Some Porsche Parade drives are about the road. Some are about the destination. This one had both, which is exactly the kind of trouble I like.
Our drive from Lake Placid to Fort Ticonderoga was part Adirondack road trip, part rolling Porsche show, part history field trip, and part accidental remote-work experiment. We had a group of 15 Porsches heading out together, which is just about perfect. Big enough to feel like an event. Small enough that it still felt like a proper drive instead of a moving parking lot with better paint.
The OBD logs and GPX route data I have are for the outbound drive only, from Lake Placid to Fort Ticonderoga. Once the fort tour was over, we were all on our own for the return. So this write-up is really about the organized run down to the fort, the scenery along the way, and the visit itself.
The outbound route was roughly 89 miles over two logged driving legs, starting in Lake Placid and working through the Adirondacks toward Fort Ticonderoga. The data showed the kind of pace that usually means the road was good: mostly flowing 35 to 55 mph two-lane driving, with an average moving speed around 41 mph. That is usually the sweet spot. Fast enough to feel alive, slow enough to enjoy the scenery, and technical enough that the car is actually part of the experience.
The route had a little bit of everything. We started in the mountain-town feel of Lake Placid, then moved into tree-lined Adirondack roads with rolling elevation, sweepers, tighter bends, and those shaded green corridors where the road feels like it was cut just wide enough for a Porsche and a bad idea.
From a driving standpoint, it was a great Boxster road. Nothing stupid, nothing forced, just miles of two-lane rhythm. The Skipper felt completely at home. Top down, engine working, road bending, steering alive. The kind of drive where you are not chasing speed as much as flow. Get the corner right, breathe a little, set up for the next one, repeat until your face hurts from grinning.
As a tourist, the drive was just as good. The scenery kept changing as we worked our way out of the Lake Placid area and toward the Lake Champlain side of the Adirondacks. One minute it was dense forest and mountain roads, then the terrain started opening up into small towns, water views, and long looks across the hills. The Adirondacks do this really well. They do not hit you with one single view and call it a day. They keep changing the subject.
The landscape around Lake Champlain has a different feel than Lake Placid. It opens up. The sky gets bigger. The water starts showing up. The road feels less tucked into the trees and more connected to the land around it. For a Porsche drive, that contrast is perfect. You get the tight, wooded sections where the car wants to dance, then the open stretches where you can finally look around and take in where you are.
Fort Ticonderoga made a great destination because the place has real presence. You do not have to be a hardcore history fan to understand why this spot mattered. Stand there and look across Lake Champlain, with the mountains around you, and the geography explains the strategy before any guide says a word. This was not just a fort dropped onto a pretty hill. It controlled a major corridor. Whoever held that ground had a serious hand on the throttle.
We were given a private tour of the fort, which made the visit feel a lot more personal. Fort Ticonderoga is one of those places where the setting, the stonework, the cannons, the flag, and the lake all work together. It is beautiful, but not in a soft way. The place still feels like it has weight to it.
Walking past the old stone walls, red cannon carriages, weathered shutters, and views over Lake Champlain, you get that strange mix of tourist awe and historical gravity. On one hand, it is ridiculously photogenic. On the other, you are standing in a place where people fought, froze, marched, hauled artillery, and tried to survive. That gives the scenery a little more bite.
One of the plaques at the fort told the story of Colonel John Brown, who was with Ethan Allen in 1775 and later tried to retake the fort in 1777. He did not take the fort itself, but he destroyed shipping and outer works, captured British and German troops, and helped release American prisoners. That is the kind of detail I like at a historic site. It turns an old wall into an actual story.
Of course, my visit had a slightly different plot twist.
My nephew Mike got to tour the fort like a normal person. I ended up having to work most of the time.
So while Mike was off getting the full private-tour experience, I did the most 2026 version of “office with a view” possible. I fired up the Starlink Mini, opened the laptop, set up near the Skipper, and sat on a stool next to my Racing Yellow Boxster.
The old fort had cannons. I had Wi-Fi.
Not exactly a corner office, but I’ve had worse setups. The Starlink Mini sat on the car, the laptop was open, the Skipper was parked beside me, and I was working under the trees while everyone else was soaking in Revolutionary War history. Somewhere between Lake Champlain and a row of Porsches, I managed to get actual work done.
Mike got the history. I got emails and my Bloomie. Seems fair, in the way life is not remotely fair.
After the fort, the organized part of the day was basically done. We were all on our own for the return, which is not a bad thing. That gives everyone the freedom to head back directly, wander a little, grab food, stop for photos, or turn the drive into whatever they want it to be.
That is one of the best parts of Porsche Parade. Yes, there are organized tours and official events, but there is also plenty of room for your own version of the day. Some people came for the cars. Some came for the roads. Some came for the history. Some came for all of it.
This drive checked every box.
As a tourist, it delivered Adirondack scenery, small towns, Lake Champlain views, green mountains, and a destination that felt worth the miles.
As a history fan, Fort Ticonderoga delivered the setting, the stories, the old stone, the cannons, and enough Revolutionary War weight to make you slow down and actually pay attention.
As a Porsche driving enthusiast, the route gave us flowing two-lane roads, elevation changes, sweepers, tighter corners, and the simple joy of watching 15 Porsches move through the Adirondacks like they had somewhere better to be.
And as someone who apparently cannot fully escape work, it also proved that a Starlink Mini, a laptop, and a stool next to the Skipper can turn almost anywhere into an office.
Drive the car. See the place. Learn something. Work only if you must. And when the schedule bends you over a little, at least make sure the view is good.
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