Military Trail
Military Trail is a State Scenic Byway in New York. Within New York it covers roughly 90 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Military Trail with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Military Trail runs through the eastern Adirondacks along the shore of Lake Champlain, anchored by Fort Ticonderoga. The French built this stone fortress in 1757 during the French and Indian War, and it changed hands repeatedly during the American Revolution. The byway mixes rolling farmland, dense forest, and views of deep glacial lakes with a genuine density of military history, tracing roads that colonial and revolutionary armies once marched or hauled cannon along. At Fort Ticonderoga itself, a blue-blazed walking trail loops the restored battlefield and surviving military encampments, with historical markers explaining the fort's role in multiple 18th-century conflicts, while nearby Mount Defiance offers a commanding overlook that proved decisive when British artillery hauled up its slope in 1777 forced an American retreat. The route can be explored equally well by car along the shoreline roads or by boat on Lake Champlain itself.
- Eastern Adirondacks along Lake Champlain
- Fort Ticonderoga (built 1757)
- French and Indian War & Revolutionary War history
- Blue-blazed Carillon Battlefield walking trail
- Mount Defiance overlook
- Deep glacial lake views
Plan a drive on Military Trail →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Military Trail
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Military Trail.
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