Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is located in the Adirondack mountains. At 32 miles long it starts in Lake George at the southern tip and ends in Ticonderoga on the northern point. It is 3 miles wide at its widest point which is in front of the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, NY, the average width of the lake is a little over 1-mile. It has a maximum depth of 178 feet (this number varies based on the source you find) located between Dome Island and Buck Mountain but on average the depth is around 70 feet.
10,000 years ago as the glaciers receded they paused at each end of the lake and essentially formed a dam from the leftover boulders and sand. Some ice was left and as it melted it helped to fill up the lake, today the lake is fed by springs and brooks. The lake flows northerly to an outlet in Ticonderoga that links to Lake Champlain.
There are over 170 islands on Lake George, a majority of them being within the town of Bolton. Most of the islands are state owned with about 30 being privately owned. Around 50 of those state owned islands allow camping, a popular summer activity on Lake George. Another popular activity on Lake George is fishing and there are 36 species of fish in the lake according to the Lake George Association.
The lake will freeze completely most winters but there has been a few in recent memory that it hasn’t occurred. The complete freeze, called ice-in, usually happens mid to end of January but you will see ice fishermen out there as soon as there is some visible ice.
Do you think the lake will fully freeze this year? We will see soon enough but in the meantime I will be trying to get in a couple more boat rides on this beautiful lake and waiting for warmer weather again.
