Little Peaked and Big Peaked Mountains, Clifton

These two small mountains (905 feet and 1,152 feet) offer an enjoyable conjoined hike. Because the views are lovely from both open, ledgy summits, they tend to be popular on nice days.

From the south end of the parking lot, right where the road turns from pavement to gravel, you’ll find the 0.5-mile footpath up Little Peaked (also known as Little Chick Hill) heading off into the forest. I recommend taking this wooded, shady trail, but many people head up the cell tower access road to the summit of Peaked (or Chick Hill), immediately to the left of the footpath. The footpath climbs steadily and steeply up, and is marked with faded blue blazes which, when we visited in June, 2021, were sometimes hard to see.

When you’re closing in on the summit, the trail opens onto ledge. Head straight up on the exposed rocks, enjoying the views. Keep looking for the blue blazes on the rocks. At the summit, the blazes will bring you into the woods, where you’ll shortly arrive at an intersection (roughly 0.6 miles from the parking area).

From this point, I recommend going right, onto a small open ledge. Very faintly on the rocks here is painted the instruction, “To Big Chick,” with a blue arrow. Follow this trail steeply down to where it crosses an old overgrown woods road at approximately 0.3 miles. Continue straight here for the last steepish half mile to the summit of Peaked Mountain. There’s a communications tower up there and the views are great. We returned via the 1.5-mile cell tower access road.

If you were to have taken the left turn at the intersection at the summit, it would bring you steeply down to the old woods road. A blue arrow painted on a tree at this intersection directs you to the right, where you can join up with the footpath to Peaked Mountain’s summit. If you were to go left at the arrow, you’ll end up on an overgrown path that takes you back on the cell tower access road.

Directions: From Route 9, turn north onto Chick Hill Road, and follow it 0.75 mile to where the pavement ends at a large parking area.