to destroy much of the
region’s forests.The Drive » With passport
in hand, consider a detour to
Montreal, a straight shot north
less than an hour and a half
away. If not, make tracks on 9N
which follows the Ausable River
to Rte 86 – views of Whiteface
Mountain grow more distinct
as you make your way about 30
miles southwest to Lake Placid.5 Lake Placid
While the town of Lake
Placid, set on beautiful
Mirror Lake, is a fairly
typical commercial
strip, its winter Olympic
legacy (1932 and 1980)
remains vital. The official
Olympic Center (%518-
302-5326; http://www.whiteface.
com; 2634 Main St; adult/
child $7/5; h10am-5pm; c)
is on Main St, a large
white building where
the inside temperatures
are kept bone-chillinglycold, thanks to the four
large skating rinks
where athletes come to
train. Hockey fans will
recognize this complex as
the location of the 1980
‘Miracle on Ice’ when the
upstart US hockey team
managed to defeat the
seemingly unstoppable
Soviets and go on to
win Olympic gold. The
Lake Placid Winter
Olympics Museum inside
the center has a fairly
unexceptional display of
memorabilia.
Not far from town on
Rte 73 is the Mackenzie-
Intervale Ski Jumping
Complex (%518-523-2202;
http://www.whiteface.com; 5486
Cascade Rd; adult/child $11/8;
hhours vary seasonally),
an all-weather training
facility for ski jump
teams; non-acrophobic
visitors can take the
20-story elevator ride to
the top for impressive
views (there’s snowtubing on a nearby hill in
winter). A 7-mile scenic
drive south brings you
to Mt Van Hoevenberg
(%518-523-4436; 8 John
Brown Rd, Rte 73, Lake Placid;
adult/child $10/8, bobsled
rides $30; hhours vary
seasonally; c), home to
Olympic ‘sliding sports’
where you can sign
up for a bone-rattling,
adrenalin-pumping ride
on a bobsled, skeleton or
luge during certain times
of the year.
A large network of
back country hiking and
cross-country trails start
from the ADK Loj (p83)
on Heart Lake.54 p83
The Drive » It’s only 9
miles west on Rte 86 to the
somewhat dreary town of
Saranac Lake; stock up on
groceries here or stay in a
recommended lodge (p83).
Continue north on Rte 86 past
small farms (look for roadside
markets in warm months) with
mountain views until the turnoff
for White Pine Camp.6 White Pine Camp
About 14 miles north
of the town of Saranac
Lake (which was once a
center for tuberculosis
treatments), you’ll find
White Pine Camp (%518-
327-3030; http://www.whitepinecamp.
com; 432 White Pine Rd, Paul
Smiths; two-person cottage from
$105 end Oct – end Jun; weekly
from $1085 mid-May – end Oct),
one of the few remaining
Adirondack ‘great camps’
where you can spend a
night. Great camps wereTRIP HIGHLIGHTStart: 3 Crown Point Historic Site
Neighboring Vermont is within your reach – at
Essex just jump onto Lake Champlain Ferries
(%802-864-6830; http://www.ferries.com; driver & vehicle one-way
$9.50, additional passenger $3.75; hopen May-Dec) and
in 20 minutes you’ll be in Charlotte, VT, a quaint
hamlet established in 1792 and dedicated to farming
and rustic pursuits like making maple syrup and
maple syrup candy (other ferries are at Port Kent
to Burlington and Plattsburgh to Grand Isle further
north). Or take the Lake Champlain Bridge at Crown
Point State Historic Site to the college town of
Middlebury only a half hour away.VERMONT
DETOUR:
NEW.YORK.TRIPS5
(^) ADIRONDACK PEAKS & V
ALLEYS