Saranac Lake Village, Harrietstown, Ray Brook & St. Armands

Saranac Lake is Lake Placid's less well known but older brother. Actually, she has a much larger population than Placid and both villages are technically cities. Much of the 1980 Olympics happened here. The housing built for the Olympics is now a minimum security prison. It is a bustling big village with most of the basics of of life and some luxuries, as well as plenty of small, interesting shops. They are developing an arts district along the river in downtown. It has the distinction of being split into both Franklin and Essex Counties. It is in the heart of the Saranac Lake District and has no shortage of water, perfect for canoeist, boaters and fishermen.

There is quite a variety of lodging from simple motels and cabins to fancy lodges. There are also tons of campsites, including State run, pay by the night tent cities like on Ampersand "&" Bay. There are some decent free spaces on State land, but not close to the village. But if you head down Coreys Road, about 11 miles west of the village(towards Tupper Lake) off of NY 3. Take a left, or south on Coreys Road and follow it down to Axton Landing and the new bridge. There will be various marked sites, look for the plastic tent tag nailed to a tree, on the side of the road. On the weekend, you'll probably come up short, so get there early, first come first serve!

If you go straight on NY Route 3 East and not turn left on NY 30 North after leaving Tupper Lake, you'd be about 14 miles west of the Saranac Village line. NY Route 3 here is known as the Olympic Trail, but some call it the Sara-Tupper Olympic Mountain Speedway. Zeus himself can be seen cruising the road in his supercharged Hemi Barracuda. It is fast and very scenic, but crowded and well patrolled, so be wary, not weary. There are several good trailheads, boat launches and fishing points on the way. (Someday there will be topo maps on the pages to assist you.) From the Village center, you can take NY Route 86 West (actually north) out of town. NY 86 West will take you to our NY Route 30 at Paul Smiths College. Another good state road, NY Route 186 will be on your left about 2 miles north of Saranac Village off of NY 86 West. This road will take you to beautiful Lake Clear Junction, where the abandoned rail line to Malone met the Adirondack RR. NY 186 will end and you'll be on our NY Route 30 southbound. Our NY 30 here runs alongside the Adirondack RR, which in the winter is the main snowmobile trail.