Lake Placid & Adirondacks

Two-time Winter Olympics host, a lakeside village in the Adirondack High Peaks where you can ride an Olympic bobsled, climb Mount Marcy and paddle on the lake.

Lake Placid sits in Essex County in northern New York State, on the northern edge of the High Peaks region of Adirondack Park. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980 and is one of only three places in the world to have hosted the Winter Games twice. The village wraps around Mirror Lake, with restaurants, outdoor gear shops and lodging concentrated along Main Street; the Olympic Center, the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, the Olympic Jumping Complex and the Mt. Van Hoevenberg bobsled complex are all within 10 km, and an Olympic venues pass (ORDA Passport) covers them in one go. To the northeast, Wilmington has Whiteface Mountain ski area, the drivable Veterans Memorial Highway to the summit and High Falls Gorge; south of the village, the Adirondak Loj is the base camp for High Peaks hikes such as Mount Marcy and Avalanche Lake, while Cascade Mountain is the classic beginner's High Peak. Day trips include the village of Saranac Lake, The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, and Ausable Chasm, about an hour's drive away. Seasonally, December–March offers the most snow and ice activities, though temperatures often drop to −20°C; June–September is ideal for hiking and boating, with black flies plentiful in May–June; fall foliage peaks from late September to early October, which is also when lodging is tightest. Getting there: it's about a 5-hour drive from New York City; Amtrak's Adirondack runs to Westport, where you transfer onward, and Adirondack Regional Airport near Saranac Lake has a few flights. Plan on 3–4 days. High Peaks hikers must register and carry a headlamp and warm layers, and in peak season popular trailheads require parking reservations or a shuttle.

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Where to eat

Itineraries