Though the undulating scenery around LAKE GEORGE , 25 miles up I-87 from Saratoga Springs, is undeniably some of the most gorgeous in the region, the village itself has souvenir shops catering to the thousands of tourists who come here in search of a quick taste of the Adirondacks. The numerous sightseeing cruises, fun parks, factory outlet stores and other diversions now on offer, here and in neighboring Glens Falls, obscure the natural splendor, as well as the region's considerable history. James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans was based on the Battle of Fort William Henry , which was fought here between the British and the French in 1757, but the replica fort (July & Aug daily 10am9pm; May, June, Sept & Oct daily 10am5pm; $9.95), along the lakeshore on Canada Street in the center of town, does little to evoke the era when this was the distant frontier.