Anybody from the Lake George area know if it’s acceptable to bike up prospect mountain provided you get up and down before the road is open to traffic at 9am?
I checked Strava and it seems like there are plenty that do it. Just want to be sure.
Hmm, not sure. I know there are groups that go up there at 6am in the morning, but I usually am swimming at that time. I’ll have to check it out next weekend!! I think I’ll go up and bike saturday and run the 10 mile distance race sunday.
It is socially acceptable in the sense, that plenty of people do it. It is not “allowed” under the rules. But since no one is manning the gate until close to 9am, plenty of people do it. I went to ride one evening last summer, but there was still someone in the gatehouse and they turned me away. Went back the next morning at 6:30am and had the place entirely to myself.
25 minutes of fun. And no long grinding hills like that most other places around me.
Prattzc, you gots to ride it! It’s a fun one. Awesome view from the top, if it’s clear out.
And yup it’s a strava segment.
You were suppose to be swimming with the masters group I told you about at that time!!
Definitely will check it out. Bax, if you go up again this summer, let me know so we can meet up.
OP, go north on Route 9 past Bolton Landing and go out to Hauge. Nice hills there and great views.
For less hills and more rolling, go past the village and out to Fort Ann and North from there. Nice ride.
I swam 2x with that group. good swimmers and nice peeps. I had to go up Prospect 1x, just to check it out.
Will let you know when I am in LG.
You should be fine, I did it years ago, with traffic during the day. I just blew past the guard house and ignored them, I was probably 19 at the time so I didn’t give a flying f. But, you know how parts of the East Coast are, everything needs to be cozy for the lazy people in their minivans. Even with the cars going up, I don’t remember it being too sketchy, at least not more than any roads in that area. Not sure if you wanted to risk that but before the guardhouse opens, you should definitely be fine. Also, on the less populated side of the lake (East), I think there is good riding, I remember driving north of Bolton landing (west side) and the roads get more desolate, but I don’t remember a decent shoulder. You might want to check out the north country triathlon, and the lake george triathlon course, as they should be on better roads.
Also, if you get north of See that you are from Gettysburg, any word on them reviving the TriRock race that they wanted to put on there? Gettysburg deserves a race, but I fear too many locals may feel it’s a desecration of the hollowed ground, and don’t want it for the same reasons they didn’t want the tower.
OP, go north on Route 9 past Bolton Landing and go out to Hauge. Nice hills there and great views.
For less hills and more rolling, go past the village and out to Fort Ann and North from there. Nice ride.
I’ve been going up to Lake George for years. Hague is a great place to bike. I’ve biked a ton around the lake but never prospect mtn. Was turned away once and vowed to try again. Want to be sure I do it right this time.
We’re actually camping at Rogers Rock in Hague this year. Doing the North Country half.
You should be fine, I did it years ago, with traffic during the day. I just blew past the guard house and ignored them, I was probably 19 at the time so I didn’t give a flying f. But, you know how parts of the East Coast are, everything needs to be cozy for the lazy people in their minivans. Even with the cars going up, I don’t remember it being too sketchy, at least not more than any roads in that area. Not sure if you wanted to risk that but before the guardhouse opens, you should definitely be fine. Also, on the less populated side of the lake (East), I think there is good riding, I remember driving north of Bolton landing (west side) and the roads get more desolate, but I don’t remember a decent shoulder. You might want to check out the north country triathlon, and the lake george triathlon course, as they should be on better roads.
Also, if you get north of See that you are from Gettysburg, any word on them reviving the TriRock race that they wanted to put on there? Gettysburg deserves a race, but I fear too many locals may feel it’s a desecration of the hollowed ground, and don’t want it for the same reasons they didn’t want the tower.
I’m actually racing the north country half this year. I raced a few years ago before it became a HITS race. I think in was an Olympic. Looking forward to the half this year.
I think the TriRock race is history. Here are the issues. There is a nice lake in Gettysburg that would work perfectly for an Olympic distance race. All the swimmers from Gettysburg swim there. The problem is that it’s technically a private lake. It has a guard house and everything. I heard that the community was approached about holding the swim there and they basically said ‘No way’. The only other option was a lake 2 towns over in Hanover. So, the original race had a lake swim 2 towns over, a bike from Hanover to Gettysburg and a run around Gettysburg. The bike route was terrible. Most of it was on a busy road. They had issues getting permits in 3 different towns. The logistics of the race seemed ridiculous for a short event. Also, the old geezers who run the battlefield don’t allow events to be held on the roads. So the run wasn’t even on the battlefields (which is a great place to run). So this would be a great race if lake heritage opened their lake to the event and the battlefield geezers let them run many miles of pristine battlefield roads.
Off topic, but the gettysburg half marathon and marathon and the american odyssey relay from gettysburg have a combined ZERO miles that go through the battlefields. The only race that is allowed is the spirit of gettysburg 5K.
Talking about HITS at the end of June? I was considering that. I’d like to do the 10k swim there in Hague.
My family has had a house in Bolton Landing for 50+ years. We finally renovated this past year. I’ll be going up a lot more often this summer.
Talking about HITS at the end of June? I was considering that. I’d like to do the 10k swim there in Hague.
