300 years ago, the Southern end of Lake George was a swamp. The sloping, forested lands along the Eastern and Western shore made lake access difficult. The First Peoples of the Adirondacks created a network of footpaths for portaging their dugout canoes between the lakes and rivers of the Lake George/Lake Champlain Corridor.
Europeans arrived and brought their wars. Footpaths became military roads. Forts were built and destroyed or abandoned; battles were won and lost, military fleets were burned or sunk.
The 19th Century brought relative peace to the Lake George region. A village rose up on the lakeshore along with hotels to accommodate vacationers. The swamp was filled; piers and pavilions lined the lake.
The 20th Century brought paved roads and breakwaters of riprap to contain the lake, making for a rocky, debris-strewed, shoreline. Over the decades, the force of Lake George eroded the land beneath the lakeside sidewalks. They began to crack and crumble. The Queen of American Lakes needed a shoreline worthy of her great beauty.
In 1986, The State of New York awarded Lake George Village a Waterfront Revitalization grant, and construction of the first section of the Walkway along Beach Road began in 1988.Ten years later, another 650 feet of Walkway was completed, bringing the path up the Western Shore past restaurants, taverns, shops and boat rental businesses.The final stretch, completed in 2004, brought the walkway to Lower Amherst Street just north of Shepard Park.
West Brook
West Brook marks the Village of Lake George’s Southern boundary and the start of the Lakefront Walkway.The cool, clear waters of West Brook run from the Berry Pond Preserve, travel down the mountains and empty into Lake George.
Development along the lake’s Southern Shore upset the area’s ecology by eliminating the natural filtration system that kept pollutants out of the lake. This problem was addressed by the West Brook Conservation Initiative, which transformed the former Gaslight Village amusement park into an environmental park with settling ponds, vegetated swales and wetlands.
The Steel Pier
The Lake George Steamboat Company has been operating ships on Lake George since 1817. The Steamboat Company offers narrated tours from May through the end of October as well as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day cruises. The current fleet includes the Mohican, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Lac du Saint Sacrement, the largest ship on Lake George, and the paddle wheel steamship the Minne-Ha-Ha. Throughout the season, the Minne’s cheerful calliope can be heard across the Village and down the lake.
Lake George: The stats
Lake George is 32 miles long and, at its widest, two miles across. The lake’s surface area is 45 square miles with a watershed area of 233 square miles. Its deepest point is 196 feet. It holds 550 billion gallons of Class AA-special water. This means it is drinking-water quality, and lakeside residents do draw their water supply from the lake. (Thanks to the Lake George Association for this info.)
Lake George is dotted with more than 170 islands, most of which are owned by New York State and open to the public for day use or camping.
Fish species found in Lake George include Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Chain Pickerel, Yellow Perch, Brown Bullhead, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, Smelt and Black Crappie.
The Canoe Sculpture
Master woodcarver Paul Stark spent the summer of 2017 as artist-in-residence creating a life-size sculpture from a giant white pine. The completed work was unveiled that September.
The sculpture depicts a scene from Lake George history. During the French and Indian War, Robert Rogers, leader of Roger’s Rangers, recruited Mohicans for his Special Forces. Stark referred to a Chuck Hawley, highly romanticized, print for his depiction of the frontiersman and sought advice from the French and Indian War Society on how to accurately portray the Native Americans. The work was commissioned by the Lake George Historical Arts Council and gifted to Lake George Village.
At a press event announcing the project, Lake George Village Mayor Robert Blais said that the vision for the Walkway was to make it more than just a walk along the Lake. “It was meant to someday have some more meaning than that… I envision two or three other works of art to be placed upon the walkway in the next several years, so people will be able to walk along the walkway, read about our history, and it will have a lot more meaning than just being a walk by the lake.”
