On Civic Holiday weekend, we suddenly realized we needed a break and a quick change of scenery. I only had one day off. We picked Lake Placid, a three-hour drive from Ottawa, in New York State.
The small village in the Adirondack Mountains was twice the site of the Winter Olympic Games, in 1932 and in 1980. I didn’t know that but I have an excuse—I wasn’t born.
We crossed the border at Prescott/Ogdensburg, stopped to have a look at the car show and kept driving West, on small scenic roads. Most sported yellow Amish buggy signs, warning motorists they could get stuck behind these vehicles for a while. I wouldn’t have minded, the road was very nice, bordered by corn fields and farms.
Lake Placid was a random pick so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We thought the weather would be cooler by the lake—it wasn’t. The small bed & breakfast we had booked the night before on Expedia was better than I thought though, a lovely house with a cozy wooden room. Not that we were planning to spend too much time in it.
The Main Street in Lake Placid borders Mirror Lake and is lined up with small businesses, bakeries, restaurants, souvenirs boutiques and sports gear shops. Not too many franchises but for a Starbucks camouflaged in a wooden building.
You can see remains of the village’s Olympic past here and there, including the Olympic Center Box Office, located by one of the nicest high schools I’ve ever seen. People still brag about the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 USA–USSR hockey game which opposed an American college students and amateurs team to the Soviet national ice hockey team. Despite the upset, the U.S.A won the game 4–3, and two days later won the gold medal. In the middle of the Cold War era, it meant a lot to them.
We left the city to take a walk by Lake Placid, just past Saranac Avenue. The view from the Marina was amazing, with shades of blue and green under the bright sun.
Being in a mountain resort during summertime was a strange yet fun experience. The look of the cozy wood-clad houses, the Olympic theme and the winter sports facilities made us feel like it was February… yet it was about 35ºC outside.
Lake Placid looks like a great place to visit in the summer. I always enjoy your blog.
It was a good pick! But now I’m curious to see what the place looks like in the winter.
I love these pictures and the info about Lake Placid. I always forget they had the Olympics these so it,ust be a cute, touristy sort of town, so thanks for the reminder!
It’s exactly that, touristy but cute. Some of the hotels are a bit over the top but most are quiet Bed and Breakfast kind of places.
This is something I enjoy about living so close to the US border, getting to know small towns that otherwise I would have never have visited. We were pleasantly surprised by Maine, the scenery and the towns are very nice, it is so different from the places tourists usually visit in the US. Love your pictures! 🙂
I have yet to see the Maine but I’m curious to go. It’s the setting of pretty much all Stephen King novels, and I read a lot of them when I was a teen! 😆
Some roads in Maine look like the perfect setting for any Stephen King novel. They are beautiful but there are no towns for miles and just a few houses here and there that I am sure were the inspiration for some of his novels. I would definitely would not want my car to break down in the middle of those roads. 🙂
I’ve never been there but I think I can imagine the setting… yep, great for an horror movie, even though I’m sure people are really nice!
The first thing I thought of when I saw the title was the movie, Miracle, based on the legendary game 😉
I’m surprised you know the movie and the reference! I didn’t 😆
The movie is one of my all-time favorites. And there was of course a Bollywood movie inspired by it. I think that’s how I found out and watched it.
Wow, there is a Bollywood movie about this? My, I had no clue! 🙂
Interesting. I’ve never been there but your pics are about what I expected. I wonder how such a small town pulls off an Olympics. It looks like a nice place to spend a weekend.
Your photos are amazing, as usual.
I wondered the same! And twice! Never got an answer to that.
I always am surprised by where Ottawa is located. When you mentioned that Ottawa is just 3 hours away from Lake Placid, I was like, what? I thought Ottawa was further away from the border than that. So I checked the map and was surprised.
Anyway, your ice skater picture made me wonder, how would people prove that he or she is an ice skater in order to park there? It is a very interesting sign nevertheless!
Yeah, Ottawa is only a 45-minute drive from the border. Buffalo is pretty far, we’ve only been once when stopping by Niagara Falls one winter, but a lot of small US towns are just a couple of hours away.
I think the sign was just a joke… I hope so anyway 😆
Like this one – Have a Placid Day!
I know, how cute is that?