Saint Sacrament

In June, we have become accustomed to exploring Lake George. It has the advantage of being one of the few places in the Adirondacks without black flies and it doesn't get unbearably busy until New York schools are on summer recess. Our first venture on the lake was by kayak, from Huletts Landing on the eastern shore. We snagged a campsite with an amazing northern view (and lot's of firewood) on Saint Sacrament Island. Looking north, we could see Deer Leap, Anthony's Nose and the picturesque church on Harbor Islands.

We didn't stay long after setting up our tents and eating the obligatory Lake George breakfast before getting back in the boats to explore our island group. We meandered around the nooks and coves, making mental notes of the best looking campsites before returning to our campsite for the afternoon. In the evening, we paddled to "turtle cove" on the northernmost of the Harbor Islands where we saw a few turtles and a deer.

The next morning we packed our gear and paddled on the western shore of the lake to Halfway Island before crossing the lake and slowly heading back to Huletts Landing. It was a wonderful preview of the camping season to come!

A week later, we found ourselves at the southern tip of Lake George for the 200th anniversary of the Lake George Steamboat Company. We boarded the Mohican with the Gribnau and Roche clans for the Paradise Bay cruise. Even though the clouds never lifted, we had a great tour with nice views of the narrows. We particularly enjoyed watching the ship make its U-turn in Paradise Bay.

The following week, we took our niece and nephew to Roger's Rock for an afternoon of paddling. We headed north from the campground into Heart Bay, telling the story of Roger's Rangers along the way. On the way back we were entertained by pretending to crash into shore while the kids frantically told us to turn. It was a great way to end our early season on Lake George. We will see it again after Labor Day.