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New York: Ticonderoga – Star Trek Set Tour
🖖 Beam Me Up — Sort Of
We had been aware of the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour for a while, and had quietly filed it under “must do” for the next time we found ourselves passing through New York State. It sounds slightly mad when you say it out loud — a full-scale recreation of the bridge and sets from the original 1960s television series, sitting in a small town in upstate New York. Naturally, we were in.
🗺️ Getting There — Via the Scenic Route (and a Speeding Ticket)
We had been working our way up to the very north of New York State, spending time in the Thousand Islands Region, that long stretch of the St. Lawrence River where the US and Canada face each other across the water and try to look polite about it. From there, it was a three-to-four-hour drive south to Ticonderoga, a small town close to Lake Champlain in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains — a vast protected wilderness of around six million acres of forest, rivers, and peaks in the northeast of the state.
Powerful storms had just torn through the region, bringing down power lines across half the county. As we crossed the mountains, we found ourselves stuck behind a seemingly endless convoy of cherry picker bucket trucks grinding their way to wherever the damage was worst, and in absolutely no hurry about it. I had booked us onto a specific tour slot and had, it’s fair to say, cut things a bit fine. In the manner of a man who has learned nothing from decades of leaving things to the last minute, I had assumed it would all work out.
It did not work out.
When we finally hit a clear stretch of road just a few miles from Ticonderoga, I put my foot down rather firmly. Not quite warp speed, but considerably quicker than was sensible or, as it turned out, legal. A New York State Trooper, lurking with the quiet satisfaction that only traffic police seem to manage, clocked me almost immediately. I ended up on the roadside with a speeding ticket, while my wife said absolutely nothing, which was somehow worse.
📍 Small Town, Big Secret
We arrived late and somewhat frazzled. Happily, the good people at the tour slotted us into a later group. Crisis averted. Dignity: largely unrecovered.
The Star Trek Original Series Set Tour is based in Ticonderoga, New York — population just over 3,000, which is roughly the size of a medium village back home. The building sits right on the main street with ample parking, and from the outside it looks like a former warehouse or an old supermarket. You would never guess what’s inside. Which is, in a way, rather the point.
Before the start of the tour, we got time to hang out in the lobby where there are displays of costumes, props and memorabilia from the Star Trek original series. In the middle of the lobby is a platform with a model of the Starship Enterprise. As we waited we watched a small crew of men touching up paintwork around the lobby area. One of these men sported an impressive Elvis Presley quiff. Again, more on this later!
We started the tour and the set in the corridor of the Enterprise. If you have ever watched the original Star Trek series you were left with the impression that the Enterprise was huge and a maze of corridors. In reality, all corridors of the film set were tiny, perhaps a hundred feet or so long. Filming from lots of different angles just made it look huge. The tour takes you through many of the rooms of the Enterprise including the sickbay, science room and engine room.
The set itself is not the original Desilu Stage 9 set – that was destroyed as is often the case for TV series – but it is a faithful reproduction. Our tour guide was fabulous and bought the whole story of the set to like. It was interesting to see how many household items had been ‘re-purposed’ as futuristic props for the series.
One thing we learned was that Star Trek would never have become the phenomenon it became without the patronage of the TV personality Lucille Ball.
After her divorce from Arnaz in 1960, Lucille Ball had another hit sitcom that followed I Love Lucy; a somewhat lesser-known series titled The Lucy Show. But although several shows were filmed at Desilu Studios, Ball didn’t have another show that Desilu outright owned. When Desilu producer Herb Solow came to Lucy with Star Trek, she saw an opportunity to snag a show she could call her own. Although Ball wasn’t involved in the creative side of Trek, she was pivotal in financing the series. She refinanced a second pilot episode after the first episode — “The Cage” — was rejected outright.
It surprised me that the Star Trek original series only had 3 seasons (79 episodes) before it was cancelled in 1969. Years of re-runs kept the series alive until it was picked up and respun into spin-off shows and movies.
The owner of the set-tour, James Crawley – he was the man who was in the lobby painting with the quiff (his main job is being an Elvis impersonator) worked on the set building of the original Star Trek series. He formed a bond with the main set creator, who when he died passed the plans for the set onto Crawley. What followed was years of painstaking work to build a faithful reproduction of the original film set using the plans, photographs and video footage.
