Sawteeth (sometimes called Resagonia Mountain or Sawtooth) is located in Essex County, New York near Keene Valley in the High Peaks Wilderness of Adirondack Park.  It is the thirty-fifth highest peak in the Adirondacks at 4100 feet.

Sitting near the Great Range, the peak offers a great view of almost every peak in that range. Most impressive is Pyramid, which is not considered one the 46 peaks since it is to close to Gothics. The silliness of this rather arbitrary rule is quite obvious when you actually see Pyramid from Sawteeth. It stands out and is most likely one of the more dramatic peaks in the Adirondacks. It does not even appear marked as a peak on most maps.

The normal route is to come from the east through the Adirondack Mountain Reserve down the Lake Road and then up from Ausable Lake. One can make a circle loop up either the “New or Gothics” Trail or continue down the lake a little to the “Old Trail” or as it is also called the “Scenic” Trail because of the number of detours it takes to lookouts along the way. The new Trail is much steeper but much shorter.

A good moderate hike for the day as the climbing is short and the walk in and out is easy but long (over 6 miles one way). A good high peak for kids and older people if the Scenic Trail is taken in and the New Trail out.  Really the best Peak if your aim is to photograph the mountains in general as it has great views, lookouts and most of the different vegetation zones along the way.

This hike begins as an easy four mile hike along the Ausable Club's "Lake Road" across AMR land from the DEC parking lot on NY 73 near the Ausable Club to the start of the Scenic Trail near the Boathouse.  The ascent of Sawteeth via Scenic Trail is difficult and strenuous.  It is steep to very steep.  Trail condition is excellent.  The descent is moderate via the Alfred E. Weld trail.  Here the trail is excellent and not particularly steep.  Return to the Ausable Club via the easy to moderate East River Trail.

Sawteeth has two very different views depending on which side of the summit you happen to be on.  On the southeast or lake side of the peak there are excellent views of the Ausable Lakes and Colvin Range that persist from early in the ascent all the way up.  

Once over the top you are presented with views of the Great Range less than a half mile to the north.  These are outstanding, bordering on fantastic views that take in much of the Great Range with dramatic close-ups of the slides and the rock faces of Basin, Pyramid, and Gothics.

Hikers or climbers approaching any of the peaks that branch off the Lake Road should be aware of the parking restrictions in the area.

The designated hikers’ parking lot is just off NY 73 opposite the parking lot for the Roaring Brook Trail. This spot is three miles south of the High Peaks sign in Keene or 5.9 miles north of the junction of NY 9N and NY 73. From here it is about 0.5 of a mile hike west along the gravel road and past the golf course to the start of the Lake Road and the trailhead.

There is room for about 30-40 cars but on busy weekends it does fill early and there is no parking allowed anywhere else in the area except at designated sites.

For more information on the Adirondack 46ers, get the book Exploring the 46 Adirondack High Peaks and for more info on hiking in the High Peaks Wilderness get the book Adirondack Trails High Peaks Region.

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