Outdoors - Road Trip

Not a long one, just a few hours in your car that I guarantee you will enjoy. And, oh yeah, bring your camera.

From whereever you live, head to the Village of Lake George.  Drive north on Route 9 and just before you get to the north end of the village, be sure you bear to the right to follow the road along the lake toward Ticonderoga.

For the first few miles, your view of the lake and the surrounding mountains will be partially blocked by the homes built along the shore line. However, even these offer quite a sight particularly when you recall that many if not most of these are second homes and most of them are lying empty at this time of year.  But, hey! like the old saying goes, "if you've got it - flaunt it."

By the time you get up close to Diamond Point, the view will become less and less obstructed.  You will soon see why it is now that you need to take this trip - no leaves on the trees. 

If you have never driven this route before or if you have only driven it in the summertime, from Diamond Point to North Bay, you will begin to see why now is the time to do it again particularly when the surrounding mountains and slopes are covered in Mother Nature's brilliant white coating of snow. It's like the icing on a cake.  Cake is good with a cold glass of milk, but it's a whole lot better with icing!

You will also drive by a number of side roads or lanes. Take the time to drive down them to the edge of the lake. You will be amazed at what you see and find.  Along this stretch of the road, as you look across the lake, the highest peak you see will be Buck Mountain which is yet another trip we'll talk about soon. When you reach Bolton Landing, turn right and drive the loop around the Sagamore Resort not to see the resort, but to gain yet another vantage point to look out across the lake and the hills that hold it captive for our enjoyment.

Just to the north of Bolton Landing, near North Bay, you will lose sight of the lake for a few miles. Once you drive up and over the north end of Tongue Mountain, slow down. As soon as you see the lake again, there is a pull-off area that you need to take advantage of with your camera. You are now near the northern half of the lake and it will have proven by now that the trip is well worth the couple of gallons of gas your car will consume.

From this point on until you again lose sight of the lake, the view is absolutely breathtaking.

As you look across the lake as well as to the north and south, you will see why Lake George is called by many "the most beautiful lake in the U.S." I've never been to Finland or Sweden or Norway and I've never seen the fiords, but I can't imagine that they can be any more beautiful than what we have right here in our own backyard.

Be sure to stop for lunch along the way and just before you reach Ticonderoga, there's an old barn on the right side of the road. If you like antiques and like to look at them in an antique setting, take a few minutes and enjoy being taken back a couple of hundred years in time.

Once you reach Ticonderoga, extend your trip a little and visit the old fort at Crown Point. The Ticonderoga fort is much better known and much more improved and ready for visitors, but if you want to really get a chill running up your back, walk the grounds of Crown Point and just imagine what it was like a couple of hundred years ago. The skeleton building are still there...and so are the spirits. As you are walking the grounds, you will suddenly realize that there is little if any conversation around you...but you might just hear a ghost or two chatting behind the empty stone framed windows.

Enjoy the trip and I'll see you outdoors!

You can reach Dick at rtotino@nycap.rr.com.