The final stop was probably the most iconic of all the rooms on the Star Trek set – the Bridge. Here is where Captain Kirk (William Shatner) would control (at least try to) all the challenges that would confront him and the crew, ably assisted by Mr Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, Mr Sulu and Mr Chekov. Here you’ll find the Captain’s chair which you can sit in for photos.
Coming back to why they were painting the lobby. Well. the day after our visit William Shatner, aka Captain Kirk was visiting. Apparently, he has been several times before, along with the remaining crew members still alive; Walter Koenig (Mr Chekov), George Takei (Mr Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura). Tickets for these events cost several hundred dollars and sell out quickly.
I have fond memories of the original Star Trek series from my youth, but would not class myself a ‘Trekkie’ – so I was not too disappointed that we couldn’t get our hands non some tickets.
Overall, for a nostalgic trip or simply to get close to some TV history a trip to the Star Trek original series set tour is a worthwhile visit if you are in the area.
Planning your visit to the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour
🖖 Star Trek Original Series Set Tour
| 📍 Location | 112 Montcalm Street, Ticonderoga, New York 12883 | 🕖 Opening Times | Tue–Fri 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Sat 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Sun 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM (closed Mondays) |
| 🌐 Website | startrektour.com | 📞 Phone | (518) 503-5497 |
🎟️ Entry Fees
| Adult | Child (5–13) | Under 5s | Tour Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| From $35 | From $25 | Free | Approx. 1 hour |
ℹ️ Tickets purchasable on the premises (cash or card) or online. Photo tours available as an upgrade. Season runs early April through end of November. Prices vary during special events. Confirm current pricing at startrektour.com.
🚗 How to Get There
Ticonderoga is a small town in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. It is primarily a car destination — there is no direct rail or metro service to the town itself.
| 🚗 From New York City | Approx. 4–4.5 hours by car via I-87 North (Adirondack Northway) to Exit 28 (Schroon Lake), then Routes 9 and 74 east to Ticonderoga | 🚗 From Albany | Approx. 2 hours north via I-787 through Saratoga Springs and Lake George, then Route 74 east |
| 🚌 By Bus | Trailways and Greyhound serve Ticonderoga from Albany and New York City. The bus station is a short 10-minute walk from the tour at 112 Montcalm Street | 🛳️ By Ferry | The Fort Ticonderoga Ferry crosses Lake Champlain from Shoreham, Vermont — a scenic option for visitors travelling from New England |
| ✈️ Nearest Airports | Burlington International Airport (BTV), Vermont — approx. 1 hour; Albany International Airport (ALB) — approx. 2 hours | 🅿️ Parking | Street parking available on Montcalm Street and in nearby lots |
ℹ️ Ticonderoga is a small town with limited public transport options. A hire car or private vehicle is strongly recommended for most visitors.
Opening times and ticket prices may vary seasonally and during special events. Always check startrektour.com before visiting.
Best Time to Visit Upstate New York
❄️ Winter (December – February)
Winter in Upstate New York is cold, often deeply so. The Adirondacks regularly experience some of the coldest temperatures in the contiguous United States, and snowfall is heavy and reliable — particularly in the Tug Hill Plateau and around the Lake Ontario snow belt. This makes the region a genuine winter sports destination. Lake Placid, site of two Winter Olympics, offers skiing, ice skating, bobsled rides, and Nordic trails. Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid is one of the finest ski resorts in the north-east, and the Catskills’ Belleayre, Hunter, and Windham mountains offer solid skiing within easy reach of the Hudson Valley.
Beyond skiing, winter brings a quieter, more introspective side to the region. The historic towns of Hudson, Rhinebeck, and Cooperstown are unhurried and atmospheric in the snow. Christmas markets and holiday events brighten December across the region, and the charming inns of the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes are often cosily appealing.
For those not drawn to winter sports, however, this is the least rewarding season. Many attractions close, driving can be hazardous, and temperatures of minus ten to minus fifteen Celsius are not unusual in the Adirondacks in January. The Finger Lakes wine region is particularly quiet, with several smaller wineries closed until spring.
