Happy Birthday, America!

This July 4, the United States of America celebrates a big birthday: we’re turning 250 years old. It’s a pretty big deal, and there are extra celebrations happening all over the Lake Placid and High Peaks region. A lot has happened around here in the last 250 years, so we’re doing our part by celebrating with some fast, fun facts looking back at Lake Placid’s colorful past and present.

We keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

Once upon a time, if you wanted to get to Lake Placid from, say, Manhattan, you got here not by car, but by train. Regular trains brought passengers—and all the supplies they might need for a vacation—to Lake Placid’s train depot on Station Street.

After several years of hard work, that former rail line has been turned into the Adirondack Rail Trail, a 34-mile multi-use corridor that connects Lake Placid with Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. Thanks to the line’s gentle grade, the Rail Trail is perfect for casual birding walks, rollerblading, cycling, and in winter, cross-country skiing.

By the way, our handsome railroad station, which has seen everything from horse-drawn carriages to Porsches roll by, is now a history museum!

Great camp glamour

Ever since the Lake Placid and High Peaks area began to be settled, people have been finding fun, creative ways to make a life here. For the extremely wealthy, that meant seeing the area as a refuge from the city and embracing the wooded splendor of the Adirondacks in their homes. Great Camps, whether on the shores of Lake Placid or tucked up in the woods overlooking the High Peaks, have a history for being elaborate, glamorous, covered in bark and twigs, and filled with rustic furniture.

While many Great Camp-style homes in the area are still private, visitors can sample the luxury of Great Camp life with a stay at an area resort or lodge. Lake Placid Lodge is an inspired, totally relaxing, epically comfortable Great Camp-style hotel with countless comforts, including fine dining, vintage boat rides, and amazing views.

Yes, there’s a lake. No, there’s no crocodile.

We all love Lake Placid: the village, the lake itself, and the classic horror-comedy film. What’s great about Lake Placid, New York, is that we have beautiful lakes right downtown and they are totally monster-free! Enjoy canoeing, kayaking, and standup paddleboarding on Mirror Lake or boating on Lake Placid.

There’s also a fun, family-friendly beach on Mirror Lake. Here, you don’t have to be afraid to get in the water.

Golfing with the greats

If you’ve golfed Lake Placid’s courses, you know they’re special. From views of the High Peaks and the Olympic Jumping Complex to tricky blind corners and undulating greens, the courses here are worth repeated visits.

One of the things that sets Lake Placid’s courses apart is that they were created by some of the most acclaimed designers in the history of the game, including Seymour Dunn (Lake Placid Club links course), Alister MacKenzie (LPC mountain course), and Walter Hagen (Whiteface Club).

Olympic glory lives here

If Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy and history of sporting excellence is what drew you here, you’re in good company. Since the 1800s, Lake Placid has been a sporting destination for skating, ski jumping, hiking, and more. There was even a time when the hotels all closed up in the winter, but enterprising hoteliers saw the potential in winter sports.

The Olympic Legacy Sites let you get in on all the world-class action yourself; in summer, the famous Olympic Oval where Sonja Henie skated to gold in 1932 and Eric Heiden blazed to victory in 1980 is open for inline skating, while over at the ski jumps, watch competition or ride the Sky Flyer to the top!

Before “Lake Placid”

Long before Gerrit Smith settled the area now known as North Elba and Lake Placid, Indigenous peoples inhabited the Adirondacks, hunting, fishing, growing “the three sisters” (corn, beans, and squash), and traveling. In 1960, a dugout canoe was found in the southern end of Lake Placid lake and sold to the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in nearby Onchiota.

In the last decade, that dugout was dated using radiocarbon dating and was found to be, at most, three hundred years old, placing it in use either around the time of the American Revolution or a bit before.

Celebrate with us!

Lake Placid loves to celebrate, and we do it awfully well. Join us in our Independence Day celebrations this year and enjoy a special flyover by the Vermont National Guard, afternoon live music in Mid’s Park, fireworks and much more!