Heading to the Adirondacks region and looking for fun things to do in Lake Placid, New York? Look no further! This quintessential wilderness tourist town is packed with attractions, outdoor adventure sites, shops, restaurants, hotels and much more.
Lake Placid is an easy drive from Ottawa
About three hours from Ottawa—or two hours from Montreal, or five hours from Boston or New York City—Lake Placid feels light years away from the urban hustle. Low mountains ring the town, which curves along the shore of Mirror Lake. Tourists stroll past the log and brick buildings lining Main Street, popping into shops to browse for candles, chocolates and maple syrup.
And while the shopping, restaurants and hotels are great, outdoor adventure is one of the key tourist draws. As the first U.S. community host the Winter Olympic Games (in 1932) and the only one to host them twice (the games came back in 1980), Lake Placid knows a thing or two about sports.
In fact, it seems as though every local you meet either competes in some arcane activity such as skeleton or knows someone who does. And don’t get any of them started about the “Miracle on Ice,” the 1980 victory of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team over their Soviet counterparts. It holds roughly the same iconic status among American hockey fans that Paul Henderson’s winning 1972 goal does among Canadians.
Disclosures: I visited many of these places as a guest of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism/Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau, which neither reviewed nor approved this post. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you book a hotel or restaurant after following one of those links.
Cover photo courtesy of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.
Top things to do in Lake Placid NY
The Lake Placid Olympic Museum
To delve into the community’s Olympic history, drop by the downtown Lake Placid Olympic Museum (2634 Main Street, Lake Placid). There, you’ll find a large collection of trophies, vintage sports equipment, mascot paraphernalia, advertising materials and more. My personal favourite is the fascinating collection of Olympic torches. Until I toured it, I had no idea that each Olympic games has its own unique torch, which usually incorporates local motifs and materials.
The museum is located inside the Olympic Center, where you can skate outdoors in winter on the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval or indoors year round in the 1932 Jack Shea Arena. (Note that the rinks are often booked by athletes in training, so they’re not always available to the public.)
Various Olympic venues around town still host competitions of all sorts. Check with the local and regional tourism offices listed at the end of this post for information on the latest events.
The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Sliding Center
Ever dreamed of gaining Olympic glory yourself? At the Sliding Center at Mt. Van Hoevenberg (31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid), you can indulge all your daydreams of hurtling down a mountain in crazy ways, on tracks where Olympians have trained and competed.
In warm months, the Cliffside Coaster will shoot you down a twisting track that follows the route of the 1932 and 1980 bobsled track. The Lake Placid Bobsled Experience involves zooming down an actual bobsled run in a wheeled, two-person gadget at speeds reaching 90 km/h. And in winter, you can take a solo sled ride lying on your stomach at the Skeleton Experience. (Ever wonder why they call it “skeleton”? Yeah, me too—and not in a good way.)
Other top Lake Placid winter activities
There are lots of other choices for winter fun in and around Lake Placid. For instance, you can ski the three peaks at Whiteface Mountain (5021 Route 86, Wilmington), which offers one of the highest verticals in the U.S. Northeast.
At the Olympic Jumping Complex (5486 Cascade Road, Lake Placid), the Skyride is a trip via gondola and glass-enclosed elevator to an observation deck high above the ski jump. You can stay indoors or stand right at the top of the jump, enjoying the same sweeping view of the Adirondacks that world-class ski jumpers get just before they hurtle down the steep, curving ramp. (Don’t worry—there will be no hurtling for you. This is just a sightseeing expedition.)
A word to the wise: It can be windy up there, so tie back your hair and wear a warm toque and gloves—even if it’s mild in the town below.
At Mt. Van Hoevenberg (31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid), you can go cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or mountain biking, as well as try the sliding activities I mentioned earlier. Not far from Mt. Van Hoevenberg, there’s a 19-kilometre network of snowshoeing, Nordic skiing and ski-skating trails at the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Cascade Welcome Center (4833 Cascade Road, Lake Placid).
And right in downtown Lake Placid, the 9-metre-high Lake Placid Toboggan Chute (31 Parkside Drive, Lake Placid) is a fun way to roar toward and across the frozen surface of Mirror Lake, if the weather cooperates.
