The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center will open for its third season on Friday, May 24, 2024, and will be open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. weekends and holidays through the end of June. Beginning in July, the center will switch to its five-day-a-week summer schedule opening Thursdays through Mondays.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center, an initiative of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, held its Grand Opening in May 2022, and its first two seasons attracted more than 5,000 visitors. It is located in Battlefield Park on the lower floor of the Lake George Park Commission Building at 75 Fort George Road, Lake George, New York. Admission to the center is free.
The Visitor Center houses a variety of exhibits to help visitors understand the importance of Battlefield Park in American History. Display cases contain Native American, French and Indian War and American Revolution artifacts. Visitors may also view models of two forts, the 1758 Radeau Land Tortoise and the 1756 Sloop Earl of Loudoun. Children will have the opportunity to learn about the art of decorating powder horns during the colonial wars and can color their own powder horn drawings.
The Center’s walls are lined with color panels that explain the park’s history beginning with the habitation of indigenous people and continues through time to the end of the American Revolution. Last year, curators added a large diorama depicting 15,000 troops at the head of Lake George as they embarked on the ill-fated 1758 British expedition to capture Fort Ticonderoga.
As part of the 250th anniversary of the United States celebration, Curation Chair Dr. Lyn Karig Hohmann is launching a new project to collect family stories related to ancestors who took part in the colonial wars in or around Lake George Battlefield Park. Those who wish to contribute their family stories may bring them to the center or send them via email at info@lakegeorgebattlefield.org. The stories will be showcased in a portfolio at the Visitor Center to show the human side of the significant historical events that took place in the area.
When the Center is closed, the park’s history can be explored via QR code-directed videos found at sites throughout the park. The Alliance has also planned several temporary exhibits for this summer. The first will discuss findings related to the stockaded fort that was located on the northern crest of the park’s east side.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance will continue to sponsor free one-hour tours of the park’s historic grounds each Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The tours begin and conclude at the Visitor Center. Reservations for these tours can be made at info@lakegeorgebattlefield.org.