Lake George

Lake George is a long, clear freshwater lake. In July and August the surface reaches about 24°C, so swimming is the centre of a summer stay. The main public beach is the state-run strand at the southern end of the village, a broad stretch of sand with lifeguards and a view of the mountains across the water. Shepard Park has a smaller beach right in the village, and Bolton Landing and the other lakeside hamlets have small beaches of their own. Many visitors swim from a rented boat or from the state-run islands in the Narrows.

The season is short. The water is cold until late June and starts cooling again after early September. There is no surf and no salt water. The beaches are pleasant rather than big, and on hot weekends they fill early.

Most of the eating in the village is summer resort food: pizza, burgers, ice cream stands, pancake houses and waterfront decks where you are paying for the view more than the cooking. Bolton Landing and the resort hotels up the western shore have a few more careful dining rooms, with Adirondack game, lake fish and New York State wines and craft beers. There is no regional cuisine to seek out. Visitors who care about food often drive to Saratoga Springs for dinner, and in the off-season many places in the village close.

The village's history is military. Fort William Henry is a reconstruction of the British fort besieged in 1757, the episode behind The Last of the Mohicans, and it has exhibits, musket demonstrations and the excavated grounds. The Lake George Historical Association keeps a small museum in the old county courthouse. Beyond these there are a few Gilded Age estates seen mostly from the water, and otherwise the village is a strip of motels and arcades. The important heritage of the region, such as Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga, is a drive away.

On summer weekends the bars along Canada Street and by the waterfront are full of young day-trippers and boaters, and some have outdoor decks and stay loud until closing. That is the whole of it: there are no clubs to speak of, the crowd is mostly there for beer and a view of the lake, and from autumn to spring most evenings are quiet. Bolton Landing and the other shore hamlets go to bed early.

The lake runs about 50km north between forested ridges and holds more than a hundred small islands, many of them public campsites. It is a place for kayaking, sailing, paddleboarding and fishing, and the Narrows in the middle are the most beautiful stretch. Prospect Mountain rises right over the village, with a road and a trail to the summit. Black Mountain on the eastern shore and the Tongue Mountain range on the western shore have some of the best views in the Adirondacks.

The village lies inside the Adirondack Park, and the High Peaks around Keene Valley are under two hours north. The autumn colour from late September is spectacular. In winter there is downhill skiing at Gore Mountain near North Creek, one of the largest ski areas in the eastern United States, which is about an hour's drive away. West Mountain, a smaller hill just outside Glens Falls, is closer still. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing on the frozen lake fill out the cold months.

The best day out is Saratoga Springs, under an hour south: a Victorian spa town with mineral springs, the historic thoroughbred racecourse and the Revolutionary War battlefield nearby. About an hour north, Fort Ticonderoga sits on a headland over Lake Champlain and is one of the best-preserved colonial forts in the country. Lake Placid, home of two Winter Olympics, is under two hours away.

Closer to the village, Glens Falls has an art museum in a historic mansion. To the east, Bennington and Manchester in Vermont make a pleasant drive through New England towns, and Albany, the state capital, is about an hour south. You need a car for all of these.

Lake George is a traditional family summer resort, and much of the village is built for children. The Great Escape theme park and its water park are a short drive south. The state beach at the southern end of the village slopes gently into calm, lifeguarded water. Paddlewheel steamboats leave from the village pier for cruises on the lake, and the musket demonstrations at Fort William Henry keep children interested. Canada Street is lined with mini golf courses, arcades, ice cream stands and wax museums.

The resort is easy, safe and informal, with plenty of motels with pools and cottages with kitchens. The catch is that peak summer weekends are crowded, you really need a car, and outside the summer most of the attractions are shut.

The village is compact, and you can walk between Canada Street, the steamboat pier, Shepard Park and Fort William Henry in a few minutes. Seasonal trolleys connect the village with Glens Falls, the outlets and some nearby spots. Everything else, from the hamlets on the western shore to the trailheads and day-trip towns, needs a car, and most visitors arrive by road. In summer, traffic and parking in the village are a nuisance. Renting a boat is the most enjoyable way to see the lake itself.

Canada Street is mostly T-shirts, fudge, souvenir shops and beachwear. A short drive south on Route 9 are outlet centres selling American brands, which is the main serious shopping. There are a few shops selling Adirondack crafts, rustic furniture, maple syrup and balsam pillows, which are worth seeking out for a gift. Otherwise there is little here for anyone who travels to shop.

In midsummer Lake George costs what an American resort costs. Lakefront rooms and weekend nights in July and August are expensive, and restaurants, boat rentals and theme park tickets add up quickly for a family. Older motels along Route 9 and rental cottages with kitchens are cheaper, and many beaches, trails and parks are free or cheap to use. Spring, autumn after the leaves fall, and weekdays are much cheaper. Accommodation in Glens Falls or Queensbury also costs less than in the village.

Live performance here is a summer affair. Shepard Park has free outdoor concerts by the water, the village holds a long-running jazz weekend in September, and in August a chamber music festival brings young professional players to venues around the lake. There is also summer theatre. For major orchestras, ballet and big touring acts, visitors drive to the outdoor amphitheatre in Saratoga Springs, under an hour away. Outside the summer there is very little to attend.

The restful side of Lake George is on the shore away from the village. The grand resort hotels on the islands and points near Bolton Landing have full spas, and lakeside cottages and quiet mornings on the water set a slow pace. There is no bathing tradition in the village itself. The nearest is in Saratoga Springs, under an hour south, where the historic mineral baths in the state park have been taken for generations. In July and August the village centre, with its arcades, traffic and crowds, is anything but restful, so the calmest time is early autumn.