Cliff Mountain is 44th out of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks, with an elevation of 3,960 ft.
This hike is about 17.2 miles long and will take on average 12 hours to complete. It is not recommended for children or inexperienced hikers.
Cliff Mountain is part of the Marcy Group of the Great Range. It is flanked to the southeast by Mount Redfield, and the two can be scaled in combination.
There are multiple routes up Cliff Mountain, one of which begins at the Upper Works/Calamity Brook trailhead on Upper Works Road in Newcomb. Follow the Calamity Brook Trail for 4.5 miles before continuing around Flowed Lands and crossing the Lake Colden Bridge. Upon reaching the Uphill Lean-to, you'll see a small cairn that indicates the herd path to the summits of Cliff Mountain (to the right) and Mount Redfield (straight/to the left). The herd path splits a short distance past the first cairn, with one path going to Cliff and the other to Redfield. The split is indicated by a second cairn.
From the second cairn, the short but strenuous climb to Cliff's summit can be extremely muddy, and also features difficult sections of rock and cliffs. It's generally thought that the views from Redfield are superior to those from Cliff.