One of the beauties of living and vacationing in Lake Placid is the ability to go touring. Without cars.
The Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society – This link opens in a new browser tab has a very thorough, entertaining and educational walking tour, while a similar bike route is being considered in and around the village.
Walking Tour
This touring excursion begins at the historical society, located at the Lake Placid train depot on Station Street. This is where you’ll start learning about our village of 3,000 residents. You’ll wander through some of the primary business areas, but the tour also brings you to our side streets and off-the-beaten pathways that only locals know about.
The tour is 4 miles long, and you can take all day, or multiple days. You’ll see homes that date back to the late 1800s, and businesses that survived the fire of 1919.
Our public library dates back to 1884, and after a number of updates, remains an oasis of quiet learning in the middle of Lake Placid’s bustling Main Street.
The tour brings you to the former site of the Lake Placid Club, where the 1932 Winter Olympics, held right here, were born. It was also the site where the International Olympic Committee was billeted during the 1980 Winter Games.
We just want to give you a taste of this tour, but if your curiosity just can’t stand it, view the walking tour map – This link opens a PDF in a new browser tab for complete touring information.
Proposed Biking Tour
Thanks to the walking tour, several local business owners have brought forward their idea that bike touring around Lake Placid should be offered.
Avid outdoors people, Brian and Karen Delaney, owners of High Peaks Cyclery on Main Street, have been proponents of biking for decades. Now they’ve taken their idea to our local development commission and the Lake Placid Business Assocation to put the….ahem….wheels in motion.
Their plan, 16-20 miles in length, would encompass many local stops on the route. Like the walking tour, the proposed bike tour would include the Lake Placid Club, the Olympic Center where the 1980 Miracle on Ice took place, the Olympic ski jumps, the train station and the John Brown’s historic site. There would also be stops on the loop that are outside the town and village.
We recommend stopping by their shop to discuss the bike touring concept further, or give them your suggestions.
Photos courtesy Lake Placid Historical Society, ROOST