Dunham Bay Marsh

Dunham Bay Marsh is at the southeast end of Lake George, tucked between the lake and Route 9L, and it's one of the quieter access points to the Lake George ecosystem that most visitors don't find because they're looking at the village end of the lake rather than the south.

The marsh itself is a wetland habitat that draws a different kind of attention than the boat docks and beach access at the north end. Great blue herons, osprey, and the emergent vegetation that a freshwater marsh at this elevation produces — the whole thing operates at a register that rewards patience and early hours. This is a photography location, not a swimming hole.

I logged it in February, which is the dead-water version of the marsh, ice-edged and dormant. The summer version is something else. For anyone doing Lake George with an interest in something beyond the souvenir strip, Dunham Bay gives you the ecological version of what makes this lake worth caring about.