Classic range travel
Great Range
Lower Wolfjaw • Upper Wolfjaw • Armstrong • Gothics • Saddleback • Basin • Haystack • Sawteeth
The classic ridge line: big summits, steep cols, and long traverses that can turn into very full days.
Overview map
Start with where they sit.
The 46 are not scattered at random. Select a summit and the pattern starts to show: tight clusters, separate outliers, long approaches, and ranges that are usually planned together.
Hike ADK atlas
High Peaks Area
Summits and range context
Select a mountain
Select a triangle
Pick a summit to see rank, elevation, grouping, and a short biography.
Groupings
The 46 are easier once you group them.
Nobody really hikes them as forty-six unrelated points. You learn the list through trailheads, pairs, ranges, long approaches, and days that fit together.
Alpine feeling
MacIntyre Range
Wright • Algonquin • Iroquois • Marshall
Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquois sit close together, but the alpine exposure and weather make the range serious. Marshall is nearby, though most hikers give it its own day.
Although Marshall is geographically part of the MacIntyre Range, it is generally hiked individually.
Slides and long days
Dix Range
Dix • Hough • South Dix • Macomb • Grace
An east-side range with slides, rough herd paths, and enough distance to make route choice matter.
Remote forest work
Seward Range
Seward • Donaldson • Emmons • Seymour
Quiet, wet, and a long way from the road. Many hikers remember the approach as much as the summits.
Long approach
Santanoni Range
Santanoni • Panther • Couchsachraga
A western group with distance, mud, Panther, Santanoni, and the long side trip to Couchsachraga.
AMR access
Colvin Range
Colvin • Blake • Nippletop • Dial
AMR-side peaks with steep drops, big views, and route choices that can turn a simple pair into a much longer day.
Central High Peaks
Marcy Core
Marcy • Skylight • Gray • Colden • Redfield • Cliff • Phelps • Tabletop
The busy center of the High Peaks: Marcy, Lake Colden country, and several common combinations packed into one interior zone.
Common pairings
Gateway pairs
Cascade • Porter • Giant • Rocky Peak Ridge • Whiteface • Esther • Street • Nye
Some peaks naturally come in pairs or small sets. These are the ones many hikers use to understand the list before the bigger traverses.
RankPeakElev.Grouping
#15,344 ftMount Marcy
Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy
#25,114 ftMacIntyre Range
Algonquin Peak
MacIntyre Range
#34,960 ftUpper Great Range
Mount Haystack
Upper Great Range
#44,926 ftLake Colden Region
Mount Skylight
Lake Colden Region
#54,867 ftWhiteface and Esther
Whiteface Mountain
Whiteface and Esther
#64,857 ftDix Range
Dix Mountain
Dix Range
#74,840 ftLake Colden Region
Gray Peak
Lake Colden Region
#84,840 ftMacIntyre Range
Iroquois Peak
MacIntyre Range
#94,827 ftUpper Great Range
Basin Mountain
Upper Great Range
#104,736 ftLower Great Range
Gothics
Lower Great Range
#114,714 ftLake Colden Region
Mount Colden
Lake Colden Region
#124,627 ftGiant Mountain Wilderness
Giant Mountain
Giant Mountain Wilderness
#134,620 ftColvin Range
Nippletop
Colvin Range
#144,607 ftSantanoni Range
Santanoni Peak
Santanoni Range
#154,606 ftLake Colden Region
Mount Redfield
Lake Colden Region
#164,580 ftMacIntyre Range
Wright Peak
MacIntyre Range
#174,515 ftUpper Great Range
Saddleback Mountain
Upper Great Range
#184,442 ftSantanoni Range
Panther Peak
Santanoni Range
#194,427 ftPhelps and Tabletop
Tabletop Mountain
Phelps and Tabletop
#204,420 ftGiant Mountain Wilderness
Rocky Peak Ridge
Giant Mountain Wilderness
#214,405 ftDix Range
Macomb Mountain
Dix Range
#224,400 ftLower Great Range
Armstrong Mountain
Lower Great Range
#234,400 ftDix Range
Hough Peak
Dix Range
#244,361 ftSeward Range
Seward Mountain
Seward Range
#254,360 ftMacIntyre Range
Mount Marshall
MacIntyre Range
#264,340 ftAllen Mountain
Allen Mountain
