A couple weekends ago, one of my new friends and I decided to go on an impromptu overnight trip to the village of Lake Placid, NY! This Adirondack Mountains village is the former home to two Winter Olympic Games, and is just two hours away from Burlington, Vermont. The village itself has a small main street district, and is located right on scenic Mirror Lake. While it could easily be a day trip, if you are able to spend one night then you will definitely be able to see most things that the area has to offer. Due to a large sporting event that we didn't know the town was hosting, our trip plans ended up taking a different turn than we expected, but we still enjoyed a delightful weekend away in the Adirondacks! This was a trip where I decided to take a break for being in "blogger mode" and I left both my laptop and DSLR at home- so this post is iPhone photography only. 😊 Read on for my Lake Placid recommendations:
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Pack:
Lake Placid might be in the same state as New York City, but fashion-wise this little town could not be more different! This little village is very rustic, quiet, and outdoorsy focused, so this isn't the type of trip to pack your super trendy clothes for. 😉 The weather was in the 60s and chillier at night when Anna and I were there, so I packed a pair of older dark skinny jeans that I've had for awhile, sneakers for hiking, a favorite flannel {similar here}, and this favorite sweater, which is from last year but still in stock!
Stay:
My friend Anna and I stayed at the Best Western Adirondack Inn. Since we booked this trip only a few days in advance, and the early fall season can be a peak time to visit Upstate NY, a lot of the other hotel properties located right in the Village of Lake Placid were already booked or had very high rates for the weekend that we were able to visit. The Best Western Adirondack Inn had a rate that was pretty affordable to be split between the two of us, and the location of the hotel ended up being just ideal! This hotel is located directly on Main Street in Lake Placid, and it's across the street from the Olympic Museum and Ice Arena. Just about everything in town is in walking distance (restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, etc). Due to the fact that the roads were closed in town for the sporting event on Sunday while we were there, Anna and I spent most of the day walking and exploring town, and we were able to do so easily from the hotel location! The hotel had clean rooms, comfortable beds, and a decent breakfast buffet. There was also a nice looking indoor pool, however we weren't able to take advantage of that on this trip. While this isn't a "luxury" hotel, I would definitely consider staying at this Best Western again if I'm back in Lake Placid!
Eat:
This ended up being the best surprise about the weekend. The food in Lake Placid was WONDERFUL! After the fantastic meals that we had, I was kind of sad that we only had the chance to try a couple restaurants since it was such a short trip. Here are the places that we enjoyed eating at:
Dancing Bears (2404 Main Street): Dancing Bears Restaurant is located right on Main Street and has nice views of Mirror Lake. It had great Trip Advisor ratings, so Anna and I decided to give it a try, and we were not disappointed! Their menu offers a variety of standard American favorites as well as a few local options. I tried a few things from the appetizer menu for dinner: the local cheese plate and the chili. (If you know me well you know that I can never resist a cheese plate, especially when I travel!) I enjoyed both very much, and the cheese plate was so big that I actually couldn't finish it- always the best problem to have! We both ended up being too full for dessert- and I'm rarely one to pass up dessert so that was a good sign.
Stewart's Shops (2711 Main Street #1): Stewart's Shops is a popular regional gas station chain in Upstate New York (I heard they have some locations in VT as well- however there aren't any in the Burlington area). My best friend from high school, Jules, vacations each summer in the Adirondacks not too far from Lake Placid, and has told me about Stewart's Shops and the following that it has by those from this part of NY. The Stewart's convenience stores have ice cream shops inside of them. In Lake Placid, I knew I had to get my first taste of their ice cream when there was one in walking distance of our hotel! The inside of the convenience store reminded me a little bit of a small version of Cook-Out or Steak and Shake from the south. 😊 I ordered my go-to, a chocolate malt shake, and it was the best milkshake I've had since moving up North! Stewart's Shops could be a fun quick stop for a frozen treat!
Coff E Bean (2527 Main Street, inside Alpine Mall): We needed a pick-me-up before our drive home on Sunday, so we decided to go to local favorite Coff E Bean instead of Starbucks! This cute little coffee bar is super tiny, but located right on the lake, with a gorgeous back porch that customers can enjoy their beverages out on. We both ordered chai lattes and enjoyed them almost as much as the beautiful Mirror Lake views!
Lisa G's (6125 Sentinel Road): Lisa G's had been recommended to both Anna and I separately about the Lake Placid area, so we knew this was a must-visit for us! And it was fantastic! Lisa G's describes their menu as "creative American fare with global twists," and I think this was a fair description! I ordered one of the more creative lunch options and went with the Korean beef and rice bowl. It was absolutely incredible, and I think I had cleaned my plate completely bare in less than 10 minutes. I know I'll be eating at Lisa G's again if I'm back in Lake Placid!
