Saranac Lake is a village in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, surrounded by pristine lakes, evergreen forest, and modest peaks that reward hikers with wide views. It has a year-round mountain-town character that many Adirondack communities lose once the leaves fall.
The village owes its early growth to Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, who arrived in 1876 expecting to die of tuberculosis and instead found that the mountain air restored his health. His cure cottage movement made Saranac Lake a pioneer health resort, and the Trudeau Institute that grew from his research remains a leading biomedical facility. Many of the old cure cottages survive as private homes, and the village has marked them with a self-guided walking tour.
The downtown is compact and genuine — independent shops, restaurants, and galleries line a walkable main street. In summer, paddlers and hikers fan out across the surrounding waterways and trails. In winter, the village hosts an ice palace festival and draws cross-country skiers and snowmobilers. The lakes are excellent for fishing year-round.