New York trails · Scenic Trail

Scenic Trail

A 2.0-mile out-and-back in New York, with 2,128 ft of climbing. Reaches Sawteeth and other summit/viewpoint/waterfall destinations. Managed by the state.

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Length

2.0 mi

Elevation gain

2,128 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

60%

Steepest mile

+1,869 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

1.3 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

Horses

Managed by

State

Elevation profile

Most of the climbing sits in the middle third — 56% of the ascent, between mile 0.7 and mile 1.4. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.

3-D terrain

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

Reaches

Sawteeth (summit)
Rainbow Falls (waterfall)
Outlook #2 (viewpoint)
Outlook #1 (viewpoint)
Outlook #4 (viewpoint)
Outlook #5 (viewpoint)
Outlook #3 (viewpoint)
Sawteeth Lookout (viewpoint)

Heads up

Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

West River Trail access. 44.11785, -73.82422 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:46 a.m., the sun rises at 6:16 a.m. and sets at 7:33 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:03 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 4.1-mile round trip takes roughly 3 h 39 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:55 a.m. — 9 h 38 min before sunset.

Loop options

Lake Awosting + Spruce Glen + Scenic Trail — 1.7 mi loop, 361 ft gain
Scenic Trail + Scenic Trail / SRT (Violet/Blue Blazes) — 1.7 mi loop, 242 ft gain
Scenic Trail / SRT (Violet/Blue Blazes) + Scenic Trail — 3.8 mi loop, 391 ft gain