New York trails · Escarpment Trail

Escarpment Trail

A 17.6-mile out-and-back in New York, with 2,170 ft of climbing. Reaches Windham High Peak and other summit/viewpoint destinations. Managed by the state.

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Length

17.6 mi

Elevation gain

2,170 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

60%

Steepest mile

+1,073 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

7.0 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

yes

Horses

Managed by

State

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 4,169 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Windham High Peak (summit)
Acra Point (summit)
Blackhead (summit)
Stoppel Point (summit)
Burnt Knob (summit)
North Mountain (summit)
Artists Rock (viewpoint)
Sunset Rock (viewpoint)
Newmans Ledge (viewpoint)
North Point (viewpoint)

Heads up

Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

Escarpment Trail access — parking nearby. 42.19713, -74.03463 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:51 a.m., the sun rises at 6:20 a.m. and sets at 7:32 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:00 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 12 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 35.3-mile round trip works out to roughly 15 h 15 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

Loop options

Escarpment Trail + Yellow Crossover Trail + Yellow Horse Trail — 1.7 mi loop, 441 ft gain
Yellow Horse Trail + Escarpment Trail + Schutt Road Trail — 2.9 mi loop, 356 ft gain
Yellow Horse Trail + Escarpment Trail + Yellow Crossover Trail — 2.9 mi loop, 301 ft gain