crown point state historic site

We found this park by chance, not knowing anything about Crown Point. They have a wonderful small museum there that boasts a very good orientation movie, and a tour led by an excellent docent. The remains of the two forts that are there are awe inspiring, when you consider the tools and methods that were used to build them. The importance of Lake Champlain to the Revolutionary War was made clear to us, and filled a deplorable gap in our knowledge of Revolutionary War history. A great place to spend a few hours.

A nice peaceful place for a walk and a picnic.A couple of ruined forts to wander over and explore - would keep any children amused whilst the adults enjoy the wonderful views across the lake to VermontOr you can walk the new Champlain Bridge which only takes 5-10 mins or so each way depending if you stop for photos

Enjoy a restful stop in a place that has seen a lot of history. It's just below the only bridge over Lake Lake Champlain. A short film in the Visitor Center dramatizes the events of the French and Indian War that was fought here, and whets your appetite for a walk among the ruins of two forts--French and British. Clean bathrooms and two helpful museum docents complete the picture. We were glad to have stopped here and wished we had brought a picnic to linger over the view.

If you want a more off the beaten path historic trip, Crown Point State Historic Site is for you. A few remains of the fort still stand. On the shore of Lake Champlain and next to the bridge offers great photo opportunities!

The historic site for the old forts much information. Personally I like the country ski trails or bike trails, where you can see the restored kiln and fort ruins / being restored. Lots of history, great presentation inside the museum. Check out the lighthouse across the road that you can climb

Nice place to walk around just by itself. The museum, forts, and history make it even better. If I lived nearby, I'd come here for picnics and evening walks. The museum was also very interesting and well organized. They gave us some ideas of where else we could walk in the area to see other historic sites.

Crown Point State Historic Site contains the ruins of the French Fort St. Frederic and the British Fort of Crown Point. Neither of these ruins have been renovated. The ruins of Fort St. Frederic are the modest walls one will find down by the water's edge by the bridge while those of Crown Point (which are always pictured) are up the hill behind the small museum. Fort St. Frederic, however, was once a massive fort, built between 1734-1755, which looked like a medieval castle and supported a thriving French community. Between 1755-1759 the British tried unsuccessfully to take the fort and then invaded the region with a massive army (which met defeat at the Battle of Carillon on 8 July 1758 at the fort now known as Ticonderoga). The French, wishing to keep Fort St. Frederic from falling into British hands, blew it up and withdrew. The British then occupied the site and built the largest fort they would ever construct in North America: His Majesty's Fort of Crown Point. A chimney fire in the barracks in April 1773 spread to the wooden timbers and ignited the fort's gunpowder magazine, blowing the buildings apart. Efforts to save the fort in the days after met with no success as the fire was inside the walls burning through the timber and could not be extinguished. Most of the British forces then evacuated the area, leaving only a small contingent behind to guard the ordnance left behind. In May 1775 Seth Warner and the Green Mountain Boys easily took the fort and the cannon were given to Henry Knox, along with those of Ticonderoga, to take to Boston to drive out the British. It was re-taken by British General Burgoyne in 1777 and the British then held the area until after the end of the American War of Independence. So the area is of great interest to the history buff - even if one's area of expertise is not 18th century North America - but the park is of equal interest to anyone. Located on the banks of Lake Champlain, it is wide and spacious with lovely views of the lake and Vermont on the other side. The bridge spanning the lake is very impressive. Dogs are allowed in the park on leash and people can picnic or ride bicycles. There is a museum which I highly recommend. It costs $4.00 admission ($3.00 for those over 65, children under 12 are free) for a 12-minute film on the history of the forts and exhibits of artifacts recovered from the site. All of the staff are well versed in history and very helpful and interesting. Bathrooms in the museum are handicapped accessible but one cannot use them unless one has purchased a ticket to the museum. Porto-Potties are located outside of the museum. Save Your Ticket because it gets you into the Champlain Memorial and Lighthouse across the road from the park. This is a beautiful monument you may enter and climb up for a great view. If you walk down past it, though, there are stairs leading to a pavilion on the water and this is a very pleasant spot to just sit and look out at the lake. Fishing was allowed off the dock of the pavilion but no swimming; neither was swimming allowed in Crown Point park. The day we were there a French and Indian War Re-enactment was taking place and there were period-style boats out on the water which were launched from the park but I did not see any signs that people launch boats from there regularly. There is a $4.00 entrance fee to the park but, as this was waived the day we went, I don't know if that's per-vehicle or per-person. Even per-person I would say it's worth it; the ruins of Crown Point are very impressive even if one has no interest in history. Although only the barracks buildings remain standing, the outline of the fort creates very impressive hills of green which tower over you as you walk beneath them. It must have been an incredible building in its day. One may not walk on the ruins but can stroll around and eat lunch on one of the benches or beneath a tree. If you don't bring a lunch there's a general store over in Vermont, about six minutes away after you cross the bridge, called WAGS which has sandwiches and pizza and drinks and your usual deli fare at reasonable prices. There was also an ice cream shop near WAGS, something like Goodies, which seemed very popular and also served food. Both of these are directly on the main road once you cross the bridge and you can't miss them. There is no toll for the bridge. The grounds are open May-October 9:00 am-6:00 pm and the museum is open Thursday-Monday, 9:30-5:00, mid-May through late October. A great place to spend the day and even more so if you are interested in history. Highly Recommended.

Our family stopped here on a weekday (free entrance to the site, but museum closed) and enjoyed wandering about the ruins. A beautiful, quiet, historic spot and well worth a visit.

Nice day trip from Rutland. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the country. Great place to bring a picnic lunch.

Well presented movie on the history of area as well as the original ruins of both the French and English Forts which played important roles in the colonial period. Well informed personel and good exhibitions. Closed during the Winter and early Spring.

No need for big flashy lights here, just a beautiful, quiet place to wander aimlessly around and enjoy a gorgeous day. My boyfriend and I have a campsite in Port Henry, and often visit, just to get out of camp for awhile. The kids love playing hide and seek and skipping rocks in the water too!

The film and presenters make history come alive. It was truly an interesting way to learn History for young and old, learning about flintlock rifles was most interesting.

This historical site is a real gem....we learned about a part of our history that we did not know that much about. The museum is small but there is an excellent 12-minute video which is very informative and the docents are friendly and full of interesting information about the forts and the period of our history around the French and Indian War. The ruins are impressive; the walk around them is well explained by the numbered plaques. In addition to that, not having anything to do with the history, the location is spectacular. We very much enjoyed our visit.

Other reviewers explained this site very well. I wanted to emphasize the pleasure of walking through real ruins, untouched. The soldiers at Crown Point really slept there and they tell you about their life. You can almost see them. The Visitor Center is very interesting. My children actually played hide and seek in the ruins. All the area surrounding the site (the bridge, the NY side visitor center, the VT visitor center) have been redone in honor of the new bridge (the old one was demolished because of old age and sent the area in misery for two years with only a small ferry to cross the lake).On the other side of the road is a NY State Campground with the lighthouse other reviewers are talking about: very nice example of 19th century architecture, again no reconstruction!

If you want to visit a state park where you can see unrestored ruins, this is the place to go. They really are remarkable & there is an interesting visitor's center on site. The Samuel De Champlain light house is just across the road & really quite wonderful! If it's open, you can climb to the top to the observation area. Also, you can stop in at the visitor's center at the foot of the bridge for info on area attractions. The bridge is fun to walk across & you can stop in at teh Bridge Restaurant on the other side before walking back. Very pretty views from it! There is also a historic site on that side of the bridge, Chimney Point which is in VT. A not to be missed stop for early American history buffs!