There are a few climbing opportunities near enough to Lake George Village that you don't need to drive...
While bouldering on Prospect Mountain can be accessed by bicycle and is a nice diversion for anyone's vacation based in Lake George Village, there is nothing else that I know of that is as accessible, by foot, bike, or skateboard for that matter, than the graffiti boulder at the trailhead of French Mountain.
My personal knickname for this block has always been "The French Mountain Canvas" due to the "art" on it, but for the sake of cartography I will refer to it as the "Warren County Bikeway Boulder". You can access this by parking near the Ephram Williams memorial on route 9 just north of the outlets, or by biking up from the beach. In the off season, I will park off Bloody Pond road near the Magic Forest and bike a short ways in from there.
"French Steps (winter) 5.3"
French Steps 5.3
James and Nefeli Pavoldi on the French Steps, 5.3:
Map to the Warren County Bikeway Boulder (aka "The French Mountain Canvas")
here:
There are 3 sides of this block, all with easy access to the summit and a variety of terrain that makes it an ideal top rope spot for kids.
The arete separating the trail facing wall and the flag wall is one of the cleaner steep lines on the block. The crux is low and fast making it boulder'able despite it's height of ~24 feet. The thin fingers behind don't seem to pose too much risk of removing the block any time soon.
I have been calling this one "French Quarner 5.6"
On the south facing wall the the prominent flag graffiti, there are two clear lines.
A bit of a traverse with an escape route up and right if boulder'd, "Norway to Russia, 5.3"
"Yellow Rurpes (5.unknown)" is a little trickier. The absurdly marked holds seem to fall into the 5.8+, 5.9 range, but I shot to find the line straight up from there and have been rejected numerous times. The fact that someone painted the holds yellow like a gym route is literally mind-blowing. There is also a rurp that's been almost reclaimed with lichen just to the right but I wouldn't trust it on lead.
On the north side of the block are a number of opportunities, most striking is the "Bulgarian Right Wing, 5.7". I found this on my last run as a mix between the face on the right, the crack, the blade of the pillar, and a high and dirty wet (frozen) crux. There may be a completely seperate "Bulgarian Left Wing" on the left side of the pillar.
This area is one of my most goal-oriented access opportunities. If you can make it to the village, you can have seasons of adventure here with no gear investment. If you can get 75' of rope, 60 feet of webbing, a harness and 3 locking carabiners, this will become your proving ground. Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you are new to the sport or looking for an introduction; I am happy to help.
Here's a pic of the Russian RURP:
Enjoying some time with the kids
The morning shade keeps this so cold in winter that the holds can be cleaned all winter with just a brush.
There is a lot to explore in this area, access may be a little delicate in some of the more obvious places. Perhaps at some point I will be able to publicize the higher altitude projects like "Daniel San", "Miagi's Chopsticks", "Skeleton Long Johns", "Sweep the Leg" and others (Locals will understand the theme haha).
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