I was staying in Saranac Lake and you could not help but notice that every single house would put out an adirondack chair in the front porch. Its like everyone in the town cooperated to have this consistency so tourists to the town would see. Its very similar to how a neighborhood in Philadelphia named Fishtown would have their house numbers on a plackard with a fish silhouette. Below is an example of a fancy house with chairs out front, not particularly where I stayed:
Waking up felt relieved that I didn’t have to hike that day and disinclined to kayak since weather forecast was bits of rain throughout the day. Decided to take a stroll to explore the downtown area. The first thing that caught my eye is the imposing sign and structure of the Hotel Saranac. Constructed at the height of the Roaring Twenties, Hotel Saranac has been the centerpiece of Saranac Lake for nearly a century:
Below the many buildings that comprise the Berkeley Square Historic District
T.F. Finnigan’s clothing store below catered to people who were quality conscious, conservative and often quite wealthy. Of all the clothiers in Saranac Lake during its boom period T.F. Finnigan is the only one still in business.
Masonic temple below, got to love the architectural detail in this one:
View of Saranac River.
A grey heron out for kill:
Recognizing the potential of waterpower, land owner and hotelier Paul Smith built a new dam and five years later had an electric hydro plant in full operation. The Saranac River soon was sending electricity back up to Saranac Lake and all the outlying districts.
Paul Smith’s Electric Light and Power and Railroad Company was built to provide electricity and also power the railroad part of the Adirondack Branch of the New York Central
At this point I wanted to grab brunch, nothing in Saranac Lake caught my eye so decided to drive out to Lake Placid to check it out one more time. Along the way I see Saranac Sourdough. With a name like that, it had to be good:
I was right. It was family owned and everything is created from scratch; house-roasted meats, salads and soups. Eggs are local and free-range. I was excited to order a plate of eggs with potatoes and hash
And of course they come with a side of bread. Just look at their extensive options. I went with rosemary olive oil:
Where to go next?
I spent the next hour wandering Downtown Lake Placid again especially to check out the stores that weren’t open the night before.
Here are the gift shops I recommend:
- Mary Ballou Design: lots of authentic art by local artists. Not the tourist trap mass produced junk you find at most shops. I was particularly into this piece here showcasing all the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks in case I ever want to become a 46er:
One day I would like to find a similar map of the 48 4000 footers of New Hampshire.
- Adirondack Decorative Arts & Crafts: The largest and oldest storefront on Main Street features three floors of rustic inventory including gifts, crafts, sportswear, lamps, glassware, hardware, Adirondack books and posters, furniture, decorative accessories, and more.
One last treat before I left town. Bluesberry bakery seemed special. I ordered from them an apple cider muffin:
Suddenly it started raining so I had to get the heck out of here and do the 1 hour drive to Lake George. Hopefully it will have stopped then.
It somehow worked out and here I was:
The lake views were amazing. At the distance you can see the Sternwheel Steamboat Minne-Ha-Ha, popular shoreline excursion vessel sailing on Lake George for over 40 years:
In summary, Lake George felt like a beach town not unlike Hampton Beach or Newport RI. An endless trinket of gift shops, everything felt synthetic here wasn’t as impressive as Lake Placid but the views of Lake George are definitely worth it.
