Lake George for Kids : Fun Facts:Lake George's Prospect Mountain

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Prospect Mt trail follows the path of an old funicular

Hike Prospect Mountain in Lake George, NY

• Elevation= 2,041’

• Ascent= 1,600’

• The Old cable railway cost $110,000.00 when it was built in 1875.

• The cable railway was 7,392 feet in length


A long footbridge crosses I-87. 


• The cost to passengers was 50¢ in 1875 when the average weekly wage was $3.00


• The railway rails were used for scrap metal during World War I


• The original Prospect Mountain Inn (located at the summit) was destroyed by forest fire in 1880, rebuilt and burned again


• A funicular (or incline railway) uses a cable to pull up a car that rolls on a track. It originated in the 15th century as a way to get people up steep inclines. Now is most commonly used to get downhill skiers to the top of mountains.


The road is open to cars from May-October 
• The oldest funicular is a private incline railway called The Reisszug in Hohensalzburg Castle at Salzburg in Austria that is said to date back to the 1400s.

All that is left of the Incline Railway at Prospect Mt.














A view of Lake George for the summit of Prospect Mt.

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