Site of the bloody 1755 Battle of Lake George, where phantom regiments still reportedly march the old Warren County Bikeway
139 Beach Road, Lake George, NY 12845
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The park is free and open to the public. Parking may have fees during peak season.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Mostly flat parkland with paved and gravel paths; some uneven terrain near earthworks
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1755 · French and Indian War · Battle of Lake George 1755 · National Register Historic District · Colonial Military History
On September 8, 1755, the ground now preserved as Lake George Battlefield Park was the scene of one of the French and Indian War's most consequential early battles. A French force under Baron Jean-Armand Dieskau—approximately 3,500 troops—attacked an encampment of British colonial soldiers and Mohawk allies commanded by General William Johnson, who had barricaded his position behind an improvised breastwork near the southern shore of Lake George. The fighting lasted roughly five hours. Dieskau's forces suffered heavy casualties and were ultimately repelled; the Baron himself was captured. Johnson's force held the position, though at significant cost. Several hundred men died on both sides over the course of the engagement and its preliminary skirmish, known as the Bloody Morning Scout.
The park was assembled by New York State between 1896 and 1965, eventually encompassing 118 acres. Within those acres, archaeologists have identified earthworks from Fort George (built 1759), trench systems from 1757–1758, and the footprints of barracks and hospitals used during the decade-long conflict. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District on December 30, 2011.
Monuments on the grounds recognize several key figures from the colonial-era conflicts, including General Johnson, Mohawk leader King Hendrick Theyanoguin—who died in the Bloody Morning Scout—and Jesuit missionary Father Isaac Jogues, martyred in the region more than a century earlier. A statue donated in 1921 by sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor of a Mohawk warrior, often called the Indian Fountain, anchors one section of the grounds.
The Warren County Bikeway runs through part of the park's footprint, threading past the same terrain where colonial armies camped and fought during the 1750s and 1760s.
Sources
Given the scale of the 1755 battle—hundreds killed across a September day in 1755—the paranormal reports at Lake George Battlefield Park center almost entirely on residual military phenomena. Multiple independent witnesses have described hearing musket fire on the grounds when no reenactment or event is scheduled. Others report seeing what appear to be formations of soldiers moving along the corridor now occupied by the Warren County Bikeway, the apparitions visible briefly before becoming indistinct.
The most specific recurring account involves the Mohawk warrior statue, donated to the park by sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor in 1921. Witnesses have reported seeing a figure near the statue—sometimes described as Native American in appearance—that appears to assume the same pose as the sculpture before gradually fading. The account has circulated through multiple Lake George area paranormal write-ups and is treated as the park's signature phenomenon.
In 2010, the SyFy Channel program Ghost Hunters conducted an investigation at the site and, according to accounts in local and regional media at the time, reported confirming paranormal activity during their visit. The park's combination of documented mass casualty events, intact earthworks, and a long footprint of colonial-era occupation makes it a site of sustained interest for paranormal researchers.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk 118 acres that encompass the site of the September 8, 1755 Battle of Lake George, one of the most significant early engagements of the French and Indian War. The park contains interpretive monuments to General William Johnson, King Hendrick Theyanoguin, Henry Knox, and Father Isaac Jogues, as well as earthwork remnants from Fort George (1759) and barracks and hospital sites from the 1750s. Walking maps are available at the park.
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