The Lake Placid I am going to tell you about has nothing to do with the giant, 30-foot-long man-eating crocodile that terrorizes people as depicted in the movies Lake Placid, Lake Placid 2, Lake Placid 3 or Lake Placid: The Final Chapter. This Lake Placid is a beautiful vacation village located in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York.
Here are some secrets about Lake Placid that you need to know before heading there…
Lake Placid’s history began in the 1800’s when wealthy and influential Americans discovered the cool paradise and started building their Adirondack Great Camps. Some famous people who lived in Lake Placid include John Brown, abolitionist; Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification System for libraries; Kate Smith, singer; Eric Heiden, speed-skater, Lana Del Rey, singer; Andrew Weibrecht, skier; James Tolkan, actor.
In the 1800’s, Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau found that the fresh mountain air provided a perfect environment to cure tuberculosis.
The city of Lake Placid has been home to two winter Olympics – in 1932 and 1980. Lake Placid Ironman is the longest running triathlon in the US aside from Championship Kailua-Kona in Hawaii. Therefore, it remains to be a popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts. Those who like to hike, bike, swim, hike, rock climb, kayak or camp love to practice their athletic skills in the Adirondack’s.
It is not very easy to get to Lake Placid. There are couple of small airports which may be quite costly to get into. It is connected by good country highways, so you can drive to Lake Placid from surrounding big cities of Burlington (3 hours), Montreal (2 hours), Toronto (5.5 hours), New York City (5 hours) or Boston (5 hours).
When you reach the city of Lake Placid, you will see Mirror Lake, not Lake Placid lake. You can access the lake if you have a house on the lake or are staying at one of the hotels that offer access to their guests. There is also access from Whiteface, which is not easy to find. Otherwise, you can enjoy water sports, beach activities and lots of good shopping and dining overlooking Mirror Lake located right next door.
A large portion of Lake Placid’s North end is owned by New York State and is part of the Forever Wild wilderness classified land in the Adirondack Park. At the center of the North End is a beach area where you can pull up your boat and enjoy a picnic at the beach. The hotels can arrange lunch baskets as well as boat rentals.
The best public place to enjoy the splendor of Lake Placid in a very private setting is at Lake Placid Lodge. Luxurious cabins and suits overlooking the lake range $550-2,200 per night, but visiting guests can make a reservation for a romantic dinner at Artisan’s restaurant. Sip champagne and watch a quiet sunset over the lake. The hotel also offers private boat tours on Lake Placid.
In order to preserve the lake and the surrounding land for future generations, no new development is allowed around the lake. If you are to visit this area after ten years, chances are, it will look exactly the same. The Placid Lake Foundation oversees conservation easements and land acquisitions at Lake Placid. Also, the water at Lake Placid is the clearest recorded in the state of New York and safe for drinking.
The entire lake freezes in the winter and there are no roads going into many of the multi-million dollar homes. This means that the only access is by boat in the summer, and snowmobiles in the winter. So, if you plan to buy a home on Lake Placid, make sure you account for some heavy accessories in your budget.
