Percy Thompson Bicentennial Park

Percy Thompson Bicentennial Park is a riverfront town park in downtown Ticonderoga, built around the La Chute’s final waterfall. Stop for the Lower Falls and the covered Kissing Bridge; both are reached from the park’s winding path, so there’s no hike to get to the water. Leave your car in the town parking off Tower Avenue; regular vehicles aren’t allowed inside the park.

A viewing platform brings you close to the cascade. The water can be a trickle or a roar depending on the season, so the falls change a lot through the year. For a photo, keep some of the dark ledges in the frame to show how the water splits across the rock. The covered Kissing Bridge gives you another view through its slats.

The La Chute runs from Lake George to Lake Champlain, passing over several falls along the way. For more than two centuries its water powered local mills, forges and paper works. A small hydroelectric plant narrowed Bicentennial Falls from its former width; the working river is still part of the view above the cascade.

International Paper donated this former mill site to the village, and the park was dedicated in 1976. Percy Thompson, a paper mill employee, helped envision and build the public park that carries his name. The falls are the scenic draw, but the park also marks the change from an industrial riverfront to a place for the town to gather.

The park has picnic tables, benches, a gazebo and a playground. The separate La Chute River Walk starts near the Lower Falls and continues past more rapids, dams and former mill sites, with interpretive signs along the way. It’s the longer industrial-history walk, beyond the short stroll through the park. Dogs aren’t allowed in the park.