Hire a Lake Placid guide
If you don’t want to explore on your own, sign up for an outing with High Peaks Mountain Guides (2733 Main Street, Lake Placid). These folks could probably entice even The Big Bang Theory‘s Sheldon Cooper outdoors. Co-owner Karen Delaney once persuaded me to go winter hiking on Mount Jo when the windchill was -26C. Fitted out with the Microspikes and hiking poles she lent me, I actually had a great time. Other guided winter experiences include snowshoeing, fat biking and ice climbing.
Top Lake Placid summer activities
Lake Placid is located within the Adirondack Park, which takes up one-fifth of the entire state of New York. In fact, the park is the largest protected area in the continental United States. So if you want to hike, swim, cycle, climb mountains, fish, go bird watching or try just about any other outdoor activity (OK, maybe not surfing), you’ll be able to find someplace to do it.
One of the newest ways to enjoy the region outdoors is the Adirondack Rail Trail. When complete, it will stretch 55 kilometres (34 miles) from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake. Since it runs along an old rail bed, the steepest grade is 2%. It will open year round and, depending on the season, walkers, hikers, cyclists, wheelchair users, birders and snowmobilers will all be welcome.
The first section of the trail, a 16-kilometre (10 mile) stretch from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake, opened on December 1, 2023. The trail organization hopes to have another 24-kilometre (15 mile) section, from Saranac Lake to Floodwood Road, open by October 2024. That will leave just 8.5 miles (14 kilometres) to build to complete the rest of the route to Tupper Lake.
High Peaks Mountain Guides, mentioned above, offers a wide range of guided paddling, rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking outings.
More great things to do in Lake Placid
Lake Placid shopping
Main Street in Lake Placid is packed with shops. Sure, many of them are a bit touristy, but hey—you’re a tourist, right?
Along with lots of outdoor-gear stores, you’ll find niche stores like the Lake Placid Christmas Company (2435 Main Street), the Saratoga Olive Oil Company (2439 Main Street), Adirondack Chocolates (2465 Main Street) and Irish Treasures (2567 Main Street).
At Mary Ballou Design (2428 Main Street), you may just run into the namesake artist herself. She creates whimsical greeting cards, calendars and other stationery items, often with an Adirondacks theme.
Pure Placid (2470 Main Street) sells candles, body wash, soaps, shampoos and other treats in outdoorsy scents such as white birch, balsam and clementine, and “Adirondack chair” (a blend of pine, cinnamon, cedarwood, peach and lily). The shop also offers candle-making workshops for adults and kids.
The Bookstore Plus (2491 Main Street) is a small but well-stocked independent bookstore that has been a Lake Placid fixture for over four decades.
Rustic as all get-out and a ton of fun is Adirondack Decorative Arts & Crafts (2512 Main Street, Lake Placid), purveyors of birchbark-style lampshades, log four-poster bed frames, embroidered pillows, carved bears, pinecone wreaths, charm bracelets festooned with moose and canoes—seriously, it’s like your grandma’s cottage on steroids.
The Lake Placid Farmers Market takes place outside Green Goddess Natural Foods (2051 Saranac Avenue, Lake Placid) on Wednesday mornings from mid-June until mid-September.
Lake Placid restaurants
Not surprisingly for a place that gets a ton of visitors, this region of the Adirondacks has lots of places to eat and drink.
An excellent place to fuel up for the day is The Breakfast Club (2431 Main Street, Lake Placid), overlooking Mirror Lake. Try the fluffy pancakes, which come with lots of maple syrup and cinnamon butter.
You can also enjoy a filling breakfast or put together a fabulous picnic at Big Mountain Deli & Creperie (2475 Main Street, Lake Placid), which sells salads, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, and 46 kinds of sandwiches, as well as sweet and savoury crepes.
For a warm beverage, try Origin Coffee Co. (2669 Main Street, Lake Placid). I’m not a coffee drinker, but I became mildly obsessed with their London Fog lavender tea lattes on my last visit. (It’s a seasonal special, so it might not always be available.)
