Hiking Brace Mountain & Mount Frissell from Quarry Hill

A stunningly scenic hike with fantastic views of the wide valley below and distant mountain ranges. Brace’s summit is especially magical at sunset.

Hike Length: 6.1 miles (9.82 km)

Total Ascent: 1,800ft (549m)

Intensity: Difficult Taconics Hike

Route Type: Out-and-Back

Includes: Blazed Trail, Unmarked Trail

Parent Brace

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american flag on mountain summit at sunset

Sunset on Brace Mountain’s summit

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 Watch out for the tricky dim trails which will lead you astray. Stick to the blazed trails. Avoid the rattlesnakes.

For such a short route this has to be, mile-for-mile, Brace Mountain offers one of the most scenic hiking trails in lower New York.

It’s a ridiculously lovely mountain, especially around sunset.

The first mile of this route is very steep, and has a short but tricky section to climb. Without that section, the hike is rated moderate, maybe even easy. But that first mile adds real challenge, and is potentially dangerous, so I rate the hike difficult.

Also, please be aware…

 Warning! In warmer months, this hike includes potential exposure to rattlesnakes.

Hiking Brace Mountain

The parking lot for this trailhead is tiny, little more that a dirt patch by the side of the road, with enough space for 3-4 cars.

Quarry Hill Road to South Brace

You’ll see a strange red-brick building in a field surrounded by fencing. The building has been described to me as an unfinished mansion and, apparently, it’s been dormant and creepy for years. (If you know anything about it, let me know below in the comments — which are now working.)

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Several signs mark the start of the yellow trail that leads up the very steep side of South Brace…

three yellow blazes on tree trunk
Wayfinding: three blazes together like this marks a trail’s beginning or end

Heed this warning…

signs on tree
Warning signs

The initial section, which runs alongside the creepy red-bricked mansion’s fencing, is a short segment of flat grassy trail.

grassy trail
Grass trail, easy going at first

Quickly, though, the terrain becomes increasingly steep…

woods and steep rocks
Steep woods ascent

I love these quartz inclusions, so common in the Taconics…

exposed white quartz
Quartz inclusions

The Cascade

Around 1500’ you’ll hear the cascade’s waterfall which pours down a sheer cliff. This is the view from the bottom:

waterfall in woods
The Cascade

You can see from this second photo, which was taken near the top of the Cascade, how steep the terrain is.

waterfall
The Cascade

The Sketchy Bit

Right by the top of the waterfall is a short, difficult and dangerous section of open rock face. It’s not vertical, but it feels close-to-vertical. The first time I did it, the rock was wet and I opted to take an alternate herd path I spotted. The second time I climbed it, the rocks was bone dry and I felt comfortable enough to follow the yellow blazes; but only just.

Rock climbers may scoff, but regular hikers should be prepared to unnerved. At the very least, you’ll need a steady head and quality hiking shoes/boots with excellent grip.

Wayfinding Above The Cascade

Above the waterfall, the route marking is a mix of round discs pegged to trees and daubs of paint on the open rock face. Keep an eye out for both as it switches back and forth, and there are several sharp switchbacks to navigate.

Yellow trail paint on rocks
Where no trees are available for blazes, follow these painted markers

Finally, after much longer than you’ve ever taken to hike ¾ of a mile, you’ll come to this sign at the top of the yellow trail.

trail sign
Sign at top of steep section

From here, the rest of the hike is easy/moderate.

Turn left and make your way along the trail through the woods and mountain laurel. There are one or two easy brook crossings. Follow the white blazes of the South Taconic trail.

white blaze on tree
White blaze

Down to your left, the valley views start to open up…

scenic view
Valley view

Ledges and open spots along the way give you views of Ashokan High Point and the Catskill escarpment.

There are many open “bald spots” like this on the way up…

rockbed trail and moss
Exposed, folded rock bed

The trail switches back and forth between wooded sections, thick stands of mountain laurel, and open areas with rocky footing like this…

rock trail, white blaze painted on rock
Rocky trail with white painted blaze

rock trail
Rocky trail up South Brace

Riga Lake View

After a moderate climb, just below the summit, turn around and take in the first of many excellent views. To the south you’ll see Riga Lake, foreshortened and shaped like a heart, with South Pond peeking out from behind. You are looking southeast across Connecticut.

scenic view of lake at sunset
View of Riga Lake (with South Pond behind)

From here, the final push to the summit is very short.

trail
Final trail up to South Brace’s summit

South Brace’s summit is marked with a large cairn. I don’t think it’s the actual summit. The ground seems to rise a little more to the northeast. On my GPS track you can see I poked around off-trail for a bit until I found a spot that felt right.

pile of rocks, summit cairn
Summit cairn

South Brace to Brace Mountain

The trail continues down and winds around South Brace, into a small col, before climbing gently to the open summit of Brace Mountain. From South Brace to Brace takes only 10-15 minutes.

american flag on summit cairn
Open summit

Brace’s summit is a wide grassy knoll. Although only 2311’ high, Brace offers spectacular 360° views of the surrounding land, including as far north as Mount Greylock, 44 miles distant.

