Lake Placid is a small Adirondack village that twice hosted the Winter Olympics — in 1932 and 1980 — and it has never quite let go of that identity. The Olympic venues are still in use: you can ride the bobsled run at Mount Van Hoevenberg, watch ski jumpers train at the 90-metre towers, and skate on the same oval where Eric Heiden won five gold medals. The Olympic Center on Main Street houses the rink where the US hockey team beat the Soviets in the Miracle on Ice; the Olympic Museum next door tells the full story.
Beyond the Olympic legacy, Lake Placid is simply a beautiful mountain town. Mirror Lake, right in the village centre, is perfect for swimming in summer and skating in winter. Whiteface Mountain, the tallest ski area in the eastern US, is twenty minutes away. The surrounding High Peaks Wilderness has some of the best hiking in the northeast — the Adirondack 46ers, the peaks above 4,000 feet, are a classic challenge.
South of town, John Brown Farm is the home and burial place of the abolitionist who led the Harper's Ferry raid in 1859 — a visit that adds historical depth to the Olympic landscape. The village itself is walkable, with a Main Street full of outdoors shops, restaurants, and the kind of cosy bars you want after a cold day on the mountain.