Coming Together for Cobble Hill

In 2020, the popular 0.8-mile trail to the top of 2,343-foot Cobble Hill in Lake Placid was at risk of being lost. Northwood School, which hosts the trail on its private land, began a process of closing its campus, where the trailhead was located, for safety reasons. What’s more, wear and tear from an estimated 10,000 visitors per year was taking its toll—including herd paths created by people trying to avoid steep and muddy sections.      

Thankfully, the school joined with community stakeholders, including the Adirondack Land Trust, and neighbors to save the trail and public access to it. Over the summers of 2023 and 2024, professional trail builders established a new trailhead, built a boardwalk, bridges, and stone staircases, and made other improvements to create a safer, more enjoyable, and more sustainable trail.

New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund played a key role in this community-inspired project through grant funding from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program, a public-private partnership between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance’s New York Program.

The trail is now living up to its reputation as beginner- and family-friendly, as well as a local favorite. These survey results are helping the partners learn about hikers who are using it:

Photo shows hikers walking down trail
© Nancie Battaglia