For lunch, I can highly recommend the apricot chicken salad sandwich at the Cottage Café (77 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid), a waterfront restaurant operated by the Mirror Lake Inn.
Dinner choices abound. The Marcy Restaurant & Bar at the Grand Adirondack Hotel (2520 Main Street, Lake Placid) serves up clever twists on burgers, schnitzel, steak frites and other classics, often made with local ingredients. On the nights without live music, it’s a great option for those who like dinner on the quiet side.
Big servings and good beer
A bit noisier—or livelier, depending on your point of view—is the Big Slide Brewery and Public House (5686 Cascade Road, Lake Placid), where you can choose from a dizzying variety of house-made craft beers. The frequently changing food menu ranges from the familiar (poutine, steak sandwiches, burgers) to the quirky (a pizza topped with kale and pumpkin seed pesto, smoked venison sausage, and pickled blueberries). There’s a kids’ menu, too.
On my latest trip to the Adirondacks, I tried to snag a dinner table at the very popular Smoke Signals BBQ (2489 Main Street, Lake Placid), but the place was booked solid. I can confirm that the long wooden bar is a very pleasant place to savour a glass of wine, though!
And the slogan at Salt of the Earth Bistro (5956 Sentinel Road, Lake Placid) is “twisted foods from traditional roots,” which is a good way to summarize a regularly changing menu that might include anything from Burmese coconut shrimp to north African sweet potato and red lentil bisque. Vegetarian and vegan choices are available.
Lake Placid events
If you’d like to plan your Lake Placid trip around an event or festival, here are a few to consider:
- Empire State Winter Games (late January–early February)
- Lake Placid Horse Shows (June–July)
- Lake Placid Film Festival (October)
- Holiday Village Stroll (December)
Lake Placid hotels and other accommodations
Looking for hotels in Lake Placid? I have a few recommendations.
I’ve stayed at the High Peaks Resort (2384 Saranac Avenue), which makes a great base of operations. The guest rooms are large and comfortable, there’s an indoor pool and a 24-hour fitness centre, staffers greet you with a free glass of champagne or non-alcoholic beverage when you arrive, and trays of fresh cookies are set out near the roaring fireplace in the lobby each afternoon. What’s not to like?
Plus, if you’re driving to Lake Placid from Ottawa, the High Peaks Resort is one of the first downtown hotels you’ll reach, meaning you don’t have to tackle the sometimes-slow drive along Main Street en route to your hotel.
You can use the map below to find other accommodations in Lake Placid.
I’ve eaten at the following three hotels and wandered around to soak up the ambiance, but I haven’t stayed overnight in them.
The recently renovated Grand Adirondack Hotel (2520 Main Street, Lake Placid), built about a century ago, has a central location and the inviting Marcy restaurant/bar I mentioned earlier.
For water views, try the posh, historic Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa (77 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid), which has an outdoor pool, landscaped gardens, tennis courts, a beach, and both a fine-dining restaurant and the aforementioned casual dining spot, the Cottage Café.
Lake Placid is also home to lots of chain hotels, including the Courtyard Marriott Lake Placid (5920 Cascade Road, Lake Placid) and the Rodeway Inn Lake Placid (5828 Cascade Road, Lake Placid).
A lodge for skiers
If you want to be close to the slopes, Whiteface Lodge (7 Whiteface Inn Lane, Lake Placid) is a huge log structure with a posh restaurant warmed by roaring fireplaces, as well as a casual grill restaurant, a bar, a spa, and courts and equipment for all sorts of outdoor fun.
If you visit Lake Placid
Lake Placid is 231 kilometres southeast of Parliament Hill. It takes about three hours to drive there from Ottawa, depending on weather and traffic.
The most direct driving route from Ottawa to Lake Placid involves taking Highway 417 east to Highway 138 south to Cornwall, then crossing the St. Lawrence River on the Seaway International Bridge in Cornwall. After that, you’ll follow a number of small secondary roads. See the map above.
There’s also fun to be had in other nearby communities, including Saranac Lake, Paul Smiths, Tupper Lake and Keene.
For visitor information, see the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council or the Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau (2608 Main Street, Lake Placid).
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide, from which this post is adapted.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
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