"We decided it was finally time to finish the Lake George 12ster, so we embarked on this hike to complete Fifth Peak, French Point Mountain and First Peak. The walk into Fifth Peak was moderate with a wide trail through an open forest. We reached the summit of Fifth Peak in 1-1/2 hours and spent about 15 minutes on the summit at the lean-to and at a lookout just beyond with excellent views of Lake George and the surrounding mountains. We then headed to French Point Mountain by dropping into a very steep col that was somewhat difficult to negotiate. Due to the leaves on the ground at this time of year and lack of people on the trail, the trail was a bit difficult to follow at times. The time to French Point was 1 hour, 35 minutes. Leaving French Point after 20 minutes, we headed to First Peak and arrived 52 minutes later. Another great view of the lake looking south. Sixteen minutes later, we were back at it again in what seemed to be the longest trek down a steep col to the "tongue" point and then back around for the 5+ mile slog back to the car along the lake. There was some "up and down" but no real strenuous elevations to conquer....just a seemingly endless hike out. Total mileag..." — TJandMS • Oct 1, 2025

"We decided it was finally time to finish the Lake George 12ster, so we embarked on this hike to complete Fifth Peak, French Point Mountain and First Peak. The walk into Fifth Peak was moderate with a wide trail through an open forest. We reached the summit of Fifth Peak in 1-1/2 hours and spent about 15 minutes on the summit at the lean-to and at a lookout just beyond with excellent views of Lake George and the surrounding mountains. We then headed to French Point Mountain by dropping into a very steep col that was somewhat difficult to negotiate. Due to the leaves on the ground at this time of year and lack of people on the trail, the trail was a bit difficult to follow at times. The time to French Point was 1 hour, 35 minutes. Leaving French Point after 20 minutes, we headed to First Peak and arrived 52 minutes later. Another great view of the lake looking south. Sixteen minutes later, we were back at it again in what seemed to be the longest trek down a steep col to the "tongue" point and then back around for the 5+ mile slog back to the car along the lake. There was some "up and down" but no real strenuous elevations to conquer....just a seemingly endless hike out. Total mileag..." — TJandMS • Oct 1, 2025

"We decided it was finally time to finish the Lake George 12ster, so we embarked on this hike to complete Fifth Peak, French Point Mountain and First Peak. The walk into Fifth Peak was moderate with a wide trail through an open forest. We reached the summit of Fifth Peak in 1-1/2 hours and spent about 15 minutes on the summit at the lean-to and at a lookout just beyond with excellent views of Lake George and the surrounding mountains. We then headed to French Point Mountain by dropping into a very steep col that was somewhat difficult to negotiate. Due to the leaves on the ground at this time of year and lack of people on the trail, the trail was a bit difficult to follow at times. The time to French Point was 1 hour, 35 minutes. Leaving French Point after 20 minutes, we headed to First Peak and arrived 52 minutes later. Another great view of the lake looking south. Sixteen minutes later, we were back at it again in what seemed to be the longest trek down a steep col to the "tongue" point and then back around for the 5+ mile slog back to the car along the lake. There was some "up and down" but no real strenuous elevations to conquer....just a seemingly endless hike out. Total mileag..." — TJandMS • Oct 1, 2025

"Hiked the lower Tongue Range today for my finish of the Lake George 12ster challenge. Started around 9:00 with an easy saunter up the Five Mile Point Trail up to Fifth Peak and the lean-to. I had done it in the past and, although it had an interesting grassy summit, the views were lackluster in my opinion. After backtracking to the Tongue Mt. Range Trail, I began a moderate ascent to a secondary summit and then down from there. Good views further down the range awaited me on the open rock slabs here. After traversing a pretty big subsummit, we began the steeper ascent up to French Point Mt. This peak had a stunning expanse across Lake George, with views of Black, Erebus, Buck, Sleeping Beauty, and Shelving Rock Mts. from the open rocks at the top. Another steep and scrambley descent awaits as I pushed down to First. The ascent isn't as steep, but the view is just as nice from the top. The way down is beautiful, with gradual ascents and descents over grassy knolls. The final 5 miles back to the car is a bit of a haul, and it is not completely flat. It is nice and easy, with some interesting views over Northwest Bay and a nice area to rest at Bear Point. I did encounter a black pit v..." — elimihuta • Sep 27, 2025

"We started the hike at the trailhead located on Shelving Rock Road. Small parking area, but it was a weekday in October, so no other cars there! The hike was on a beautiful trail through an open forest with very modest ascent areas for the first approximately 1.5 miles. The trail then gets steep and rocky in many areas, but nothing too difficult. There were several water crossings along the way, but all were very easy to negotiate. The summit was reached at about 2.35 miles in from the car. Summit markers were found and there were great views of Lake George. You could even see the Sagamore Resort on the other side of the lake along with several islands. As you moved around the summit area there were a couple of more great lookout points. Trail was very well marked with blue trail discs. Round trip was 4.74 miles and took 2 hrs., 20 minutes of hiking time. We also spent about 20 minutes at the summit and had our lunch behind a large rock formation since the wind was pretty strong and again the temperature was in the low 40’s, so wind chill was very unpleasant! First mile back down required special attention to footing due to the steep terrain, loose rocks, wet tree roots and leaves." — TJandMS • Oct 15, 2024