Play:
Take in the Olympic Games Attractions: Lake Placid is most famous for hosting the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games! Many of the locations where various sports held their competitions are still maintained and in-use today, and used for things like figure skating or skiing competitions. Other sights have become part of the Olympic Museum in the area. The most affordable way to see all of the Olympic sights in the Lake Placid region is the purchase the Olympic Sights Passport- which allows admission into all of sights, and 20% off select activities. Anna and I debated between doing this pass or just doing the Olympic Museum (which was across the street from our hotel).... however we didn't realize when we planned our trip that all of the Olympic sights were closed the weekend that we visited, due to a huge Ironman Triathlon that was happening through the town of Lake Placid all-day Sunday (it was so huge that all of the main roads in town were closed as well!). So sadly we didn't get a chance to see any of the Olympic sights on this trip. But I think it is cool that so many of them are well maintained and normally available for visits!
Adirondack Scenic Railroad: There is a scenic railroad with stops through many towns in the Adirondacks, including one in Lake Placid! Anna and I found the website for it, and considered doing this for our Sunday activity when we found out about the Olympic sights closures. However- this must not have been our weekend... we next found out that the Adirondack Scenic Railroad is closed for the 2017 season due to a legal situation! Hopefully that will be resolved for future years as it did sound like a really fun activity, but of course we didn't get to do that either- haha!
Hiking: THIS is the activity that we ended up doing with our Sunday! 😊 Since Lake Placid is located smack in the gorgeous Adirondack mountains, there is tons of hiking around for all skill levels. Anna and I did a local hike in the neighboring town of North Elba called Cobble Hill, which was about one mile each way. It ended up being a bit steeper and a bigger workout than we anticipated, so it was a great hike! The views at the top were wonderful. Giant Mountain and Whiteface Mountain in neighboring towns are larger mountains which are recommended for more experienced hikers!
Kayak Rentals: There are lots of opportunities to rent kayaks and explore Mirror Lake (the lake in Lake Placid) or the nearby Saranac Lake. This probably wouldn't be a good winter activity, but would be great for a visit in summer/fall! Trip Advisor had several forums all about the different rental and guide companies in the towns in this area.
Stop, slow down.... and breath: Lake Placid has a real rustic charm and slow pace to it. It's quite different from anywhere that I've visited before! Both Anna and I have been to Gatlinburg, TN before, and agreed that is probably the most similar (since both are small mountain vacation towns), however we also agreed that Gatlinburg is very touristy and almost a little "fake" seeming compared to a place like Lake Placid. Lake Placid has a very old-school feel to it, and a calming, rustic feel. It's the type of place to escape to when you want to slow down and disconnect. Even though we weren't able to go through with our original plans of seeing the Olympic sights, we still had a great time of walking around, eating, and hanging out. And this was the perfect place to do that!
Still had to get a picture in front of the Olympic Arena! (I grew up as a competitive figure skater so this was very cool for me!)
Cobble Hill hike views.
I hope that you enjoyed my 24 Hours in Lake Placid Travel Guide! Earlier this summer I wrote a 24 Hours in Montreal Travel Guide. Being a newbie in the radio industry, I don't get much time off in my first year of work (and work a 6 day a week schedule currently), so 24 hour mini-road trips are kind of the majority of the traveling that I'll be doing for the time being, but I think these guides are fun to put together. I hope to do more of them in coming months for new-to-me destinations around Burlington!
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese (or Charlotte XO on-air!)
What a beautiful place! I love when the food on a trip is good. It totally makes it!
ReplyDeleteI love Lake Placid! Looks like you had such a fun time!
ReplyDelete-Nicholle
www.nichollesophia.com
I've never been to Lake Placid but hearing about it reminds me of the movie Lake Placid haha. This place looks stunning and all of the restaurants sound great.
ReplyDeleteI want to go here so bad. Thanks so much for your post. I will definitely reference it in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to visit the Northeast at this time of year! The scenery is absolutely beautiful. I also had a DSLR-free weekend! So glad you were able to escape your work routine for a quick getaway.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such a fun, relaxing vacation. I'm from Alabama, so of course I've been to Gatlinburg and while it's fun and relaxing (especially if you can get a cabin instead of staying downtown), my husband and I prefer Helen, GA for a small-town rustic vibe :)
ReplyDeletexoxo, SS
Southern and Style
Looks like a wonderful place! Glad you had a great time!
ReplyDeleteLove! I would like the cheese board ASAP!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me SO excited for our mini-moon in Vermont! Such a great guide!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! I would have loved to explore the downtown and do some hiking! I can't imagine how even more beautiful it will be as it turns to autumn!
ReplyDeleteI have heard such wonderful things about the beautiful Adirondack mountains. If I'm ever back in Upstate NY, I would love to go visit. I am all about some mountains covered in trees, haha.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome trip! I'd love to visit someday!
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