The United States of America is known to have some of the prettiest places in the world. Beautiful landscapes and scenic beauty is something that you can find a lot in this country. One such place that is found in the United States is Lake Placid; it is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in New York’s Essex County. Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake make the Tri-Lakes region.
Another interesting fact about Lake Placid is that even though it is a village, it is surrounded by a lot of beautiful mountains and scenes. This has allowed the city to host many different events like the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, 2000 Winter Goodwill Games and the 1972 Winter Universiade.
Olympic Games
Lake Placid is commonly famous as the two-time host of the Winter Olympics, the village first hosted the event in 1932 and then later again in 1980 almost 48 years later. Among the nationals of the country, the village is even popular for hosting the 1980 hockey match between USA and USSR, the match was known as “Miracle on Ice”. Another highlight of the games was Eric Heiden’s performance, who was a speed-skater and won five gold medals.
Education
Education in Lake Placid is pretty decent, the schools here offer good quality education. They are equipped with everything that is needed for the welfare of the students. The teachers that are hired in these schools are qualified and can provide the students with some good quality education to the students.
The North Country Community College is an institute where students can get some post-secondary education. The public education in Lake Placid is administered by the Lake Placid Central School District. There are many schools that come under the Lake Placid Central School District and all them promise to provide good quality education to the children.
Apart from public schools, Lake Placid is also home to many private schools. The education in these private schools also pretty decent and can give the best possible education to its students. Some popular private schools that can be found in Lake Placid are as follows:
Mountain Lake Academy
North Carolina School
St. Agnes School
National Sports Academy
Northwood School
History The village of Lake Placid founded in the primary days of the 19th century; it was founded to develop and take care of an iron ore mining operation. In the year 1845 Gerrit Smith arrived in North Elba, he was among the very few people who started to live near lake placid. Gerrit Smith bought large plots of land in and around the village and granted some to former slaves. Later on, other people like John Brown were impressed by the moves made by Gerrit Smith and started to support him. John Brown also bought a few pieces of land in Lake Placid and wanted to be buried on his farm. The site is still preserved and is known as John Brown Farm State Historic Site.
During the late 19 th century things started to cool down in the village, this gave the residents the opportunity to enjoy leisure time. People then started to invest in Lake Placid as they saw that the village had great potential as a resort. In 1895 the designs of “Placid Park Club” were disclosed, this allowed the village to change its name to Lake Placid, the club finally opened in the year 1905. After this, Lake Placid grew to become a famous tourists spot.
By 1921, Lake Placid and the area around it had become popular place for ski jump and speed skating. Lake Placid once had the best winter sports facilities in the country, The Lake Placid Club was also the headquarters for the IOC for the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
There are also a few historic sites in Lake Placid, these include John Brown Farm and Gravesite, the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsied Run and New York Central railroad Adirondack Division Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sporting Events
Lake Placid is a popular site for annual Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon, it is the second oldest Ironman in North America. The village hosts one of the ten official Ironman Triathlons in the continent. Many horse shows are also held here in Lake Placid, these include I Love New York Horse Shows and The Lake Placid Horse Shows, Lake Placid has been hosting these shows for the past 41 years.
ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games were inaugurated here in July 2000, the event held in Lake Placid in the following year but was later moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 2002. Multiple IWPA snow weight pulling events are also held in the village. Lake Placid is also home to Lake Placid Sinfonietta, which is a professional summer chamber orchestra that has being held in the village since 1917.
Other events that are held in Lake Placid include Winter Empire State Games, the Lake Placid Ice Dance Competition and the Adirondacks Ragnar Relay race.
Recreational Opportunities Lake Placid is a village that is full of recreational opportunities, it is very much popular especially among people who like winter-sports. Whiteface Mountain is the main location that is popular for skiing, Wilmington is another town about 13 miles from Lake Placid. Here people can enjoy skiing, hiking, gondola rides and mountain biking.
However, Lake Placid is being forgotten by tourists. According to U.S. News & World Report Lake Placid is amongst the 6 forgotten vacation spots in North America. Lake Placid is used by many people as a base to climb the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains. Lake Placid built its first golf course in 1898 and it was one of the first U.S golf courses. Lake Placid is located near the Ausable River, it is popular stretch of water for fly fishing and it is designated as year-round catch.
Transportation
If you wish to leave Lake Placid or want to go there then you must use Adirondack Regional Airport which is located 16 miles from the village. Lake Placid does have its own airport but it does not offer scheduled service instead chartered flights are available.
There are many more airports that can be found near Lake Placid, these include Burlington International Airport, Albany International Airport. Lake Placid is served by an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach connection through Westport via Limousine Service. Adirondack Trailways.
Lake Placid is not located on any interstate highway, however it can be reached from Interstate 87 via New York State Route 73, New York State Route 9N and New York State Route 86. The New York Central Railroad used to take passengers to New York City from Lake Placid, but that service stopped in 1950. Now the railway system run by Adirondack Scenic Railroad.
Geography
Lake Placid is just a village; by that you can easily learn that the it will not cover a lot of area. According to the United States Census Bureau Lake Placid covers an area of only 1.5 square miles. Out of this 1.4 square miles is land and 0.15 square miles is water. The village is located near the south end of Lake Placid lake. Mirror Lake is closer to the village as it lies between Lake Placid and the village.
Climate and Population
Lake Placid has a relatively cool and humid climate; it has large seasonal differences and high precipitation throughout the year.
The population of Lake Placid is also low, according to the census of 2010 the village has a total population of 2,521. However, it is estimated that the population of Lake Placid has dropped by 2.2 %. The median income for a household in Lake Placid is $28,239; Males had a median income of $26,585 while females have a median income $21,750. The per capita income for the village was $18,507.
Conclusion
Lake Placid is a beautiful place to live in, it offers everything to its citizens and tries to make their lives better in any way possible. It is a great tourists spot and for people who like natural beauty and winter sports, it is without any doubt the perfect place.
Some people consider living in Lake Placid, the main reason behind this is that the population of the village is low and life there is pretty simple. People cannot hear the noise which they might hear in a crowded city which makes life more comfortable.
These were a few things that you should know about Lake Placid, it is a small village but has great things to offer. it is certainly popular among many people, and therefore everyone should at least pay a visit to this village. There are many things that a person can do in Lake Placid, it is by far one of the most beautiful places of the United States, it is a place that should be visited by everyone who has a love for natural beauty.