Shelving Rock Mountain and Shelving Rock Falls Lake George

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Shelving Rock Mountain and Shelving Rock Falls Lake George

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Difficulty: Easy
Length: 6.5 miles / 10.5 km
Duration: Half day

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Overview: This is a fun hike exploring the Shelving Rock Mountain area on the east side of Lake George. You will climb to the top of Shelving Rock Mountain for views down to the lake and then explore the shoreline around Log Bay and Shelving Rock Bay. You'll pass by beautiful Shelving Rock Falls twice on this hike. Be careful on the rocks around the falls as they are slippery

Tips: Directions to Parking Area:
Follow Route 149 East towards Fort Anne from Lake George. 1.6 miles east of the intersection of Rte 149 and 9 take a left onto Buttermilk Falls Road. 3 miles down this road Buttermilk Falls becomes Sly Pond Raod and becomes unpaved. At 8.7 the name changes to Shelving Rock Road. Look for a large parking lot shortly on the right. This is the Hogtown trailhead. From this trailhead follow Shelving Rock Road downhill for 2.5 miles to where it crosses over Shelving Rock Brook on a bridge. Park just before the bridge.

Points of Interest

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Parking Area

Park just before the Shelving Rock Bridge over Shelving Rock Brook. You'll want to head down the road to first climb Shelving Rock Mountain in this guide.

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Old Road along Brook

Head right up into the woods from this junction to start climbing. You'll walk through the parking lot past the gate and up the hill on an old road along a brook for just 0.2 miles until you get to the Shelving Rock Mountain Trail.

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Shelving Rock Mountain Trail

Take a left on this trail which starts off flat at first than follows switchbacks up.

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Lake Shore Trail Junction

At this height of land you need to head left. Going right will take you 500 feet down to the Lakeside Trail along the shore of Lake George. Instead, head left and up following yellow trail markers.

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Shelving Rock Summit

At 1,225 feet you are now at the summit of Shelving Rock Mountain. The summit is now overgrown but if you head south down a trail nearby you'll come to an overlook in a clearing. From the Summit head down to POI #2 following the same route you followed up. When you get to POI take a right to head further down the Shelving Rock Road.

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Shelving Rock Falls Trail

Head down this trail to check out beautiful Shelving Rock Falls. When you get to the falls be very careful as the dam at the top of the falls can be wet and slippery so be careful where you step.

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Shelving Rock Falls

Take some time to explore the area around the falls and take photos but be careful. From here follow the trail that follows Shelving Rock Brook down to the lake. When you get back to this point after checking out the shore of the lake you'll want to head back along an old road through the woods to the east back to the parking lot where your car is (follow the guide). If you choose not to check out the shore of the lake you can always cut the hike short and head back now as well.

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Lake Shore Trail

When you reach the lake head north along the shore to check out Log Bay. You'll follow this trail until you get to private property, then turn around and follow it back to this point. If you can figure out what day of the summer the local's-only "Log Bay Day" is you'll see a ton of boats in the bay and a lot of beer and music!

IMG_1273.JPG (Bolton Landing, New York, United States) Photo

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Private Property Boundary

The Knapp Private Property area is beyond this to the north and there is no tresspassing so you'll need to turn around and head back the way you came. Or, you can choose to walk up Shelving Rock Road back to the car but going back along the lake is always more beautiful I think. Follow the same route back to the falls and then you'll head a slightly different way back to the car.

Pictures in this guide taken by: CascadeClimber, alexkhaitov, clintons

Jonathan Ellinger

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