"A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."
Henry David Thoreau
Have
you ever been to a place that makes you happy for just being there?
A place that is your slice of Heaven? A place that is comforting and
feels like home while being away? That is what Lake Frederick is to
me. I step out of the car, breathe in the mountain fresh air, look
around at all the beauty and nature surrounding me, and feel all of life’s
worries go out the window.
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| Old A frames |
No
matter how many times we come back, I always get that same wonderful feeling.
That feeling that I belong here even if it is only for a matter of
days. We are blessed to come up here with a group of friends and family that
have had a reunion of sorts every year for the last 35 years,
excluding 2020 as per COVID. Many changes have occurred in this
recreation area over the years and every year it gets better and
better. When we first started coming here, the accommodations that
we rented to sleep in were old metal A frames. They had electric to
them but that was all; no air conditioning or heat. The only cooling
devise was an occasional fan. There was a ladder leading to the
upstairs for those who could take the heat. The A frames had bunks
and beds with metal frames and mattresses scattered throughout. It
was roughing it but it never bothered us as we were here, together at
Lake Frederick.
Lake
Frederick is located a short scenic seven miles ride from the main
post of the United States Military Academy. West Point Military Reservation has over 16,000 acres and is
the second largest military installation in New York State, just
after Fort Drum. West Point has thirteen lakes and ponds totaling
510 acres all together off the main campus. The property that is
now Lake Frederick was once owned by Frederick Freeman Proctor, aka,
the “Dean of Vaudeville”. At one time Frederick owned 53
theaters on the east coast and was quite wealthy. In 1912,
Frederick built “Proctoria” which means “Land of the Skies”
on his 1142 acres. He built 5 large homes with various barns and a
gatehouse. After Proctor passed away in 1929, the academy acquired
the land and the buildings.
There
are currently eight beautiful log cabins that are heated and cooled.
Four of the cabins are family style with a double bed in the middle
room and four bunks in the other room. There is also a kitchenette
with a microwave, refrigerator, and table and chairs. The front of
each cabin has a porch with great views of the lake. The other four
cabins are bunk house style with just bunk beds. Each cabin comes
with a large picnic table and a grill/fire pit.
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| New Bathhouse and new sign |
The
old bathhouse has been renovated and is now very nice with new
bathroom stalls and showers. You can use that bathroom or you can
use the brand new bath house. Each cabin gets a key to their
private bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet. What a great
improvement. In the back of the new bathhouse is also a coin
operated laundry room. That came in handy during our last trip, saving a trip into town to do laundry.
The Event/Mess Hall
The
event/mess hall has had many improvements with the adding of lots of
state of the art stainless steel kitchen equipment. We couldn’t have been happier
this year to be able to use a 6 burner gas stove, two gas ovens, and
a griddle. There was also plenty of refrigeration for all our cold
items. In the dining hall, they have also added many new tables and
chairs. Many more improvements are coming in the years to come.
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| The Enchanted Forest |
If cabins aren’t what you are looking for, Lake Frederick also offers 50 tent sites. The land offers plenty of great areas for camping and with lovely views. If you are worried that there is not enough to do, you can forget about that. There is plenty to do. They have a horseshoe pit, volleyball court, basketball court, and a lovely trail that circles the lake. The fishing is great on this catch and release lake and the swimming is heavenly.
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| West Lake Cottage |
You will need to sign in, at the historic West Lake
Cottage. There is a store that offers firewood
and souvenirs for sale as well as offering rental paddle boats,
rowboats, canoes, and more.
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| Beach |
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| One of many benches to relax and enjoy the view |
The lake has a large sandy beach with views of the Ledgewood Ruins which was a two story colonial revival home with a cedar shingle roof. The swim area is roped off and there is a swim platform to lay on or jump off. The water is nice and clean and is wonderfully refreshing. After a nice swim, there are lounge chairs and picnic tables that can be used to relax and sit a spell. There are also benches scattered around the lake to sit and contemplate while looking at the beauty of this magnificent spot. While standing on the beach, looking at the beautiful and peaceful scenery, it is hard to believe that we are only 50 miles from New York City.
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| Janet and Danny Eichner |
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| Stone Gazebo |
Till next year. We will be back and in the meantime, we will be dreaming of our little slice of Heaven. Till next time. Bye for now.
beautiful Heather wonderful photos you have captured the West Point feeling!!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It is very heart felt. There is something about that place that makes my heart sing.
ReplyDelete