Coot Hill Hiking & Photography Guide
Click the map to view an interactive version or download a PDF.
Highlights: Beautiful views overlooking Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley. Best for sunrises during the spring/fall and winter months.
Round-Trip Distance: 1.1 miles
Ascent: 220 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: Google Maps Note, if you type “Coot Hill” into Google Maps it will give you wrong directions.
Important Notes: The access road (Lang Road) is not plowed in the winter, which will add distance onto your hike. In addition, the road can be rough and is best not traversed with a vehicle that has low ground clearance.
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Hiking Guide
Coot Hill is a beautiful short hike in Crown Point in the eastern Adirondacks. The trailhead begins at Lang Cemetery, also know as Big Hollow Cemetery or Beers Cemetery. It is a relatively small cemetery that dates back to the early to mid-1800s. For those interested in Adirondack or Revolutionary War history the cemetery alone may be worth the trip.
From the trailhead you will follow an old road to the summit of Coot Hill. This road was once open to motor vehicles but is now only accessible by foot. The road makes for relatively easy walking to the summit, though there are some areas that are washed out. The summit area has gorgeous views of the Champlain Valley and plenty of spots to sit back and relax.
Before heading out be sure to plan ahead and prepare by checking the weather (see below) and latest trail conditions. Also, be sure to carry the 10 essentials to keep you safe and prepared for an emergency.
Photography Guide
The view from Coot Hill looks southeast across the Champlain Valley, over Lake Champlain, towards the Green Mountains in Vermont. The valley floor is peppered with farm fields and forest. This is a great vantage point if you are looking to capture the rural nature of the Champlain Valley. Directly adjacent to Coot Hill is Big Hollow, a steep valley carved into the mountain side. The views down into Big Hollow from Coot Hill are quite dramatic and offer up plenty of opportunities for intimate landscapes using mid-to-telephoto lens. Looking to the west you will see views of the Giant Mountain standing tall over the valley.
If you are looking to capture sunrise or sunset images from Coot Hill you’ll need to consider the direction of the light. If you want the sun in the frame you will need to shoot in the winter when the sun is farthest to the south. This will make accessing this location a bit more challenging because Lang Road isn’t plowed all the way to the trailhead. In the spring and fall you can also capture images of the sun in frame but you will be shooting through trees to the east. Finally, there can be good light across the Champlain Valley at sunset, even though the sun will be setting in the opposite direction.
The views to the west, while limited, shouldn’t be entirely discounted. With a telephoto lens there is ample opportunity to create intimate landscapes photos of Dix Mountain and some of the other peaks to the west. The same is true for the Green Mountains in the distance across the valley. Details will be limited because they are quite a distance away, but there are plenty of options to pick out close ups of the rolling hills and mountains.
Lastly, this is a good location to consider for early morning photos of the valley filled with fog. If you are photographing the Champlain Valley and are out in the morning in foggy conditions you may consider popping up Coot Hill. The fog filled valley can make for dramatic landscape photography, especially as the early morning sun filters through it and across the valley floor.
