The trail for Round Mountain (elevation 3007 feet) starts on the Ausable Club property, and you must park in a lot they kindly provide down near NY 73 or in the lot across the highway for Roaring Brook Falls. There are two routes up Round Mountain. The closest trailhead is a short walk up the Ausable Club road. The other trail starts further up the Ausable Club roads on the same route as the Stimson Trail up Noonmark Mountain (elevation 3556 feet).

If you chose to start at the closer trailhead, then after a brief flat section, you climb steeply for about a 200 foot ascent. This is followed by maybe 0.3 miles along what is almost the top of a cliff. Next you resume a moderate ascent of an additional 800 or 900 feet until you come to a couple of great view points of Giant and the Giant's Nubble.

After that, the ascent becomes noticeably steeper.   The final 700 or 800 feet to the summit is covered in around a mile. Once on the summit, you get to walk maybe 200 yards over the open summit ridge to the actual high point with fine views of the Great Range along the way.

Round Mountain is not one of the premier peaks in the High Peaks, so you are not as likely to run into other hikers there. One can make a loop trip by descending the steep western side of Round on a trail which is not as steep as the contour lines would suggest. This is because the trail descends across the face of the mountain and actually includes some switchbacks.

Once you reach the valley floor, you can take the Old Dix trail back to the Ausable Club. This route is about 0.3 miles longer than returning the way you came, and for some could be the preferred route to both ascend and descend Round.

The Round Mountain Trail to the summit is a 2.3 mile one way hike with an elevation gain of over 1800 feet.  If you decide to do the loop mentioned above your total hike is about 4.9 miles.  You can also do a longer loop and include a visit to Noonmark Mountain, which also has great views from its summit, for a longer more difficult seven mile loop.

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