Enjoy this 6.4-mile out-and-back trail near Wilmington, New York. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 4 h 44 min to complete. This is a very popular area for backpacking, camping, and hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
| 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 |
Very nice trail, the crampons are sufficient, some small viewpoints which are magnificent but the summit does not lead to a viewpoint! No view at the top! A little disappointing! It's a continuous climb, quite demanding but the snowy scenery is magnificent! Several people use this trail to get to Whiteface, you have to add a few km! Simply Esther is a little over 11km.
Sunshine and a bluebird sky! The trail was hard packed. While I had snowshoes with me, I hiked the whole way in spikes. Lots of straight up vert gain right out the gate, then it finally levels into a maze through the trees. Other than a strenuous, uphill climb, the hike is gentle and without any serious challenges. The summit is just a spot in the trees, but a great view of Whiteface. Most people I saw on the trail were doing both Esther and Whiteface. There were just enough people on the trail to make it feel jolly. Fairly easy hike—great starter for winter.
4hrs 20 min RT no stops. Marble Mnt section is well packed snow but the herd path to Esther is not with snow drifts about 3-4 ft high. Finding the trail on the herd path was not easy and I had to use this app to find the trail near the very top. Snow depths along the herd path are deep. Dont forget the snowshoes. Black flies were horrible up top (joking - my eyelids froze at one point).
Couldn’t make it to the top because weather was so terrible (we did have a puppy with us so decided it was right to turn back), but views were fully blocked by clouds and hike up was like going upstream through a river. Would recommend doing this in the summer when the ground has a decent chance of drying out!
Trail was in good shape, even the path to Esther, which is noted as not maintained. There is a lot of mud, but I think that’s normal for Esther. The worst part is the descent down the mountain, especially the last mile of Marble Mountain, it is quite a load on your lower body. Pole’s definitely helped, but I know my legs will be sore for a day or two! It was a clear day so we had some views of whiteface and some of the other peaks and mountains in the area. Good hike, great day, so glad we did it (we did white face years ago before we thought about becoming 46 hours )
