Lake George Recreation Center,  Prospect Mountain and More

By Rich Macha

The Nor’easter on December 17 bypassed much of the Adirondacks but it did manage to sideswipe the park’s southeastern corner with accumulations of around two feet in the Lake George area. This gave me the opportunity to return to the Gage Brook Cross Country Ski Trails system at the Lake George Recreation Center and further explore the area around Prospect Mountain.

To reach the LGRC from I-87 Exit 21, drive west on NY Route 9N for over half-a-mile, then take a right on Transfer Road, and follow the signs up the hill to a large parking area. A link to a trail map can be found on the Village of Lake George website: villagelakegeorge.digitaltowpath.org:10062/content.

Initially, it was a chore breaking trail in the deep powder, but after a couple of days, the snow had consolidated somewhat and the going was easier. Most of the trails had been broken out by snowshoers, skiers, and unfortunately, some bare-booters. In a perfect world, skiers would stay to one side of the trail, snowshoers would stay on the other side, and bare-booters would buy or rent skis or snowshoes.

For those who would like to start out on the easy-side of things, you can bear left at the kiosk onto the Let’s Go trail then continue on 204th Way. Guard Help Way drops down from the kiosk and makes a quick left turn, then levels out somewhat before reaching a small amphitheater area with a lean-to facing a lovely waterfall on Gage Brook – known as West Brook on most official maps.  Despite the large amount of snow, the trail past the lean-to had some wet areas as it climbed up away from the brook.

There are many loop options available – intermediate skiers should try as many as time will allow – the trail names, such as Chingachgook, Sagamore and Magua’s Revenge, are inspired by James Fenimore Cooper’s book “The Last of the Mohicans.” Magua’s Revenge is one of two loops that are classified as “Advanced” – it has a steep drop at its beginning, but the rest of it was fairly easy, plus there are some nice views of West/Gage Brook and its cascades along the way. There are over four miles of trails in the system.

If you continue on 204th Way straight past the junction with Guard Help Way, you will soon cross the brook on a wide bridge. Keeping within sight of the brook, this old woods road soon enters state land, and although unmarked, is a fairly well-used route up to the summit of Prospect Mountain. The route makes a sharp right turn off the woods road just before crossing a tributary of West Brook – look for some rocks piled on a boulder to your right. Further up, at a cairn, take a right on a woods road and soon bear left to continue up the mountain. The trail climbs slowly at first but steepens in places further up – it is advanced skiing but most folks can make it up on snowshoes. The summit is reached 2.6 miles from the parking area after a gain of 1,400 feet.

Berry Pond Trail – As you travel along Guard Help Way and 204th Way, you may notice some blue disc trail markers – this route, which soon leaves the LGRC and enters state land, leads to Berry Pond via Noosa’s Bluff (unofficial name) – there are two steep hills to climb so it is best for snowshoeing. After a gain of over 900 feet, you will find a view of Lake George from a clearing, then soon after, a view to the south from Noosa’s Bluff looking toward Butler Pond and Darling Mountain. With the leaves off the trees, you can make out Berry Pond as well as Potash Mountain in the distance.  

The blue trail then drops down and turns left on a woods road which leads to a snowmobile trail. A right turn, now following orange markers, soon leads to another right turn onto a loop around Berry Pond. After visiting the pond, you can then follow the orange markers down to make a loop back to the blue trail. If you do all of the blue and orange trails, you will have gone 6.5 miles round-trip from the parking area. For more info and a map, visit: lglc.org/preserves/berry-pond.

Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway – In the late 19th century, there was a hotel with dance hall and bowling alley on Prospect’s summit – it cost $1 to take a horse-drawn wagon to the top. In 1895, a cable railway was built which charged 50 cents for the round-trip – it only operated for eight years and now the only marked DEC trail up the mountain runs along its route. The 5.5-mile Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway was built in 1969. The highway is a snowmobile trail in the winter, overseen by the South Warren Snowmobile Club – you can check their website or Facebook page to see if the route is open for snowmobiling.

I skied halfway to the summit shortly after the big storm – the road was groomed and packed down by snowmobiles so it was nice not to have to break trail in deep snow, but I had to put up with the occasional snowmobile that came buzzing by. I realized that day that you could probably ski this road on as little as three inches of snow. After the big Christmas Day meltdown, the Warren County snowmobile trail system was closed down. In early January, some mixed wintry precipitation fell and created a little base, and two days later two to three inches of powder fell, and I had the conditions I had wished for – just enough snow for skiing and no snowmobiles!

I have found that the best place to park is at the junction of Birch Avenue and Gage Road where a corner is plowed enough to fit four to six vehicles. The Prospect highway is just past a gate – when the route is open to snowmobiles, one side of the road is groomed and the other is plowed to the tollbooth. Just before crossing over the Northway, there is a gate – it is open when snowmobiles are allowed and closed when not – I found it easy to step over its low center with skis on. Soon after, you pass the tollbooth then arrive at a junction – a left turn takes you into the Rec Center.

The road then begins to climb although it is never steep. A small impoundment, Stannard Pond, is seen on the right. Then you come to the first of three lookouts – The Narrows – where you look up Lake George to Buck Mountain and the Tongue Range. The road flattens out for a while. Shortly after, the red-marked hiking trail, the shortest and steepest route to the summit, crosses the road. Two more lookouts are passed – Lake George Panorama and Eagle’s Eye. After another couple of miles, the summit area is reached – on a clear day, you can see the High Peaks – poke around for different views from different points. The ski back down included some effortless runs, some double-poling sections, as well as some kick and glide sections, and took me half as much time as the ascent.

There is a lot to discover in this area, so pick a nice day when conditions are right and have some fun.

A lover of wild places, Rich Macha has led many trips for the Adirondack Mountain Club, and has spent 20 years in the paddlesport/snowsport business. More of Rich’s adventures can be found at northeastwild.blogspot.com