Allen Mountain
#274,240 ftBig Slide
Big Slide Mountain
Big Slide
#284,240 ftWhiteface and Esther
Esther Mountain
Whiteface and Esther
#294,185 ftLower Great Range
Upper Wolfjaw
Lower Great Range
#304,175 ftLower Great Range
Lower Wolfjaw
Lower Great Range
#314,166 ftStreet and Nye
Street Mountain
Street and Nye
#324,161 ftPhelps and Tabletop
Phelps Mountain
Phelps and Tabletop
#334,140 ftSeward Range
Donaldson Mountain
Seward Range
#344,120 ftSeward Range
Seymour Mountain
Seward Range
#354,100 ftLower Great Range
Sawteeth
Lower Great Range
#364,098 ftCascade Range
Cascade Mountain
Cascade Range
#374,060 ftDix Range
South Dix
Dix Range
#384,059 ftCascade Range
Porter Mountain
Cascade Range
#394,057 ftColvin Range
Mount Colvin
Colvin Range
#404,040 ftSeward Range
Mount Emmons
Seward Range
#414,020 ftColvin Range
Dial Mountain
Colvin Range
#424,012 ftDix Range
Grace Peak
Dix Range
#433,960 ftColvin Range
Blake Peak
Colvin Range
#443,960 ftLake Colden Region
Cliff Mountain
Lake Colden Region
#453,895 ftStreet and Nye
Nye Mountain
Street and Nye
#463,820 ftSantanoni Range
Couchsachraga Peak
Santanoni Range
Steep sections
Steep does not always mean hardest.
These are short sections where the trail pitches up fast. They are ranked by vertical gain over distance, not by how hard the full day feels.
1
Macomb Slide
A steep slide section on Macomb Mountain.
Gain
900 ft
Distance
0.35 mi
Grade
48.7%
2
Gothics Cable
A short, exposed, memorable climb on Gothics.
Gain
500 ft
Distance
0.2 mi
Grade
47.3%
3T
Seymour Ascent
A sustained ascent in the Seward region.
Gain
1,030 ft
Distance
0.45 mi
Grade
43.6%
3T
Lillian Brook Trail
A steep Dix Range approach section.
Gain
530 ft
Distance
0.23 mi
Grade
43.6%
4
Saddleback Cliffs
Short, steep, exposed, and psychologically significant.
Gain
220 ft
Distance
0.10 mi
Grade
41.62%
5
Haystack from Panther Gorge
Remote and steep from Panther Gorge.
Gain
1,050 ft
Distance
0.50 mi
Grade
39.7%
6
Allen Mountain Ascent
A punishing climb after a long approach.
Gain
1,050 ft
Distance
0.50 mi
Grade
39.7%
7
Mount Colden South Side
A hard climb above the Lake Colden region.
Gain
1,200 ft
Distance
0.60 mi
Grade
37.8%
8
Dix via Round Pond
The steep post-slide portion of the route.
Gain
1,500 ft
Distance
0.75 mi
Grade
37.8%
9
Nippletop from Elk Pass
A steep climb from Elk Pass into the Colvin range.
Gain
1,100 ft
Distance
0.60 mi
Grade
34.5%
How we got 46
The numbers got messy.
The first idea was simple: climb the Adirondack peaks believed to be above 4,000 feet. Later surveys showed a few were lower. By then the list had a life of its own, and the tradition stayed.
1925
Herb Clark and Bob and George Marshall completed the original 46 on Mount Emmons.
1936
Edward Hudowalski and Ernest Ryder helped create the early Forty-Sixers club in Troy.
1948
The organization broadened into the Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc.
Today
The 46 remain a traditional list, a hiking challenge, and a cultural thread through the High Peaks.
The 46er journey
It is not really about conquering anything.
The list gives you a goal. The real work is repeated: make better decisions, handle weather, manage fatigue, and come back with more respect for the range than you had at the start.
1
Learn the map first
Before you chase numbers, learn where the peaks sit and which ones are usually hiked together.
2
Start with humility
Cascade, Porter, Giant, and Phelps are common starting points. They are still real mountain days.
3
Think in clusters
Most 46er planning is pairs, ranges, trailheads, and bail-out decisions, not one neat summit at a time.
4
Respect the descent
The summit is not the finish. Fatigue, daylight, weather, and rough footing often matter most after the high point is already behind you.
5
Keep the checklist in its place
The list gives you a goal. The work is learning how to move through the High Peaks with better judgment each time.