Saranac Lake was indeed a bit of a disappointment this time. It did not live up to the billing for either my brother or for me. We both had heard such wonderful things, and had high hopes. However, our visit did come right in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis, which may have accounted for what seemed like half the businesses being closed in this middle of the day weekday visit. Also, it was foggy and overcast, which obviously got in the way of what I had hoped would be beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. It was not an actively unpleasant town or anything, I am not trying to say that we hated it. But we both felt like we caught it at a particularly bad time. My brother had even heard that it compared favorably to Lake Placid, but it sure did not feel like that this time around.
In any case, I could see why people liked it. After all, it did feel more like a relatively big town than almost any other in the Adirondack region, and it was, along with Lake Placid, clearly the biggest towns in this region.
The other town that felt like a must, and which was relatively nearby as well, was Tupper Lake. By way of comparison to either Saranac Lake or Lake Placid, Tupper Lake felt like a disappointment, admittedly, through and through. The downtown area was neither as attractive nor as impressive as either of the two other towns. It was a much smaller downtown, and it not only felt like it had a lot less to offer in terms of activities, but it also looked a lot less aesthetically pleasing, at that. We did see the home of famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived here for a time, so that was very interesting. And we could definitely see how this town had a certain charm. Still, it felt particularly and unfortunately lifeless during our fairly brief visit.
So I drove out of the immediate downtown area, and found a park by a pretty big lake, and this was much better. Indeed, the lake was a wide open space, and still frozen over. In fact, there were people walking around on it, presumably kids. It felt a little late in the season, as well as too warm, frankly, to take a chance like that, and they were really far out in the middle of the lake. A bit risky, it felt to me.
Nevertheless, I took some pictures of the scenery here, which was spectacular. I had also heard that there were a series of elevated walkways in Tupper Ware, somewhere, that gave out on a view of the surrounding mountains. Would have loved to have seen that, but this did not feel like the day for that. Indeed, time was getting short, and also, it was just an overcast day, with limited visibility. So we likely were not going to capitalize on the apparently beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and forests and lakes that you can get on a clear day. So, we left Tupper Lake, and headed back towards Lake Placid, which we had initially bypassed in order to get to Saranac Lake.
As mentioned earlier, this was my second visit (and my brother’s third visit) to Lake Placid, and it was still a very pleasant place to visit. The scenery was a bit overcast, true, but it did reveal some fairly dramatic views nevertheless. Also, the downtown seemed to have a lot more happening within it. More businesses were opened, it seemed, than in Saranac Lake. It also has a very nice downtown, and we were able to peruse in shops, both of us looking for some postcards and possibly books, or other affordable things of interest. We spent a decent couple of hours there, before starting to head back.
However, on the way there, I saw a sign for Whiteface Mountain, which was not very far away. And since we were here, and since we still had some time, I kind of asked my self, “Why not?” My brother was up for it.
And so we headed for Whiteface Mountain.
So we went to Whiteface Mountain, with hopes of getting some beautiful mountain scenery. And in that, we were not disappointed.
In fact, I think that the pictures that we took while there were some of the most striking and dramatic of all of the pictures that I took. That said, it was also clearly closed, at least for the day, if not for the season. Again, this was still during the time of Covid-19, so it might not have been open, or at least fully open. There was little traffic there, no skiers visible on the mountain, the chair lifts were not moving, and hardly any cars were parked there.
After our admittedly brief visit to Whiteface, we headed back towards Lake Placid, knowing that the options for dinner in a town of that size would be a lot richer than anything that we could find either on the way back, or in my brother’s home town. There, we knew that there would be Stewart’s Shop, and maybe either a pizza place and possibly a Chinese place in the next town over, at Ticonderoga.
We wound up eating at a Japanese restaurant, literally right across the street from the arena where the United States won Olympic gold in the Men’s Hockey Final in the 1980 games, better known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The food was decent, although it seemed to take an unusually long time. Almost all of the other patrons at the restaurant also noticed how unusually long it was taking, as well.
Strange.
Nevertheless, it had been a good day. An enjoyable trip to the Adirondacks was done, and I felt good.
Whiteface Mountain
I think in all fairness you're on to something when you say that we didn't visit Saranac Lake in optimal conditions, given the fact that it was still relatively chilly, at least two months before peak tourist season, and of course the fact that we were there during a global pandemic. I must say, however, that I was still surprised to see how few places were actually open. By way of comparison, Lake Placid was far livelier, even if the number of people we saw strolling around pales by comparison to the crowds they normally get from May to September.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am sure that both places are generally a whole lot livelier during the summer, and the combination of factors certainly contributed to why Saranac Lake, in particular, seemed a bit disappointing. But as you said, Lake Placid seemed much more full of life when we went there, and I am guessing that there is a reason for it. But surely, we can return to Saranac Lake in the future, and hopefully find it a lot livelier, and with optimal conditions to view the surrounding mountain scenery.
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