Those who have only a day can make a delightful excursion from Saratoga to Caldwell by rail, then through the lake to Baldwin, and thence by rail to Saratoga, or via Baldwin and up the lake to Caldwell, and so to Saratoga.  But, to get the full beauty of this unrivaled lake, the trip should be made with less haste, for there is no more delightful place in the world to spend a week, a month, or an entire summer.  Its immediate surroundings present much to interest the student of history and legend; and to lovers of the beautiful it acknowledges no rivals.  The elevation and absolute purity of air make it a desirable place for the tourist.  It is 346 feet above the level of the sea, 247 feet above Lake Champlain, and is now brought within six hours of New York City by the enterprise of the Delaware & Hudson Co.  It is a great question, and we talk it over every time we see the genial Passenger Traffic Manager of this enterprising line, whether Lake George or Lake Luzerne, in Switzerland, is the more beautiful.  We were just deciding last summer, on the steamer “Horicon,” that Lake George was more beautiful, but not so wild, when, as if the spirit of the lake were roused, a great black squall suddenly came over the mountains, and, the “crystal lake” for a few minutes, was as wild as any one might desire.  We all were glad to see her smile again as she did half an hour afterward in the bright sunlight.

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  Oh the mystical glory that crowns them
    Reflected in river and lake,
  Like a fire that burns through the firs and ferns
    By the paths that the wild deer take.

  Eben E. Rexford.

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“At its widest point Lake George measures about four miles, but at other places it is less than one mile in width.  It is dotted with islands; how many we do not know exactly—­nobody does; but tradition, which passes among the people of the district for history and truth, says there is exactly one island for every day in the year, or 365 in all.  Whatever their real number they all are beautiful, although some of them are barely large enough to support a flagstaff, and they all seem to fit into the scene so thoroughly that each one seems necessary to complete the charm.  On either side are high hills, in some places rising gently from the shores, and in others beetling up from the surface of the water with a rugged cliff, or time-worn mass of rocks, which reminds one of the wild bits of rocky scenery that make up the savage beauty of the Isle of Skye.

“Its clearness is something extraordinary.  From a small boat, in many places, the bottom can be seen.  Indeed, so mysteriously beautiful is the water that many visitors spend a day in a rowboat gazing into it at different points.”

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  Each islet of green which the bright waters hold
  Like emeralds fresh from their bosom rolled.

  Charles Fenno Hoffman.