Boat into the Village
The Village of Lake George maintains public docks along the Beach Road stretch of the Walkway. Boaters may tie-up at the docks to access all the attractions in Lake George Village. Docking fee is $3 per hour, payable at a parking kiosk (credit cards accepted.) The public docks are also the site of several in-water boat shows including the Lake George Rendezvous, a show of antique and classic wooden boats held each August.
Blais Park
Named for long-time Village Mayor Robert Blais, this little park at the bend in the Walkway offers a quiet place to rest and reflect. The hidden garden, which overflows with lush foliage and colorful flowers all summer long, is outfitted with benches. Don’t be surprised if you stumble upon a bride and groom among the vegetation. Blais Park is a popular spot for wedding photo shoots.
A stone plaza overlooks the lake. Be sure to note the compass in the center (It overlays a silhouette of Lake George.) Stand at the point where the North-pointing brass arrowhead is joined to the arrow shaft and say hello to Lake George. At this one spot, your voice will echo. Move slightly to one side, and the echo effect is lost. For this reason, this spot at the head of Lake George is called the Mystery Spot. No one is sure why this one point creates an echo.
Towards Canada Street, you will find the Visitors Center. Inside, there are public restrooms, tourist information and maps, murals depicting scenes from Lake George history and exhibits that explain the importance of the Lake George watershed.
Water sports, cruises, dining and shopping
The stretch of the Walkway between Blais Park and Shepard Park is lined with restaurants, taverns, shops and boat rental businesses. Here you can enjoy a meal and drink on a lakeside deck, listen to live music and browse the shops of the Village Mall.
During Winter Carnival season, several of these decks are graced with chainsaw-carved ice bars for those who like their cocktails cold. To get on the lake, buy a ticket for a cruise aboard the Horicon or Adirondac, book a trip on a tiki boat, rent a boat to take out on the lake yourself or hook into a harness and parasail above the lake.
Shepard Park Beach
The section of the Lakefront Walkway between Montcalm Street and the Old County Courthouse brings you past Shepard Park Beach. Shepard Park was once the site of The Lake House, a luxury 19th Century hotel. In 1917, the property was dedicated to the memory of prominent Lake George citizen Edward Morse Shepard as a public park.
Throughout the summer, the park hosts free concerts and festivals, with entertainment on the stage most evenings in July and August. There is no charge for use of the beach. Swimming is allowed daily with lifeguards on duty. Shepard Park has public restrooms and a playground for children.
On New Years Day, the park, the Walkway and the beach are filled holiday revelers for the annual New Year’s Day Polar Plunge. The event has seen as many as 1,200 people wash away the old year by jumping into the icy lake. Each weekend in February, the Lake George Winter Carnival sets up its base of operations along the Walkway at Shepard Park.
The Bioretention Garden
This three-tiered garden at the North end of Shepard Park Beach filters storm runoff before it reaches Lake George. The porous soil and deep-rooted plants absorb the water and clear it of polluting sediments, road salt and chemicals.
Court House Hill
The final few yards of the walkway curve behind the Old Warren County Courthouse and end at the bottom of Lower Amherst Street. The Old Courthouse, built in 1845, was used by the County government until 1963 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The building now houses the Lake George Historical Association Museum and the Lake George Arts Project Gallery.
The Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom docks at the bottom of Amherst along with Lake George rescue boats. The LGA was founded in 1885 by a group of sportsmen concerned that human activity on and around the lake threatened the fish that depend on its cool, clear water.
During July and August, children (recommended age 8 and older) and adults can reserve a spot on the Floating Classroom to learn about the watershed, challenges to the lake’s health and participate in testing the waters for clarity.
The Ethan Allen Memorial
October 2, 2005, the tour boat Ethan Allen embarked on fall cruise. She did not return. Partway up the lake, the boat capsized and sunk. Twenty passengers drowned. It was one of the worst inland boat accidents in New York’s history. The Village of Lake George erected the Ethan Allen Memorial to honor the victims of this tragedy. The memorial is on the Walkway behind the Old Warren County Courthouse.
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