After all these years of saying I wanted to go to Lake George NY and partake in the vintage vacation wonderfulness, Retro Roadhusband and I spent a long weekend up there, just before Memorial Day Weekend. While some of the town has been modernized to keep with the times, there were still plenty of Retro Roadmap worthy places to enjoy, not only in LG proper but in the surrounding area.
The timing of our visit was good price-wise, and quiet “have-the-town-to-yourself”wise, but some places were not open for the season, and others were closed on the days we visited. While this was a bit of a bummer, I think that just gives us an excuse to go back up there during the ON season!
Now onto some of our vacation slides- I think after seeing just a portion of what we were able to photo, you might want to put Lake George on your retro roadtrip summer schedule!
Retro Roadhusband at the Tiki Hotel we stayed at:
Great old neon signs:
Plenty of miniature golf options (more on where we played in an upcoming post!)
Ah, yes, Lake George – The LAKE!
Lake George has been called The Queen of American Lakes, is 32 miles long and is fed by huge underground springs. Since Thomas Jefferson’s time it has been a prized place not only for its beauty but for being a part of American history, in both the French /Indian wars as well as the Revolutionary war. Nowadays it’s a little more chill up there, but watch out for Americade, one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the US, I’m sure things will be a bit more lively that weekend 🙂
Things we want to go back and explore:
Lakefront Log Cabin maybe?
or a roadside Cabin Court with shuffleboard?
Authentic Worcester Diner in neighboring Bolton Landing – closed when we visited!
Things we want to go back for but are not photographed: Magic Forest Amusement Park, One Of The Last Remaining Howard Johnson’s Restaurant, Mr. B’s Best Beef Restaurant, Davidson Brothers Brewpub and Cooper’s Cave Breweries in Glens Falls, a boat ride on the lake and also to redo the things we loved ( Martha’s, The Glen Drive In, more mini-golf) and so much more!
Do yourself a favor, and if you want an actual vintage vacation destination, check out the Lake George NY area, Retro Roadmap Recommended!
View NY – New York State Retro RoadMAP in a larger map
Larry Cultrera
June 7, 2010 at 11:24 amjust to clarify. There are 3 HoJo’s Restaurants still open, Lake George, NY, Lake Placid< NY and Bangor, ME
Mod Betty / Retro Roadmap
June 7, 2010 at 11:31 amGood to know, Larry, and I’ve already updated the post. We used to still have 2 Hojos in Wilmington DE when we lived there, and the place that used to be one on 202 still uses the same clam strips as Hojos. Sometimes I get a weird hankering for ’em especially in such a clam-free state! They didn’t have the Hojo’s mocha chip ice cream that was my fave.
Nicole
June 8, 2010 at 7:27 pmHow great! My husband and I are driving to upstate NY from FL in August and this is a must-stop. He’s been commissioned to create a retro-style painting of that area and is excited to get fun reference photos. Check out his art at http://www.BrendanCoudal.com
Mod Betty / Retro Roadmap
June 9, 2010 at 5:00 pmNicole – what a fab reason for the trip! If you’re swinging through PA on your way there, give us a holler. and don’t forget to keep the Retro Roadmap handy for all of your vintage retro and cool old places to stop at 🙂
Greg
June 8, 2010 at 8:54 pmLooks like you got to hit many of the cool spots in Lake George. Sorry to hear that some of the places were closed. Visit during the summer and it’s retro heaven.
Mod Betty / Retro Roadmap
June 8, 2010 at 9:26 pmWe balanced the “darn the place is closed” feeling with the “wow isn’t it quiet and relaxing” feeling while we were there- but most definitely looking forward to an excuse to go back when things are in full swing. Could be a Retro Roadmap Meetup!
Todd Kimmell
September 21, 2012 at 12:03 pmI am embarrassed to say my family has not gone to Lake George more than a pass through on the less kitschy side, with a stop at Silver Bay. Your site is always so much fun, and as much gauntlet thrown as inspiration. If that damn Beth and Cliff can go groove in Lake George then dammit, we can, too!
Kristin… warm up the van! We’re outta here!
Mod Betty
September 24, 2012 at 11:05 amGlad we can be an inspiration for any type of exploring and enjoying some of the good stuff around us, however it is defined!
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