Join Fort Ticonderoga on October 2 for a full day of autumn fun at the annual Heritage, Harvest, & Horse Festival. Set in the midst of the King’s Garden heirloom apple trees with a backdrop of majestic mountains and Lake Champlain, guests will experience the beautiful fall foliage while enjoying local food and drink at the farmer’s market, plus a family favorite: animal meet and greets.
Guests are invited to discover the historical importance of horses and other working animals during exciting demonstrations, meet a friendly oxen duo, and stroll through the picturesque farmers market featuring local food, beverages, and crafts. Take a horse-drawn wagon ride, pick apples by the bag from the heritage orchard, cruise on Lake Champlain aboard the Carillon tour boat, and participate in fun family activities— like the six-acre Heroic Corn Maze.
“Every day at Fort Ticonderoga offers immersive historical experiences led by engaging historians. This festival is one of our top events and remains a visitor favorite,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “There is so much to explore during this fall-favorite event, everyone in the family will find something to fall in love with.”
Local Food & Harvest Market
Enjoy tasty treats from America’s Fort Café and local vendors including American Oak Distillery, Murray’s Fools Distilling Co., Busy Bee Honey, Floating Bakery, Ticonderoga Natural Foods Co-op, Papa Duke’s Barbeque, Maple Knoll Farm and local, and more. History does taste good!
Heritage Animals & Demonstrations
Animals make a big impact here at Fort Ticonderoga. Say hello to our friendly dynamic oxen duo— Mick and Mack— and experience the heavy hauling power of working oxen firsthand. Follow the cry of the foxhunting Green Mountain Hounds, and take a horse-drawn wagon ride with our friends at Country Dreams Farm. See how militia horses provided mobility to get soldiers wherever duty called. Discover the mounted volunteers who equipped themselves as cavalry to defend this new nation.
Heroic Corn Maze
Take a stroll through Fort Ticonderoga’s six-acre Heroic Corn Maze, located on the shores of Lake Champlain. This year, the maze is designed in the silhouette of a cartridge pouch badge of the 26th Regiment of Foot, along with the British flag as a nod to the 2021 programming theme: 1774, a peaceful era of garrison life at Fort Ticonderoga under British rule.
The maze is divided into two phases, with an average journey taking one hour. As visitors make their way through the rows of corn, they can hunt for all the history-themed stamps along the way and sign the wall of fame at the end!
Admission to the Heritage, Harvest & Horse Festival is included with a Fort Ticonderoga general admission ticket. Tickets are buy one, get the next day free. The maze is open on weekends September 4 through October 17.
About Fort Ticonderoga
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.