Recapping Lake Placid

If you're in need of a recharge - try out the Lake Placid area. Especially if your version of recharging involves lakes, ponds, bike-friendly roads and drivers, hikes, stunning scenery, and the chance to listen to some loons (avian variety getting a shout out). 

When we were conceptualizing the trip, we weren't sure if bringing "all" the toys was necessary or smart. We had taken some time and found the rack we wanted (hooray for US Rack's customer service) and had taken a few iterations to be able to re-use most of our Thule gear, but lugging 4 bikes and 2 kayaks...still...seemed crazy. And then - Lake Placid. 

Every day was basically a two sport day - run, kayak, mountain bike, road bike, hike, walk to dinner, (nap) - mix, match, lather, rinse, repeat. Mix in the gorgeous scenery driving around and the abundance of ice cream shacks and good food and the region is a winner. We could have stayed longer and still been exploring.  

Some specifics: we base camped out of KOA Whiteface/Placid - super helpful staff and neighbors for a couple of rookies. Well provisioned shop and clean showers that we used after the sweatier adventures. Also - a ping pong table. We had issues with the wifi, but our neighbors were streaming Netflix and  the NBA finals, so there's a good chance it was us. 

Towns: Placid is cool, if a bit touristy. Check out Lisa G's restaurant for some tasty food. Saranac Lake seemed more low key, but we were definitely there in the pre-season. Wilmington has the necessities and a cool little post office - first post master in 1832! Jay and Keene (bakeries!) probably should've gotten some attention.  

Outdoors: The hike on the y-trail to Cascade and Porter is worthy. You have to work to get to the summit(s), but the views are well worth it - especially for a short hike.  Cascade's summit is more open (and crowded), but while you're up there check them both out. We cycled a portion of the Ironman bike course - up from the KOA to Mirror Lake. Beautiful course and the bug was almost able to re-bite Dean. For our mountain biking adventures, we checked out parts of the Flume and Hardy Road networks. The Flume area was literally walk/bike-able from the KOA. Trails there were rockier than the ones we did over at the Hardy Road area, but serious fun. We're still novices on the mountain bikes (hello, gravity), and the trails were doable and fun enough to make us want more. The folks at High Peaks Cyclery were helpful and pointed us toward the Barkeaters Trail Alliance website and maps - excellent!

Kayaking: not sure you can go wrong wherever you pick. We got recommendations from Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters and met Lucy the dog. First day was a leisurely paddle from the put-in on Second Pond just on the outskirts of Saranac Lake. Route took us through Second to First Pond and into Lower Saranac Lake where we had our choice of islands to explore. Second outing was a loop route involving portages - new treat for us! We put in at Follensby Clear Pond and then looped counter clockwise through Polliwog, Lower Polliwog, Horseshoe, and back into Follensby Clear. Portage sites were absurdly well marked and the trails were well maintained. We could have extended the day by adding in some of the Fish Creek sections...the possibilities are near endless. If you don't have a pooch waiting for you (or if your pup can ride in a canoe or kayak), there are a bunch of ponds and lakes with designated camping areas that would make a great weekend getaway (pretty sure you could disappear for weeks up there stringing together paddles, to be honest). 

Things to consider...depending where you base camp, you'll have some drives. Most towns have provisions and gas, but some planning will be needed. Early-mid June was still mosquito and black fly season - bring bug juice and plan to bathe in it. We seem to be chasing the pollen season around, so if "seasonal" allergies are your thing, heading north means you'll be loving your drug of choice for longer than usual (Dawn's usually off the Claritin by mid-May). We didn't check out the Olympics history stuff - but definitely drive past the ski jump area. 

View from the top. Looks like this in about every direction.  

Serenity in spades. Also, loons, an eagle, an otter, a couple osprey. 

Hiking up. And up. The down makes you wish you were still going up (old knees, loud sigh).