This would be our last day in Lake George. It’s been a great campground in an amazing area of New York. Today we left at 10:30 to take Scenic Byway-9N north, running along the western side and full length of Lake George.
We had to go through Lake George to get to the highway and although the campground cleared out a little this morning after the holiday weekend, it seemed there were still a ton of people in town.
The scenery was beautiful as we wove our way throughout the little lakefront towns and Adirondack Park.
We occasionally caught a glimpse of some cliff-side mansions through the trees.
One of those towns was Bolton Landing and it was a busy place.
It was a mini-version of Lake George with shops and restaurants, but on a smaller scale.
Lots of Adirondack chairs around everywhere you look. Go figure!
Along this route, we saw motel after motel on both sides of the road. Many people were enjoying the pools, beaches, and parks on their last big weekend of the summer. Today the sun came out early and warmed temps into the low 90’s, so many people were enjoying being on or in the water. Boat traffic was heavier today while people had their last fling of summer. The road climbed into the mountains and down into the valleys to bring us to the water’s edge.
From high atop a bluff at a scenic lookout, this was our view. The sun made all the difference today.
We did get our first glimpse of the changing leaves, but it was a rare sight with only a tree or two. It must be a little early yet.
The drive of 40 miles to Fort Ticonderoga took a little over an hour, passing through the town of Ticonderoga first. Ticonderoga is a cute little town with cozy cafes and interesting history. This stately looking statue stood in the center of a roundabout near City Hall.
On the north side of town, in their town park, was this amazing waterfall and a covered bridge.
Continuing on through town, we finally reached the entrance to the fort.
We drove on the road that takes you to the fort in the hopes of being able to walk around the grounds and get an outside look at the fort. We didn’t feel the need to go in, as we had just toured Fort William Henry and had seen the artillery demonstrations there. Seeing the fort however, was not meant to be. We couldn’t get near the fort without paying the fee, so we left somewhat disappointed. We tried to see if there was another road that would at least allow us a glimpse of the fort, but we had no such luck. There was a park with a boat launch next door, but we couldn’t see a thing from there. We did get a chance to see the southern end of Lake Champlain from there.
Lake Champlain is 125 miles long and 12 miles at its widest. It drains northward into the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Next to the boat launch, was the ferry dock.
The ferry was transporting cars and was nearing the far shore. It was located at the southern shore of Lake Champlain. There are 4 ferries and one bridge to cross from the Adirondacks over Lake Champlain to Vermont. We couldn’t see the fort from that location either.
We gave up trying to get a look at the fort and started back with a stop in the town of Hague Town Park.
It was a beautiful park with boat access that sat on the northern end of Lake George.
We decided to take a different route back, so from Hague we took Highway 8 to I-87. Highway 8 took us up and over the mountains through valleys dotted with glacial lakes and ponds.
Brant Lake was quite large with boat activity and cottages lining the shore.
It was a beautiful ride back to Lake George with a stop in Glen Falls for some groceries at Price Chopper. Bob had heard some ads for the store, so he wanted to check it out for their meats.
From there, we went back to the campground to unload our groceries. We relaxed a little, sitting in the shade with a nice breeze blowing, making it feel less than the 91 degrees that it was. The campground was quiet with many of the weekend people already on their way back home. We found out that our campsite neighbors from Lakeland, FL, Dave and Roxetta, were visiting some of the same places that we’ve been to and are going to. Maybe we’ll run into them again. Tomorrow we move on to Quechee, Vermont for a few days. We are looking forward to spending some time in Vermont.
