Lake Champlain Overlook at Fort Ticonderoga

The views from Fort Ticonderoga north across Lake Champlain and east across Lake George explain the fort's strategic significance in a single glance. The fort sits at the confluence of the two lakes, commanding the principal water route between Canada and the Hudson Valley. Any army moving south from Canada had to pass within artillery range of this promontory — the reason every major power in the northeastern theater fought for it.