My family has had a house in Bolton Landing for 50+ years. We finally renovated this past year. I’ll be going up a lot more often this summer.
Yep, that’s the one. Did the event before it was HITS in 2008. If you look at the bike course, it starts out with a 2 mile climb up route 8 out of hague. Great way to start a 56 mile bike ride. Probably won’t have too many drafting issues.
Love the area. Hopefully I’ll see you there.
I am local and I have used Prospect Mtn. for training for the past 25 years, but from Memorial Day until Columbus Day, the hours that you can get on the mountain are limited, unless you want to get hassled and thrown off by the Dept. of En. Con. rangers.
In the a.m. you generally need to be off the mountain by 7:00 a.m. Although the road doesn’t open to tourist traffic until 9:00 a.m., there are rangers up there much earlier getting things prepped for the day. In the evening, they are generally off the mountain by 6:30 p.m., but this can vary on the amount of vehicular tourist traffic on the given day.
Don’t go through the main gate off of Rte. 9 to access the Prospect Mtn. Highway (PMH). Instead, ride up Birch Ave. which is the next road north of the PMH main entrance. As soon as you see a cemetary on your right (~1/4 mile from Rt. 9), look left for the side work road entrance to the PMH and take that. If the security gate is open just before the bridge that goes over I-87, don’t even bother to start riding up the mountain. This means that a ranger is somewhere along the highway and it’s inevitable that you are going to get kicked off.
Good luck and enjoy the climb. It’s awesome.
I am local and I have used Prospect Mtn. for training for the past 25 years, but from Memorial Day until Columbus Day, the hours that you can get on the mountain are limited, unless you want to get hassled and thrown off by the Dept. of En. Con. rangers.
In the a.m. you generally need to be off the mountain by 7:00 a.m. Although the road doesn’t open to tourist traffic until 9:00 a.m., there are rangers up there much earlier getting things prepped for the day. In the evening, they are generally off the mountain by 6:30 p.m., but this can vary on the amount of vehicular tourist traffic on the given day.
Don’t go through the main gate off of Rte. 9 to access the Prospect Mtn. Highway (PMH). Instead, ride up Birch Ave. which is the next road north of the PMH main entrance. As soon as you see a cemetary on your right (~1/4 mile from Rt. 9), look left for the side work road entrance to the PMH and take that. If the security gate is open just before the bridge that goes over I-87, don’t even bother to start riding up the mountain. This means that a ranger is somewhere along the highway and it’s inevitable that you are going to get kicked off.
Good luck and enjoy the climb. It’s awesome.
Thanks for the info. This is great.
One quick question. Does “getting kicked off” mean that they just tell you to leave. Or is it more of a threatening situation. I don’t really care if they catch me after I get to the top provided I’m not getting a ticket.
FYI, as for Restaurants, there is better food near Bolton Landing. I remember good stuff at the Boathouse Restaurant which is half-way between Lake George Village and Bolton Landing (opposite side of road from Twin Birches) and Melody Manor which is right outside Bolton Landing. In Bolton Landing there was a decent Italian Restaurant and steakhouse (or something German). Also, for one day during Breakfast, you should head out to Lone-Bull. Expect a wait though, as it is always packed. And, it is a cool place if you have kids.
It is interesting to know about the Gettysburg issues. It kind of confirms what I thought must have happened. I’m actually surprised they hold that 5k in the park, I thought that was totally off limits. The park is a great place to run for sure. I can somewhat understand why they don’t want it going through the park (gels, water bottles, litter, etc.), and even if there wasn’t any running through the park, a destination race there seems like it would be good for the town. Never really rode to much around there, but I remember a road going toward the state forest toward the west wasn’t too bad.
Good Luck at the race!
Chris
If you happen to get confronted by a ranger while you are on the road, just play dumb. I’ve never heard of them ticketing anyone. They usually just tell you that the road isn’t open to bikes and they ask you to leave
I am local and I have used Prospect Mtn. for training for the past 25 years, but from Memorial Day until Columbus Day, the hours that you can get on the mountain are limited, unless you want to get hassled and thrown off by the Dept. of En. Con. rangers.
In the a.m. you generally need to be off the mountain by 7:00 a.m. Although the road doesn’t open to tourist traffic until 9:00 a.m., there are rangers up there much earlier getting things prepped for the day. In the evening, they are generally off the mountain by 6:30 p.m., but this can vary on the amount of vehicular tourist traffic on the given day.
Don’t go through the main gate off of Rte. 9 to access the Prospect Mtn. Highway (PMH). Instead, ride up Birch Ave. which is the next road north of the PMH main entrance. As soon as you see a cemetary on your right (~1/4 mile from Rt. 9), look left for the side work road entrance to the PMH and take that. If the security gate is open just before the bridge that goes over I-87, don’t even bother to start riding up the mountain. This means that a ranger is somewhere along the highway and it’s inevitable that you are going to get kicked off.
Good luck and enjoy the climb. It’s awesome.
Thanks for the info. This is great.
One quick question. Does “getting kicked off” mean that they just tell you to leave. Or is it more of a threatening situation. I don’t really care if they catch me after I get to the top provided I’m not getting a ticket.
Or really challenge yourself and do 3 loops of Mohican up in Bolton landing!! Up Mohican,down trout lake. Repeat. Good luck!!