Gore Mountain Hike?

[Bark Eater Too]

Is there a preferred hiking route? Or should one just pick a ski trail from the base and go for it? I believe the backside is largely taken up by the garnet mine and is off-limits.

[Makwa]

There is a preferred route... the Schaefer Trail. Here's a brief description of where to start and some details about the trail from a trip report I wrote a few years ago about my hike up Gore.

"... parked at the town beach. Basically it's your first left after turning into the property on Ski Bowl Road (south of 28N) then you follow the road down the hill to the large parking area next to the stone marker dedicating the park. I was the only car there. From the parking area you'll see a pair of tracks going straight up an embankment and a more gradual path just to their right that you ascend to get to the first of two trail registers. The first is rather informal - a composition book with names and destinations listed inside. You cross the road that borders the register then cut through a fence where the Schaefer Trail to Gore's summit begins. The second register is a little way down the trail and contains the standard DEC book/form. At the fence there's a small sign saying 5.8 miles to the summit. I had read it was 4.5 and measured it at around 4.8 on a map myself so I'm not real sure of the exact mileage I covered. I'm pretty confident the elevation gain was 2530 feet though. The Schaefer Trail was designed by Steve Ovitt, a retired DEC Forest Ranger, and to his credit it's a rather scenic trail. It winds through lovely forest, along a brook with beautiful cascades, skirts around a reservoir, crosses several ski runs, and then hooks up with gravel access roads about 500 vertical feet from the summit. Once on the road, there are plenty of spectacular views to soak in before you reach the fire tower and summit area. Important side note: the trail description as printed in "Views from on High" is outdated and completely wrong. The trail description in the 2nd edition of "The Other 54" is correct."

[Bark Eater Too]

Makwa, thanks much!