All Locations > New York > Adirondacks > K: Northern Region

Mckenzie Pond Boulders Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Mckenzie Pond Boulders

First Set 31

Fourth Set 26

Second Set 29

Third Set 16

Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Elevation:	1,660 ft	506 m
GPS:	44.30837, -74.09682 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	118,308 total · 726/month
Shared By:	Drake Pregnall on Dec 22, 2011 · Updates
Admins:	Morgan Patterson, Kevin MudRat MacKenzie, Jim Lawyer Page Updates (admin only)

See Weather Forecast

Description

Some say this is the best bouldering in the Adirondacks. Located on county road 33 (McKenzie Pond Road) near saranac lake and lake placid. The pull off is right across the road from an old abandoned barn. There are four sets of boulders. Nearly every problem is of good quality. Nothing harder than V10. Most of the rock is sharp and clean. Landings are nearly all perfectly safe. There are a decent number of problems that are higher than is typical in other areas. If a second pad is "required" it is usually noted in the description of the route. Some problems such as Time Will Tell on the Second Set have horrible landings, but, with enough pads, are protectable enough to be safe, and are totally awesome climbs worth bringing the extra gear back for.

McKenzie Pond draws people in from all over the place, but overall, I wouldn't call the pond a stand alone destination for a visit from a substantial distance. If you were up in the Adirondacks and felt like a day of bouldering, you'll be very pleasantly surprised. If you are relatively nearby though, it is definitely a place worth becoming familiar with. Very nice spot to change the pace of jamming the great cracks in Keene.

There is an older guide published here. The area was also covered in the first edition of Adirondack Rock, and is in the current bouldering guidebook.

There is a mobile app for McKenzie Pond bouldering available here

Getting There

The traditional pull off is right across the road from the old Hunt farmhouse. The pull off will be on your right coming from Lake Placid, and on your left coming from Saranac lake. The first set of boulders is visible from the pull off. The boulders of each set are pretty close together, with relatively short trails connecting each of the sets. There are trails to all four sets. The fourth set is currently being documented, and all of the larger boulders have been cleaned. There are nearly 3 dozen new problems in the set so far, and more are being added daily. It is located a couple minutes east and downhill from the boulders in the Third Set.

Update Oct 2013: The Essex County Highway Dep. has created a new designated parking area for the McKenzie Pond Boulders. They have put up No Parking signs where the traditional parking for the boulders has been. The new parking is still on just the shoulder of the road but it is on the opposite side from the boulders and a little bit closer to Saranac Lake. The new parking area is signed and is about 150ft. away from the traditional parking area. The county is working to make access still possible while trying to keep cars off the road that create a traffic hazard. The county is going to be adding more gravel to make the shoulder not as soft as it is now and to allow for even more cars. PLEASE use this new designated parking area.

102 Total Climbs

Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU!

Location:	Mckenzie Pond Boulders Change
Type:	to Trad Sport Toprope
Quality:
Pitches:
Sort by:	then:

Classic Climbing Routes at Mckenzie Pond Boulders

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

V0 4 36 ● Popsicle Boulder Second Set > Second Set Boulder
V1 5 25 ● Looker Boulder First Set > Front Boulder
V2 5+ 15 ● Giant Sucker Boulder Second Set > Second Set Boulder
V3 6A 37 ● Great Roof of China Boulder Second Set > Second Set Boulder
V3 6A 12 ● Thrust Fault Boulder Third Set > Ball of Fame
V3 6A 21 ● Hooker Boulder First Set > Front Boulder
V4 6B 5 ● Sudden Death Boulder Second Set > Swamp 2
V4 6B 21 ● Dickens Boulder Third Set > Boneyard
V4 6B 14 ● Shtickums Boulder Third Set > Boneyard
V5 6C 9 ● Time Will Tell Boulder Second Set > Second Set Boulder
V5 6C 33 ● The Eastman Problem aka slobadon Boulder First Set > Front Boulder
V5 6C 28 ● Ian's Favorite Problem Boulder First Set > Rhombohedron
V8 7B 9 ● Flux Capacitor Boulder Third Set > Alien
V9 7C 4 ● Stanfields aka Tommy The Cat Boulder First Set > Front Boulder
V9 7C 4 ● Cartwheel Boulder Third Set > Ball of Fame