles, you will come to the end of the Mill Brook Ridge Trail. Take a LEFT onto the southern section of the Alder Lake Loop Trail.
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After a couple hundred feet past the trail junction for the Mill Brook Ridge Trail, you will encounter a bridge over the Alder Creek that is another inflow into Alder Lake.
When you exit the bridge, the trail will turn to the right for a very short distance before it turns 90 degrees to the LEFT. There is another side trail at the 90 degree turn that goes straight. That will take you to campsite #5.
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This is what a typical view of the southern section of the Alder Lake Loop Trail looks like. It is a double-track trail back to the Coykendill Loedge.
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After another 4/10 of a miles, you will pass over this bridge on the southern section of the Alder Lake Loop Trail.
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Towards the end of the southern section of the Alder Lake Loop Trail, you will come into a clearing where the dam is located for Alder Lake.
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This is the dam on the western part of Alder Lake
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The Alder Lake Loop Trail goes across the top of the dam on the western side of Alder Lake.
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This is the view of the outflow of Alder Lake from the top of the Alder Lake Dam. The Alder Lake Loop Trail runs across the top of the dam.
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View of the Coykendill Lodge ruins from Alder Lake. Hike up the trail to the ruins to complete the loop of the Alder Lake Loop Trail. Then take a LEFT to go back to the Alder Lake Parking Area where your car is parked. Hope you enjoyed this little hike.
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S E C T I O N S
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W E A T H E R
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O T H E R
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