About the Northville Placid Trail

The Northville Placid Trails, also known as the NPT or NP, is a hiking trail that runs through the Adirondack Park in upstate New York.  It begins, as its name implies, in the small Village of Northville, and traverses its way through forests, numerous lakes and ponds, old log roads, and even blacktop highways, on its way to the Village of Lake Placid. When hiked South to North one will experience the picturesque southern foothills as they slowly open up into the scenic northern high peaks.

Laid out in 1922, it was originally 133 miles long. However, to allow for modern realities, many hikers now start the trail at the Hamlet of Upper Benson, just north of Northville, and end at the Chubb River bridge near Lake Placid.  This shortens the trail to about 121 miles, but allows you to avoid hiking on busy highways.  Plans to reroute the start of the trail, so that it begins in Northville again, are supposedly approved and just in need of funding.

The trail crosses both state and private property and passes near several Adirondack towns – including Piseco, Blue Mountain Village, and Long Lake. It can typically be hiked in 13 to 19 days, depending on physical fitness and preparation – with many seasoned hikers doing it in 11 days or less.

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