The White Stag Leads Us To Lake George

Getting behind the wheel, dropping some tunes in the stereo, and winding our way through the hilly Adirondack Mountains region was an exhilarating break from swiping my Metrocard and hopping on the subway every day. This may be the most understated cliche of the year, nay, millennium, but there’s nothing quite like throwing some clothes in a backpack and taking off on a road trip. I even took some perverse enjoyment out of visits to the rest area, watching my fellow travelers gorge themselves with ice cream and burgers. Ugly Duckling should definitely look into selling their meatshakes along I-87.

Revisiting my roots as the rugged, manly camper that I am was refreshing. As a kid, my family and I would crank up the camper and hit the wilderness a few times a year, but since high school I haven’t had too many chances to "rough it", as they say. Well, with the assistance of my astonishingly beautiful Nordic companion, I finally harkened back to "thee olde days". We built a campfire, roasted tofu dogs and s’mores, put up the tent, stocked the cooler, and frequented creepy outhouses–the only thing missing was Jason Voorhies!

Quick Tips:

Yes, there’s 32 miles of Lake George to explore and find a secluded spot on the lake to stay at, whether camping or not. But like Charlevoix, MI, Lake George Village and the surrounding towns are very popular summer tourist destinations. The best accommodations fill up quickly, especially if you don’t have reservations. Visit during the week, or at the very least avoid holiday weekends. I can imagine this quiet lakeside town turning into a veritable zoo at times.

As El Guapo might say, Lake George Village has a "plethora" of activities to please that guilty, camera touting-tourist inside you. Souvenir shops galore, pirate-themed miniature golf (arrgh!), antique shops, and even a sexy drive-in movie theater are all less than 10 miles apart. With the picturesque lake right over yonder as well, this area has more than enough going on to keep you and yours amused for the entirety of your trip. Yes, amused.

There’s a Tops supermarket on the fringe of Lake George Village–this is probably the best place to stock up on camping supplies at. Coolers, snacks, veggie burgers/hot dogs, beer, ice–all the usual trappings of a modern American grocery. Yep, that Tops is mighty fine.

Best Way To Get Around:

Coming from New York City, we pretty much took I-87 all the way up in our rented automobile o’ the weekend, a golden Toyota Corolla that glimmered like RZA’s mouthpiece. This was one of those rare times where you’ll find me navigating a foreign car. Hey, I’m from the Motor City, what do you expect?

So, if you don’t have a car, rent one. Unless you’re training for an Iron Man’s competition and want to run, bike, and swim to get everywhere, a car is pretty much necessary to get to and from the beach, accommodation, downtown, etc.

All along the lake lie an abundance of boat rental operations, offering packages by the hour, day, or week for a wide variety and size of water craft. The prices slightly vary, but no matter where you go, don’t expect it to be dirt cheap. Your bank account will take a lesser hit if you’re renting with a pack of friends or family–it’s totally affordable then. This is such a pretty lake, and if you can swing it, rent at least a canoe–don’t forget to explore the many islands that dot Lake George’s bright blue waters too.

Drats! Mohawk Campground, billed as the only Lake George campground directly on the lake, was to be our choice du jour for the night. Alas, they were closed for the year, so we were left to fend for ourselves, relying on local tourism brochures for leads on camping accommodations. Eager to escape a crowded Lake George Village, we set our sights on Rogers Rock Campground, located in the unheralded town of Hague on the northern tip of the lake.

As we coasted through the campground in search of a site to pop up the tent, it became immediately clear our incomparable brain power had served us right once again. Mohawk may be the only private campground with lake access, but this secluded, public one was on time. Many sites lie right on the water’s edge, offering fantastic views of the hills surrounding the lake. Most of these spots were taken, except for one in close proximity to a neighboring, occupied site. After circling around 10 times to scope it out, and thoroughly scaring the couple next to this vacant site, we settled on #62 instead. Nobody was around to cramp our style, and a babbling brook (yes, babbling) ran behind our tent. This was definitely a welcome sound to fall asleep to, as opposed to semi-trucks screaming past my Brooklyn apartment.

After setting up the White Stag with the grace and dexterity of Mary Lou Retton at the Olympics, we took a walk around the campground before it got too dark. There's a well-traveled path that ambles along the lake, opening up to a small clearing that afforded us a stunning view of the moon reflecting down on the water. Since it was getting late, we didn’t have time to check out Rogers Rock’s facilities, which include group camping areas, a swimming beach, and a trailer dump station. We were especially sad at missing out on the dump station–tourists, bring your cameras!

Using a bundle of logs bought from a small convenience/liquor store up the road about half a mile, we stoked the embers of what would soon become a mighty fire. Time to break out the Keystone Ice, veggie dogs, and marshmallows for s’mores. I hadn’t been camping for quite some time, and was starting to forget the mysterious, soothing effect that staring at a campfire for hours brings. This night was a great reminder.

Don’t forget to put away all your food before zipping up the tent and trying to get comfortable on nature’s mattress. Deer, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and black bears are in the area, and they love human food (especially barbecued chips from what I hear).

We paid for our one-night stay as we checked out with Bud the Park Ranger, and were charged a mere $19.75. Bud even offered to let us stay throughout the day if we wanted, and recommended a spot for breakfast up the road. Those upstate New Yorkers–such accommodating people!

“Now what you’re gonna want to do is take a right out of the campground, and go down about a mile and a half. You’ll see a fork in the road at the monument, just keep going past it and you’ll see the Hot Biscuit right there on the right. Now, I think it’s called ‘The Saw Bucket’, you get eggs, bacon, toast, and these biscuits with gravy that has some really good sausage. . . “
-- Bud, the Park Ranger at Rogers Rock Campground, directing me to his favorite local restaurant for breakfast.

And so off we went in search of Hot Biscuit. . .though I was going to pass on the meat that a salivating-at-the-mouth Bud so eagerly described for me. It’s located over in Ticonderoga, a veritable hotbed of city spelling and pronunciation errors waiting to happen. The drive down from the campground was especially soothing, with rolling hills filling up the area like autograph hounds around Michael Jackson. There’s a number of intriguing little antique stores along the way as well.

Bud’s directions were perfect to a T, and we rolled in to Hot Biscuit, eager to eat something other than marshmallows, chocolate, or potato chips. I could tell right away this was one of the more popular local stops in the area, as it was pretty packed on a Sunday morning. We did get a table right away though.

Oh man. . .despite all the vintage trumpets, horseshoes, tools, kitchen utensils, etc that covered the walls of the restaurant, the most dominating theme going on here is the American flag. The tablecloths are adorned with the flag, as are the waitress’s aprons. This was exactly the kind of local joint I was looking for.

It’s a pretty standard menu with good upstate NY prices. I went with the swiss cheese omelet served with whole wheat toast and home fries for $3.95. Why not? I’d already eaten nothing but garbage on the whole trip, so why stop now? The food came out lickety-split, and I had no trouble devouring my plate with the appetite of Homer in a donut factory. My hungry little companion inhaled a short stack of pancakes with a side of bacon, and enjoyed Hot Biscuit’s real maple syrup.

Our bill came out to something like $10 for the both of us to eat well, so needless to say this a way affordable diner to grab a quality breakfast. Plus it comes fully endorsed by Bud the Friendly Park Ranger. . .you can’t go wrong!