East Shore Mountain Bike Ride - Lake George

Park here and head off down the old dirt road towards an open clearing called Dacey Clearing. It is free to park here.

From here you will start climbing pretty steeply and may need to walk your bike up the hill if it becomes too steep and your granny gear isn't cutting it. Head out on the trail towards Sleeping Beauty.

From this junction take a left following red markers up a steep old road towards Bumps Pond. Again, you may need to walk your bike in steep places on this trail over loose rock.

On the north side of Bumps Pond you will see a trail doubling back towards Sleeping Beauty that comes in on a bridge over the Bumps Pond outflow. This trail would bring you to the top of Sleeping Beauty but it is closed to mountain bikes. Save this for another day and refer to my other Sleeping Beauty Guide if interested. The trail to Fishbrook Pond from here is steep and expert difficulty.

At the south end of the lake you should have passed by a lean-to. You also probably had a view of the north lean-to across the pond as well. At the trail junction at the north end of the pond you'll see the red Fishbrook Pond Trail from the lake shore coming in on the left. You will want to continue ahead onto the Lapland Pond Trail following yellow markers on the trees now.

Tip: You need to make a decision here.
1. You can take the red Fishbrook Pond trail for an epic descent over difficult terrain to the shore of the lake for a shorter loop of about 16 miles or 2. continue on towards Lapland Pond for the truly epic loop of this guide. If you decided to head towards the lake from here you will pass a trail heading off to your left about a half mile down the hill Fishbrook Pond. That heads to the top of Erebus. Ignore that trail and keep heading for the downhill for the lake. A 3rd option would be to simply turn around and head back the way you came for a ride of 10 miles.

If you have the energy keep going towards Lapland Pond. The trail first climbs past marshy Millman Pond then descends towards Lapland Pond through another semi-wet area.

Here you will meet a trail junction that will start your descent towards the lake finally! Take a left here and follow the Black Mountain Pond Trail. You'll pass a lean-to at Black Mountain Pond you can rest at before your rocky, technical descent to the lake.

Heading off to the right here is the trail to the summit of Black Mountain. From here ignore that trail and start your descent to beautiful Lake George.

You've reached the lake! Find your way down to the waters edge to take a cool dip and perhaps wash out any wounds you've given yourself tackling the tough trails and descent. From here you will follow the lake shore on a beginner difficulty path for 3 glorious miles. I've included some photos here of the views you will have from the shoreline.

Just before you reach this area the trail will take a left turn away from the shore. If you go straight ahead you'll end up going out to Red Rock Bay. Red Rock bay has fire pits, stone picnic areas, docks etc for boaters. If you are here early enough in the day to take the time to relax spend some time here and take a dip. Look for signs back to the trial along the lake shore when you are done and continue south.

There is no way around it. This part is the worst part of the trip. If you continue south down the lake you will come to private property and will have to turn around. The only way to avoid trespassing is to head up the shelving rock road which is a very steep 500 foot ascent. Do whatever you need to do to get you and your bike up to the top of the ridge next to the summit of Shelving Rock Mountain.

Heading off to the right and up from the ridge is the summit trail to the top of Shelving rock. If you have time and energy you can go for it. If not head on down the road towards Shelving Rock Road below. You are almost back to the main road that will take you back to your vehicle.

Take a quick right here to head back to Shelving Rock Road. You will have nearly a 3 mile ride back to the Hogtown Trailhead with 800 feet of elevation gain. Or... if you had shuttled a car to the parking lots in this area you are done. Right now you are at about 17 miles.