Johns Brook Lodge

After a few weeks in DNT huts in Norway, I came back to my east coast home with a hankering for more.. and JBL did not disappoint. What a special place.. Seemingly endless day-hiking possibilities, including loads of high peaks and a great waterfall, great staff and decent food. Don’t forget to pack a headlamp and swim trunks.

Had an excellent family trip. The hike in is challenging, but completely manageable and the lodge itself is a perfect base camp for hikes around the area. We went in the off season, but the caretaker was very helpful and the facilities were clean and made the trip just that much better of a memory

This place is so special. An easy 3.5 mile hike in from the paid Garden Parking Lot (get to the lot early as it's small and fills up quickly). The service was amazing, the staff was so friendly and accommodating and the meals were wonderful. The high peaks are literally in every direction from The lodge.

I'm looking forward to coming back in the winter

I can’t say enough good things about our stay at JBL. We made a panic reservation with one day’s notice and they were still SO accommodating. My husband has GF dietary restrictions and they completely took that in stride and exceeded our expectations. Our stay here turned our entire trip around. Highly highly recommend and we can’t wait to be back!!!

An excellent back-country lodge with a wonderful caretaker staff. The JBL is a great launching point for many of the high peaks in the area.The staff is extremely knowledgeable and can give you plenty of advice on trails and peaks in the area. It's so serene just to sit out and look at the stars at night. The full kitchen is available to cook your meals during the off season.
The bunkhouse and bathrooms clean and well-maintained. Well worth the stay!

A wonderful starting point for many hikes in the Adirondacks - Mt. Marcy, Gothics, Big Slide, Saddleback, and many others. A delicious breakfast, trail lunch, and dinner are included in the very reasonable rates. The staff are friendly and very helpful. They also have guitars and several shelves of games available for evening entertainment. Did I mention the beautiful setting? An amazing experience!

Johns Brook Lodge is a gem, located in the Johns Brook valley in the Central High Peaks. The caretakers are wonderful, and the people who make the 3.6 mile hike in from the Garden are almost guaranteed to be "good people." It is rustic, in the style of the Italian "Refugia". It is *not a hotel*. Breakfast is served at 7:30; trail lunches are provided; and Dinner is served at 6:30. If you need to leave early for a hike, the crew will leave your lunch in the fridge the night before. Lunches are hearty and enough for a typical day hike. Water is potable. A few snacks are nice to bring (mouse-proof storage is provided in the lodge) but you'll be fine on food--no need to bring a ton extra. There are two 10-person bunkrooms and two four-person rooms. There are only two bathrooms, and they are accessed via the 10-person rooms, so if you're in the 10-person rooms, people will come in and out during the night; earplugs are nice (and they provided them for us, but I'd bring to be safe.) The downstream 10-person room's windows look out over the septic field, so there can be a bit of a methane smell, but it's really no big deal. That being said, all things considered, take upstream if available. The kitchen / common room has games, books, and a couple of guitars. Hike-wise, most people do some version of the Range (Gothics-Armstrong-Wolfjaws or Saddleback-Basin or Haystack), or Big Slide. You can also do Marcy. Of course, it's also great to just bum around the valley, swim in the Brook, head to Bushnell's Falls, etc. Get an ADK membership before you book for a 10% discount. The ADK is a great organization and deserves your support :-).

Can't believe someone would give JBL a 1 star rating because of Google directions!!! Really?? I've been there many many times and it's an amazing place. If you want to be remote, meet and enjoy the company of people from all over the world, and do some amazing hiking, it doesn't get any better than this. Oh, and by the way, you follow the signs all the way from Keene Valley that point to the Garden - parking is where the road ends.

I've reported the two negative or clearly incomplete reviews. This is not the complaints department for google maps. Treating it as such is detrimental to the idea of leaving usable reviews and ratings.

And to review a place that is a cabin that one HAS TO HAVE RESERVATIONS FOR while clearly not having reservations, let alone knowing what this place is. If you didn't set foot inside, how can you leave a decent review? Nonsense.

I haven't been in almost 20 years, but I remember it as amazing. The lodge itself is a fuzzy memory thanks to the insanely gorgeous natural surroundings coupled with a really ridiculous, awesome group, and even I, having been there, can barely give it a review.

That said, I'm headed back next month. Will update. Please remove those two absurd "reviews."

Excellent place and service for people who lack time and camping gear. Hike to stay. They serve breakfast and prepare food for peak hiking. Help and accommodate a lot of backpackers

We got to stay at the lodge for 2 nights. Perfect spot to start hiking. Centralized. Good food and team that works there is very helpful.

This is a great place to stage hikes from. The food was great and the staff were incredibly kind and helpful to anyone who happened to be walking by.

Excellent backcountry lodging. If you want a weekend I'm the backcountry this is a great way of doing it!!!

Awesome time til mother nature won the battle

Amazing place to stay when visiting the high peaks. A perfect blend of rustic yet comfortable.

Not a complaint area for google maps. Not sure why someone left two complaints not related to the lodge.

Love this place, very quiet and peaceful

Always nice there

simply the best.