Winter Hike: Cat and Thomas Mountain Preserve
If you are looking for a nice hike not too far from the Albany area, check out Cat and Thomas Mountains in Bolton Landing, near Lake George. It’s about an hour from Albany and the hike itself is pretty easy!
The trail follows an old road for a while, and eventually re-routes into the woods for a little bit. It is a gentle incline. There wasn’t much snow on the ground, but the trail was covered in ice! Thank goodness for microspikes!
We took the yellow trail to the summit of Cat Mountain first.
The summit is expansive and has great views of Lake George! We ate a snack and then headed back down and followed the blue trail to Thomas Mountain.
There is a cabin situated near Thomas’ summit, with a loft and couch inside! Apparently it is first-come-first-serve if you want to stay here over night. It has an amazing view of Lake George.
{thanks to Greg for these photos from his GoPro!}
We decided not to go over to Thomas, but to instead head back down to the car and check out the Outdoor Sports and Fitness Expo in Saratoga, followed by dinner at Druthers.
Cat Mountain Loop
Distance: 8.04 mi
Total elapsed time, including stops: 4 hours, 34 minutes
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Gear used: Katoohla microspikes, tasc performance district pants, tasc performance northstar fleece, osprey sirrus daypack, EMS freescape jacket, vasque snowblime winter hiking boots
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5 Comments
Eric
Hi Jen, my son and I were on top of Cat mtn when your crew arrived. We had hiked up from Edgecomb pond. It is a shorter, more vertical option for hiking Cat.
Jen
Hi! It was a great hike! Would love to do it again in the summer.
Beth @ Paces and Places
Fun! I just moved to the Capitol region and am looking for some good hikes and backpacking trips. I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog!
Jen
Welcome, Beth! Feel free to email me if you have any hiking questions. Thanks for stopping by the blog!
Brad
Looks like a fun adventure. I have never been, but I will be adding this to my list of places to visit. Have you ever been to Oregon? It’s a beautiful place that is under rated in terms of outdoor activities. It has something like 270-300 days of sunshine a year!!