Almost no scrambling, and it ends at a cliff over a lake shaped like a Norwegian fjord. Indian Head & Rainbow Falls is the most bang-for-effort hike I’ve done in the Adirondacks.
The place
Indian Head is a rock ledge high above Lower Ausable Lake, deep in the Adirondack High Peaks near Keene Valley, NY. The lake below is long, narrow, and walled by mountains on both sides. Add Rainbow Falls, a ~150-foot cascade in a mossy gorge, and a side trip to Fish Hawk Cliffs, and you get three viewpoints in one loop.
The land is the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR): private, but open to hikers through a conservation easement. That comes with rules (below).
What I did
I parked at St. Huberts and walked the flat Lake Road from the Ausable Club, then took the Gill Brook Trail, which climbs gently past a chain of small waterfalls.
The only real work is the final push to the Indian Head ledge. From there I crossed to Fish Hawk Cliffs for a second angle on the lake, then dropped down to Rainbow Falls before the long, easy walk back on Lake Road.
Recommendations
- Go for: the Indian Head vista over Lower Ausable Lake, for relatively little climbing.
- Do the loop: up via Gill Brook (waterfalls), down via the steep Indian Head trail to Lake Road. Add Fish Hawk Cliffs, which is 5 minutes away.
- Reservation: AMR requires a free reservation to park/hike May 1 – Oct 31. Book ahead at hikeamr.org: no reservation, no entry.
- No dogs. Strictly enforced on AMR land.
- Distance / time: ~10.8–11 mi (about 17.5 km) loop, 6–7 hours with breaks, so start early.
- Budget: free (bring your own food/water: no services on trail).
- Best time: late spring to mid-October. Fall for the foliage.
- Getting there: trailhead parking at St. Huberts / Ausable Club, Keene Valley, NY. ~2h from Montréal, ~2h from Albany.
- Bring: 2L+ water, layers (the ledge is windy), real hiking shoes, and a paper/offline map, since there’s no cell service.