I created this Hunter Mountain hiking trail Unilocal to distinguish it from Hunter Mountain and all the skiing/other activities there. We wanted to check out some hiking while up in Hunter for a birthday and scoured the web to find a trail that might offer us some views, good exercise, and be dog friendly. It seemed this location might fit the bill based on the little info I found out there. First of all, to get here it’s about a 30 minute drive from the town of Hunter. You’ll basically be hiking up the rear side of the mountain, with many opportunities to customize the route as you’d like! The drive is beautiful along many back roads with fantastic views and a peek inside what it might be like to live a little bit off the grid. You’ll follow Spruceton Road to nearly where it dead ends and there will be three parking lots. I’d recommend parking in the first one(largest) as it’s the starting point for the majority of the trails. The other lots are smaller and offer you a starting point for some other trails. A disclaimer: this set of trails is commonly described as the«easiest» way of getting up to Hunter and that may be true, but in no way is the an easy hike! Plan to be walking uphill for 1.5−2 miles and for a steep incline… you’ll feel the burn up and down! The trail is very well marked and easy to follow, mostly composed of gravel and grass. Very dog friendly and most fluffy friends we saw were off leash. The first two things you’ll note on your hike come about 2 miles in, first is a spring(you can actually fill your water bottles here, so clean) and shortly thereafter, you’ll catch a small sign for the lean to. A great place for a rest, lunch, view, or fire. We enjoyed our lunch here and took some pictures. There’s also an outhouse here where you can take care of any business. From here, you can opt to head back down(4.8 mile total hike), proceed to colonels row(an extra mile each way out and back to the top of where the ski lifts land), or up to the summit and tower(an extra 1.3 mile each way). All are great options, just plans on your level of fitness and interest! Views from fire tower are fantastic on a clear day!