I didn’t spend long here at first. My plan was to get back to the summit for sunset. But I popped off a few shots and they’ll give you a sense of the scenery on view…

scenic view
Scenic view from Brace

mountain range in distance
Mount Greylock

Scenic view
Catskills in the distance: Ashokan High Point, the Burroughs Range, and Slide Mountain.

More from this summit later.

From Brace Mountain to Mount Frissell

From Brace’ summit, I mistakenly followed an old dim trail directly north and ended up having to bushwhack 100 ft west, through thick underbrush, to get back on the blazed trail.

The correct route is along an old road, now grassy…

grassy trail
Easy hiking on old road

The crossroads below is not marked on the NYNJTC map, and Gaia App shows three trails converging, not a crossroads. It’s not obvious what to do, but turn left here and watch for a few white blazes affixed to trees.

crossroads
Turn left here

Eventually, you’ll pass this weathered sign (there’s an overlook nearby) and, right after it, you’ll turn right/east.

trail sign
This fine old sign

Look for this sign indicating Mount Frissell at 0.8 miles.

trail sign
Trail to Frissell

Begin following the red blazes. The trail winds through a very thick stand of mountain laurel that’s teeming with life; I heard many critters moving around on either side of the trail.

The blazing is not always clear and, when it is, it seems to suggest you may now be in a horror movie…

tree blazing
Red blaze painted on tree

Skip right past this sign for the Ashley Hill trail and continue along the Mt. Frissell Trail.

trail signs
Junction trail signs

New York / Massachusetts Boundary Marker

Very soon, you come to the state boundary between New York and Massachusetts which is marked by a small obelisk.

trail marker
NY/MA marker

trail marker
NY/MA marker

From here, as you follow the trail to the next waypoint, you’ll wander back and forth over the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Highest Point in Connecticut

The trail rises over classic Taconic rocky footing as it bends around Mt. Frissell’s southern side.

You quickly come to another cairn. This one marks the highest point in Connecticut. There’s an official marker thing-a-ma-jig cemented into the ground, and a register you can sign inside an ammo box.

cairn and register
Highest point in Connecticut, cairn and trail register

high point marker
The highest point in Connecticut

From the cairn, you can look back and see the two Braces and Riga Lake. But keep going. Just ahead, there’s a better view.

Best View of Riga Lake

About 150’ after the cairn, turn around. This is the view you’ll see…

riga lake
View of Riga Lake

riga lake
View of Riga Lake

Mount Frissel’s Summit

From here, the trail turns abruptly north and heads directly up to Frissell’s summit which is wooded and charming but offers no views. Another register is tucked inside another ammo box.

wooded summit
Summit marker and registe

Beyond Mount Frissell

My maps showed another scenic view not far beyond Mount Frissell’s summit, so I went and checked it out. It’s a small ledge with a good view of Round Mountain to the east and Mount Ashley to the north.

Back to Brace Mountain for Sunset

The hike back to Brace was very easy. It took only 30 minutes. And I timed it just right for sunset.

american flag on mountain summit at sunset
Sunset on Brace Mountain’s summit

Looking north, the strange crescent/crater shaped structure is the south face of wonderful Alander Mountain.

scenic view
Scenic view, looking north

To the southwest, down in the valley, the largest mountain is Stissing Mountain. A short steep climb up Stissing’s north side brings you to a fire tower with excellent views of the Catskill and Taconic escarpments.

stissing mountain in distance
Looking west to Stissing Mountain (zoom in to see Stissing’s fire tower)

At sunset, the summit of Brace Mountain is magical and otherworldly. The rolling hills — drumlins? — in the valley catch the warm, slanted rays of the sun, bringing the whole landscape to life.

Descent from Brace Mountain

A descent via this route after dark requires a headlamp. A hand-held flashlight or phone light would cause additional safety issues; you will definitely need both hands free.

I hiked back toward South Brace…

mountain view
South Brace from Brace

…passed over its summit, then down past the view of Riga Lake and out through the woods to the edge of the Taconic ridge. These last sunset views of the Catskills were so great to see.

mountain range in distance at sunset
View of Ashokan High Point and The Burroughs Range at sunset

mountain range in distance at sunset
View of the Catskills: Blackhead range and Windham High Peak

Doing the sketchy bit by The Cascade in the dark was… definitely something. From there, the route down is still steep, but is manageable with good concentration and full batteries.

Note: unlike in the Catskills, the blazes in the Taconics are non-reflective and do not glow brightly when lit by headlamps. Make sure you have spare batteries in your backpack.

I try to keep the number of images per post below 15. But it was a struggle to cut down the image count for this post. In the end I think I capped it… around 40? Crazy. I highly recommend this hike.

Similar Hikes

This hike is insanely scenic.

This particular route is not a kid-friendly hike but routes from the north are less sketchy.

There are several other routes up to Brace, Alander and Frissell. I can’t wait to explore them all.

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The parent mountain for this hike is Brace.

If you do this hike, LMK how it went…

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Trailhead Info for this Hike

Very small. 3-4 cars tops.

Google Maps Location: 42.032582, -73.504741

The map below shows the exact topographic location of the trailhead

Cell Service

Pretty good but some dead spots. This part of the Taconics has good cell service as long as you’re on the ridge that faces west toward the Catskills. My network is Verizon. YMMV.