One of the Adirondacks’ most popular visitor attractions, Fort Ticonderoga (Fort Rd./Rte. 74, 518/585-2821, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily May–Oct., call for off-season hours, adults $15, seniors and students $13.50, children 7–11 $7), sits within a shade-filled park. Originally built by the French in 1755, the fort bore the nickname “Key to a Continent.”

Strategically located along the Canada–New York waterway, Ticonderoga was attacked six times during the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars. Three times it successfully held, and three times it fell. France, Great Britain, and the Americans all once held control. The Log House Restaurant, onsite, serves reasonably priced healthy homemade food from breakfast to late lunch, with great views.

Inside the fort are meticulously restored barracks, kitchens, stables, cannons, and artifacts pertaining to both wars. Among the more unusual items on display are a lock of George Washington’s hair, a pocket watch once owned by Ethan Allen, and a rum horn given to Gen. Schuyler by Paul Revere. Throughout the summer, numerous special events are staged daily, including parades, cannon firings, and fife-and-drum musters.