Whiteside Mtn Trail — Attraction in Highlands

Amazing, awesome, incredible. These are some of the words I'd use to describe Whiteside Mountain Trail. I don't know that I'd recommend this place for everyone, you will need a certain level of fitness for this trail as it's not super easy. You are on a pretty steady incline on the way up, and it can get steep at points on the way down.

I had seen Whiteside mountain a couple of years, 70lbs, and hours of gym time ago, but didn't feel like I would have made it based on what I had read about the trail. This time it was personal, and I was after vindication! My left knee can act up sometimes so I put my brace on and up we hiked. Every step of the way is really beautiful. It smells clean and fresh, and we we're lucky enough to be there during some incredible weather. The views are majestic as you can tell from the pics, and you really just want to sit and stare out at the natural beauty of the landscape. There are several places to take in the view along the mountain top, and each one is worth stopping at. The way down is every bit as enjoyable as the way up, with forest and greenery surrounding you.

Parking can be difficult because this is a popular spot, and it does get busy. But it's a great trail and well worth the parking hassle (which is why it's...

Easy to find, plenty of parking ($3 fee), two options of hikes (or do the loop like most people we encountered), and the views are TOP notch! You can either hike up the tougher way which starts with a rock staircase, or the gradual way which is mostly gravel path. We did the loop but went up the tougher way which way and down the easy way, which is a personal preference because it’s much easier on the knees. I feel like a lot of people went up the easy way, but the tough way is pretty steep and wouldn’t be fun to come down IMO Either way is maybe a mile so probably 45 minutes to get to or from the summit. The summit is really more of a series of scenic vistas, all with large rock faces for hanging out on. We brought a picnic and it was wonderful. The views are stellar! The hike is either about a 3 or a 6 on the difficulty scale, but both were fun. There was still ice in plenty of spots, including a large area at the base of the trail, but other than that it’s well maintained.

I wouldn’t skip this hike if...

This was a great experience for our family even though the views were non existent because of the fog. Nonetheless, Beautiful hike with so many other different things to see. There was a lot of ice and mud throughout the path, but you can go around a lot of those tricky spots. We took the left side of the loop up to the 4,900+ rock and went back the same way for fear of the steeper side of the trail considering the ice. Two others from our group went down that way without us and felt it was doable. The mud was off the charts so bring hiking shoes that don’t get wet in rainy/foggy weather. The bathroom located at the parking lot isn’t as bad as other reviews noted. It’s not the Ritz, but it will do. A walking stick is probably a good idea for some that have knee issues or that are older. Bring a change of shoes , some towels and maybe plastic bags to put your muddy shoes in after the hike. Would highly recommend the experience. Our hike...