Ampersand Mountain, a 3,352-foot peak in the northeastern Adirondacks near Saranac Lake, is known for its popular day hike, broad open-rock summit, and lower slopes of generally recognized old-growth forest. Its name is linked to nearby Ampersand Creek, whose winding shape was said to resemble an ampersand. First recorded climbed in 1872 by W.W. Ely, the summit was later cleared by Ely, Dr. William Reed, others, and surveyor Verplanck Colvin, with fires and erosion helping keep it open. The mountain also figured in Adirondack fire control through its lookout and later fire tower, and in climbing history as Bob Marshall’s first ascent and an early step toward the Forty-Sixers tradition.