Dozen Distinctive Destinations
Saranac Lake, NY
Year Listed: 2006
Dowtown in Saranac Lake, New York
Credit: Mark Kurtz
First settled in 1819 in what was then untouched wilderness, Saranac Lake, N.Y., is a timeless Adirondack village, nestled among pristine lakes, evergreen forests and nearby mountains. Once a logging community, the town was reinvented in 1876 when a physician in the last stages of tuberculosis came to Saranac Lake to live out his final months. Happily, the doctor, an outdoor enthusiast, not only survived but was restored, and Saranac Lake began a new chapter as one of the country's pioneering health resorts. The village grew into a thriving community, home to a world-renowned sanatorium, a dozen bustling hotels and a host of "cure cottages," large boarding houses sporting several wide porches, many of which are still prominent landmarks around town.
Today, Saranac Lake's downtown is charmingly preserved with period architecture and a host of restaurants, shops and art galleries and a variety of delightful accommodations such as the 1920s landmark Hotel Saranac, a member of the National Trust's Historic Hotels of America. For more than a century, visitors have flocked to Saranac Lake's Winter Carnival, a week-long festival that includes sporting events, performing arts, parades, fireworks and the world famous Ice Palace. The Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness Train takes riders on a 20-mile round trip from Saranac Lake Union Depot to Lake Placid Station, where visitors can tour the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games. With miles of trails and waterways to explore and unlimited outdoor pursuits including hiking, boating, swimming, golfing, biking and fishing, Saranac Lake is still the perfect prescription for mind, body and soul.
