The Pinnacle Preserve is a very popular 135 acre preserve located in the uplands of Bolton Landing, NY and is maintained by the Lake George Land Conservancy. It is a beautiful property with two main trails that both lead to beautiful viewpoints looking over Lake George.
I am hiking this trail to benefit the Lake George Land Conservancy, and to bring awareness to outdoor organizations who focus on conservation and preserving outdoor spaces for public access. Please consider helping me to fundraise for this awesome organization by visiting my Instagram profile to view the fundraiser information: https://www.instagram.com/kb.hikes/
About The Location
Bolton Landing, NY is located near Lake George, a highly preserved lake in the Adirondack Mountains, offering a myriad of outdoor recreation opportunities. The Lake George area is home to many hiking trails for a variety of ages and ability levels. This area is one of my favorite places to hike because it offers the beauty of the Adirondack Mountains while using trails that don’t completely exhaust me by the end of the day.
The Pinnacle is a very popular property of the Lake George Land Conservancy due to its close proximity to the village of Bolton Landing, its relative ease to hike, the convenient parking, and the gorgeous views. This section of property helps to conserve the Finkle Brook Watershed which is one of the main tributaries of Lake George.
This set of trails is part of a larger proposed future trail network within the town of Bolton. The Pinnacle Trail currently connects to another set of popular mountains down the road, Cat and Thomas Mountains.
Trailhead Parking
The parking lot for the trailhead to both the Pinnacle and Bradley’s lookout is found on Edgecomb Pond Road, just down the street from the Bolton Community Center. You can find the parking lot here. This parking area was recently renovated and expanded to improve access to the trails. There is even a station for pet waste bags for anyone bringing their pup on the trail.
If the parking area fills up, there is also limited parking available at the Bolton Community Center down the street. It will add a little bit of mileage to the hike along the road, but there is absolutely no parking allowed on the roadside.
About The Trail
Trails to both viewpoints begin at the same trailhead, but quickly split off into a Blue Trail on the right (to Bradley’s Lookout) and a Red Trail on the left (to The Pinnacle).
On this hike I chose to do the Blue Trail to Bradley’s Lookout as I have already done the trail to The Pinnacle several times before. The trail to the Pinnacle is a gorgeous and fairly easy trail, it’s just a bit higher in elevation than Bradley’s Lookout so it is a little bit more work to do. I also think the views from the Pinnacle are better and this short trail makes for a great sunrise hike. The Pinnacle sits at an elevation of 1,305 feet and the trail is about a mile and a half to the top. Bradley’s Lookout is just over half a mile to the lookout and sits at an elevation of 984 feet.
Bradley’s Lookout was only recently added to the preserve in 2021. I think it was a great addition to the preserve due to the ease of hiking it and the stunning views you have at the top. It’s great to have an additional option at this preserve for days when the preserve is very busy.
To see a trail map and more information about The Pinnacle and Bradley’s Lookout check out this Trail Guide.
