Northville Placid Trail in Winter
| Plan | Hike the 214 kilometers (133 miles) long Northville-Placid Trail in winter. |
| Where | The Northville-Lake Placid Trail (NPT) is a long distance trail that runs through the Adirondack Park in northern New York State for 133 miles (214 km). It was laid out by the Adirondack Mountain Club in the 1920s. |
| When | February 2018 or 2019 (Initially planned for February 2017 - but I was not able to complete the trail then. |
| Expected Duration | Two weeks |
| Why | I love the Adirondacks and want to explore more of it. Currently two long distance trail cross the park and I have only done one of them (Trans Adirondack Route). I want to try the other one. Doing it in Winter adds a nice challenge. |
Planning details
| Detailed Plan | ● Take Greyhound bus to Saratoga Springs ● Go from Saratoga Springs to Northville (southern terminus) by Uber or car. ● Hike to Long Lake where I will resupply ● Hike to Lake Placid (northern terminus) ● Have a kind friend or family member pick me up or take the Greyhound bus back |
| Useful trip information I gathered | This trail is well marked and well travelled, at least it is in summer. Since I have already attempted this trail in 2017 I know what to expect. In the southern end of the trail there is a river crossing for which I will bring neoprene boots (unlike my first attempt - I won't get my hiking boots wet this time!). I have also hiked part of the NPT when doing the Trans Adirondack Route. For navigation on the trail I will carry the map of the trail published by National Geographic. Main difficulty will probably come from the weather: cold, snow, freezing rain, all is possible! In some parts I will have to "break" the trail if there has been recent snowfall. |
| Main anticipated difficulties | ● "Breaking" the trail ● Cold ● No other hikers ● River crossing |
| Useful links | ● NPT Official Website ● Northville-Placid Trail Wikipedia Page |
Nice read!! good luck. i plan on doing a summer one in a couple years.
Do you know anything about car drop offs? or if there is a shuttle service?
If you post on the NPT Facebook group you will probably be able to find someone willing to shuttle! I think some locals do it if it works with their schedule. Good luck!