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Upper Works Overview:
Upper Works is on the "short list" of principal Adirondack trailheads that access the 46 High Peaks.  Especially well suited for hikers to the central and western High Peaks regions, Upper Works refers to all three of the trailheads that are dispersed along Upper Works Road, a lonely secondary road that makes its way straight north deep into the west central High Peaks region.  We distinguish between the three, below, reserving the name "Upper Works" only for the trailhead found at the point where Upper Works Road dead-ends in the small parking lot just yards a ghost town of abandoned and disintegrating houses.  

Why Choose This Trailhead Instead of Heart Lake?
When most people think of hiking to Marcy, Marshall, Redfield, or Haystack they immediately think of Heart Lake as the appropriate trailhead, and it's a good one, certainly.  

However:

1. Upper Works will get you to most or all of the peaks just mentioned with less of a climb, less overall distance to hike, and will accomplish it on better trail; i.e., a real trail and not the Van Hoevenberg "Expressway".
2. While you'll cover about the same distance you'll encounter very few and sometimes no hikers until you reach Lake Colden.
3. If you've driven north to hike starting at Upper Works or the Elk Lake Trailhead will save you a lot of gasoline and time on the road to go to any of the peaks in the central High Peaks region.  

But consider these, for instance:

• Climbing Iroquois from the Iroquois Pass between Iroquois Peak and Mt. Marshall instead of from Heart Lake or Lake Colden?
• Or Mt. Colden from Lake Colden?
• Or the slide on Mt. Colden's southern flank?

Some Local History Worth Knowing About
Originally, "Upper Works" was the common name for the site of a strip mining operation run by the National Lead Company.  Much less powerful, but more of a pioneer and of much more stature in Adirondack lore, the McIntyre Iron Company mined iron ore at this site along the Upper Hudson from the 1830's to the 1850's.  The ancient stone blast furnace of the original McIntyre Iron Company still stands no more than 50 feet off Upper Works Rd, approximately across the road from the trailhead to the Santanonis.

You can go to the Original Upper Works.  It's not a trailhead, it's National Lead's Tahawus mining operations.  These have been closed for many years, yet the buildings still stand, out of sight to hikers driving north on Lower Works Rd. and Upper Works Rd.  When you get there, click on the links labeled "prototype" to see photos of the actual mining buildings.  Then, click on links labeled "model view" to view models of the same buildings created by some guys at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, otherwise famous for their hockey team and top notch engineers.

This photo is of the long abandoned homes on Upper Works Road.  These are all that remain.  At the end of this road, barely visible in the distance, is the Upper Works Trailhead and parking area.  The blast furnace mentioned in the first paragraph above is on the road in the photo, but is a mile or two, maybe more, further south.

Lower Works and Upper Works Roads
Since no mining takes place here today, it is mostly hikers who value this place for the two paved roads that, due to that initial pioneering spirit of the McIntyre Iron Company, lead 10 miles straight North from Blue Ridge Rd. (NY Rt. 2) into the wilderness, penetrating deep into the High Peaks inner sanctum unlike any of the other trailheads that lie along the High Peaks' perimeter.  The first of these roads to be encountered is Lower Works Rd. which leads directly to the National Lead Company's operations from Blue Ridge Rd.  The second is Upper Works Rd. which starts where Lower Works Rd. leaves off (see second photo just below) and continues north to its dead-end at a point deep into the High Peaks.  

Along Upper Works Rd. lie three important trailheads described on this page which lead to numerous lakes and peaks to the West, North, and East.  Among these: the Santanoni Range, MacIntyre Range, Allen Mtn, Indian Pass, Duck Hole, Flowed Lands/Lake Colden area, and Mts Marshall, Cliff, Redfield, Skylight, and Marcy. 

 Access to the Three Upper Works Trailheads 
From the Northway, Interstate 87, exit at Exit 29 turning W onto Blue Ridge Road, Rte 2.  Follow this route for 17.4 miles to an intersection marked by a number of signs, public and private, including one for National Lead, Inc.  Turn right here.   Zero your odometer.  You're now at 0.0 miles for the list which follows.  

• 0.0 mi., turn right off from Blue Ridge Road (Rt. 2). 

• 0.4 mi. (photo #1, just below)  pass the intersection for Tahawus Club and a common street sign for "Lower Works Rd.".  (see photo #1, below)   

• 0.6 mi., cross railroad tracks.

• 6.3 mi., turn left off Lower Works Rd. at fork marked with street sign "Upper Works Rd." (see Photo #2, just below).  The right fork continues on a short distance to National Lead as signs in Photo 2 will indicate.  
  

