Lake George

The lake runs about fifty kilometres north to south in the southern Adirondacks, and its water is unusually clear because most of the watershed is protected forest preserve. Over a hundred and seventy islands lie in it, and the great majority are owned by the state and available as campsites reachable only by boat - a system that has run for over a century and is booked heavily in summer. Fort William Henry at the southern end was besieged in 1757 and the aftermath, in which prisoners were attacked as they withdrew, is the episode James Fenimore Cooper reworked in The Last of the Mohicans. The village at the southern tip is arcades and boat cruises; the northern half is far quieter.

What you actually see

• Over a hundred and seventy islands - most state-owned and campable by boat.
• Unusually clear water - a protected forest watershed.
• Fort William Henry - the 1757 siege that Cooper reworked.
• A busy south and an empty north - two different lakes in effect.

When to go

June to September; island camping needs booking well ahead. A full day or several.

Honest expectations

The village end is heavily commercial and crowded in summer. Island campsites book out months in advance. Invasive species controls mean boat inspections before launching. Winters close nearly everything.

Nearby

Fort Ticonderoga is north; the High Peaks are north-west.