Goodnow Mountain

Hiking Date: Apirl 11th, 2009: I originally intended to hike into Santanoni this day but when I arrived their was still enough snow to cross country ski so I opted to stay off the trail and head up to Goodnow. Goodnow is a well maintained trail as the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry maintains it and even provides Summer/Winter pamplets to carry with you throughout the hike to learn about different points of interest throughout the site.

Directions: Form I-87, get off Exit 29 (Newcomb) and follow County Rt. 2 West. Follow Country Rt. 2 out of Newcomb and the trail head will be on the left. A big sign marks the entrance.

The Hike: Goodnow starts off following the road which makes it relatively flat. It soon makes its way up hill and is mostly a gradual incline througout the rest of the hike. Its not overly steep but has and incline. Getting close to the top you’ll come across an area where it flattens out and you’ll come to and old barn/stable for the Fire Tower Ranger. 

As you arrive at the top you’ll come to the Fire Tower and where the Fire Tower Ranger would live. The view from the bottom of the Fire Tower isn’t that impressive but if you climb the Fire Tower then you’ll get a very impressive of the surrounding area. The view at the top is more than worth  the climb. If the wind gets going, it can be a bit scary to climb the tower  but usually once inside the top you don’t really notice it. Their is also a great map and information about the tower at the top. The one piece of information I always remember is that one of the ponds very close to the mountain was the epicenter of an earthquake many years ago.

Conclusion: This is a great hike to start the year off with. Its not to challenging but not to easy either. Its also a great hike to bring children on and educational. I highly recomment it.

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