What to pack: A heavyweight insulated coat, thermal base layers (top and bottom), wool or synthetic-blend mid-layers, waterproof insulated boots with good grip, warm hat, scarf and gloves, wool or thermal socks, and hand/foot warmers if you plan to spend extended time outdoors. Ski gear if applicable.
🗓️ Overall Best Time to Visit
If there is a single best time to visit Upstate New York, it is the period spanning late September to mid-October. The autumn foliage transforms the landscape into something genuinely extraordinary, temperatures are brisk but very comfortable for outdoor activity, the summer crowds have thinned, and the full range of the region’s attractions — hiking, cycling, wine-tasting, farm visits, and historic sightseeing — remains fully open and accessible. A close second is May, when the landscape is lush and green, the weather is fresh, accommodation is affordable, and the Finger Lakes wine region is quietly at its most welcoming. For those who relish winter sports, January offers reliable snow and exceptional skiing, particularly around Lake Placid. Whatever the season, Upstate New York rewards the visitor who arrives with good layers, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to be surprised by just how much variety is packed into this remarkable corner of the north-east.
Other places to visit around Ticonderoga
1. Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga is a large stone fort in upstate New York, USA, sitting at a strategically important point where Lake Champlain meets Lake George. The French built it in the 1750s during a period of intense rivalry with Britain over control of North America, originally calling it Fort Carillon. Its position made it a key route between Canada and the British colonies to the south, so it changed hands several times over the following decades. The British captured it from the French in 1759, and American colonial forces under Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys took it from the British in 1775, at the start of the Revolutionary War, seizing a large store of cannon in the process. The British retook it in 1777, though they abandoned it shortly afterwards as the war moved on. The fort fell into ruin over the following century before being restored in the early 1900s. Today it operates as a museum, drawing visitors interested in the colonial and revolutionary periods of American history.
2. Ausable Chasm
Ausable Chasm is a sandstone gorge in the Adirondack region of upstate New York, near the hamlet of Keeseville. It runs for roughly two miles and drops to a depth of around 150 feet, carved by the Ausable River, which continues for another mile after the gorge before emptying into Lake Champlain. The rock itself is some 500 million years old — Cambrian sandstone formed from ancient tidal flats — and if you look closely at the walls, you can still make out ripple marks left by a prehistoric sea floor. The gorge began taking its present shape around 10,000 years ago, driven largely by the erosive force of Rainbow Falls, a 91-foot waterfall at its southern end. It has been open to visitors since 1870, making it one of the longer-running tourist attractions in North America. Today people come to walk the cliff-side trails, descend into the gorge itself, or take to the river by raft or tube. It is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks, which gives a fair sense of the scale, even if the two places are otherwise quite different.
Where to stay near Ticonderoga
1. Circle Court Motel – Ticonderoga
If you’re looking for a charming, no-fuss base camp in the heart of the Adirondacks, the Circle Court Motel in Ticonderoga, New York is hard to beat. A true family affair, the motel has been in the same family for four generations and in business for over 50 years — and that heritage shows in the warmth of its hospitality. The 16-unit property is AAA-rated and equipped with all the essentials, including WiFi, HD TV, air conditioning, individual heat, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and even ample boat and trailer parking. The location is a genuine draw: nearby attractions include Fort Ticonderoga, Lake George, and Lake Champlain, putting some of upstate New York’s finest history and scenery right on your doorstep. Guests consistently praise the cleanliness and the friendly staff, with many calling it a hidden gem that offers great lodging value. For a relaxed, unpretentious stay with genuine character, Circle Court delivers.
2. Trout House Resort – Hague
3. Northern Lake George Resort
Tucked away on the peaceful northwestern shore of Lake George in Silver Bay, New York, Northern Lake George Resort is believed by many to be the oldest original remaining lodging structure on Lake George, first built in 1887 — and it still carries that timeless, unhurried charm. The resort features a historic lodge, villa units, and a rustic motel, with stunning waterfront views of the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. Whether you’re after a lazy day on the water or something more active, family-friendly activities like boating, kayaking, hiking, fishing, and swimming are all right on your doorstep. Lodge rooms and villas come with fireplaces, kitchens, jet tubs, and private decks, making it a wonderful escape for couples and families alike. It’s the kind of place that feels refreshingly off the beaten path — a true Adirondack retreat.
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