Catamount Mountain Trail

From the parking area on Forestdale Road, make your way to the west of the lot and continue through a yellow gate. Follow this forest road for about a half a mile. The trail tapers down to singletrack and climbs steadily through the forest. After about one mile, the trail begins to wind along slick rock ledges and forest until, after 1.2 miles, you reach the top of a false summit.You have excellent views from this point and get a good look at Catamount summit's. Continue along the trail where it descends the false summit into the forest for a short distance. The next half mile to the summit of Catamount offers great views as you negotiate ledges and slick rock. Trail markers are few and far between. It does require patience and some route finding skills to ascend the proper trail.The summit is obvious with great views toward the southwest. You'll see large cairns descending from the summit. This is not the route down! This marks the way to the summit for those that lost their way on the ascent. Those large cairns going downhill look enticing, but it is not the route. There are no trail markers that way. From the top, simply turn back the way you came. The descent is to the southeast and then south.Overall, this is an excellent option to escape the crowds of the high peaks.