• 8.2 mi.  pass a gravelly turn-off to your left that leads W to the Santanoni Range trailhead.

• 9.1 mi. on your right, very close to the highway, you will pass the ruins of the old McIntyre furnace. 
• 9.3 mi. on the right is the trailhead for Mt. Adams, Allen Mt., and the trail to Flowed Lands via the Opalescent River.   
• 9.9 mi. reach the Upper Works trailhead, the end of Upper Works Road, and a dead end.  From this trailhead, access Flowed Land, Indian Pass, and Duck Hole.

Upper Works Rd. Trailheads Maps and Photos  Highlighted in blue on the maps below is Upper Works Road (public highway, always open) running from NY Rt. 2 to the road's terminus at Henderson Lake.  Note that Rt. 2 is off the bottom of the bottommost map of the three maps below.  So as you drive north (or up this page if you want to look at it that way), you jump upward from map to map.  The three trailheads are marked on the maps.  Look real close.
	Upper Works  Parking 1      East River Parking 2     Bradley Pond  Parking 3	Upper Works Trailhead: for Indian Pass and Lake Colden-Flowed Lands It appears on the map at top left at the terminus of Upper Works Road.  Letters in red say "Upper Works".  This point is 9.9 miles N from the start at Route 28.  The photo shows the Upper Works Parking Area.  There is plenty of parking.  The RED Indian Pass Trail (ADK #125, McM #1), departs the parking area.  Heading straight N,  it crosses the Hudson River over a wooden bridge suitable for vehicles at 0.25 mi.  (At this point, the Hudson has only flowed a mere 530 feet from its source, Lake Henderson, just to the W of the trail..)  A bit further, at 0.35 mi., the RED Calamity Brook trail (ADK #121, McM #39) forks to the right.  Calamity Brook Trail will take you to Flowed Land and the Marcy region.     East River Trailhead: for Mt Adams, Allen Mt, and Flowed Lands:  At 9.3 miles on your right driving N, not far past the old and disintegrating MacIntyre furnace, is the trailhead and parking for the  Y  Opalescent River Trail (ADK #123, McM #42) to Mt. Adams, Flowed Lands, and the start of the Allen Mt. herd path (McM #43).  The parking area is very large and is clearly visible from the road.  On the map at left, the trailhead is indicated by a blue dot off the right side of the road.  Note that the white sign with red letters indicating that the trail is closed has been removed and the trail has been reopened.   Bradley Pond Trailhead: for the Santanoni Range and Duck Hole At 8.3 miles on your left driving N, a gravel road leads off to the left, up a slight grade.  The trailhead and parking for the  Bradley Pond Trail BLUE (ADK #128, McM #4), the Santanoni Range, and Duck Hole are here, just out of sight from the paved road.  Lots of parking.  (Note that this trail is actually a gravel road for more than a mile from the trailhead.)
Calamity Brook Trail:  4.4 miles, 2.5 hours (ADK #121, McM #39)
4	This is the gate at the Upper Works trailhead.  Doesn't look like it would stop an Abrams tank, does it?  A short distance ahead the road crosses over the Hudson River and then splits.  The left fork  Yellow  heads for Indian Pass.  That's NOT the trail you want.  You want the right fork marked RED and, later, BLUE.  It will follow Calamity Brook all the way to Flowed Lands.
5	The aforementioned right fork at Upper Works and the start of the red markers.
6	As we head toward Calamity Brook we soon cross the devastation of Hurricane Floyd which passed through here in 1999.  It is remarkable how rapidly the earth heals itself.  This is much improved from just the previous year.  Now that this area has become meadow-like, the blueberry and raspberry bushes have taken hold providing hikers with an unlooked for benefit to hiking.
7	We leave the logged area and approach the forest after about a half mile.
8	Calamity Brook Trail remains a wide trail in good condition over its full length of 4.4 miles.  A few muddy areas are no impediment.  Figure about 2.5 hours for the hike to Flowed Lands where this trail ends.
9 10   11    12 13	Typical, gentle uphill terrain on this trail.  Elevation at Upper Works (start) is 1780 ft.   At the trail's end at Flowed Lands elevation is 2760 ft.  By comparison, the more heavily used route from Adirondack Loj to Lake Colden starts at 2179 ft, crosses a height-of-land at about 2900 ft, and descends to the dam at Lake Colden at 6.4 miles and 2764 ft elevation.             Calamity Brook Trail also represents a nice opportunity to escape the crowds around Marcy Dam.  Parking at Upper Works trailhead is plentiful and free as opposed to the expensive parking at Adirondack Loj.

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This page was last updated 09/11/06 08:28:31 PM