Hiking in Ice Cave Mountain: trails, map and practical info

Ice Cave Mountain is a summit in the Town of Ohio, Herkimer County, New York, just north of Wilmurt. Wikipedia notes that the east side of the mountain drains into Ice Cave Creek. Mountain Project places it in the Old Forge region of the Adirondacks.

Ice in the fissures

Mountain Project describes Ice Cave Mountain as a ridge with many small cliffs, in a remote spot near North Lake. The cliff on the most accessible summit, called the Fissure Face, faces roughly west and has deep fissures that hold ice throughout the summer. The same listing calls it a popular day hike.

Getting to the parking area

Mountain Project gives the approach as follows: from NY 12 at the Kayuta Drive-In in Remsen, turn right onto Dustin Road, right onto Woodhull Road, bear left at the fork onto North Lake Road as far as Atwell, then turn left onto North Lake Extension. It says the drive to the parking takes 30 minutes from NY 12. A 2018 update on that listing reports a bridge out on North Lake Extension about 1 mile before the parking, which adds roughly 30 minutes of walking each way. This information dates from 2018, so confirm current road access before you go.

From the parking area to the summit

According to Mountain Project, you follow a dirt logging road from the parking to a fork, then go left onto a gated logging road. After about 30 minutes of walking you reach a stream and a boulder marked "ICM". A flagged herd path then climbs uphill to the summit.

Land around North Lake

The North Lake Easement Tract (also called the J.P. Lewis Tract) covers 11,490 acres in the Town of Ohio and wraps around the northern part of North Lake. It is currently owned by Heartwood Forestry Fund. The public is prohibited from trespassing on the private exclusion areas around the tract's 35 camps.