Here’s my list of top 10 best summer activities around Lake Placid. All these recommendations are within 30 miles or 45 minutes from the village, and most are in town.

We love hosting families at the cottage, and summer is a great time to plan a Lake Placid visit with the kiddos. I’ve put together this list of recommendations for a precious family we know with a 10 year old and an 8 year old. They all love outdoor activities, so family-friendly hikes, paddles and swimming top the list!

We get plenty of Airbnb guests up for a long weekend in Lake Placid. Sometimes two nights and often three nights. So here’s a suggested itinerary designed for first time visitors with 72 hours in town. This is good for May through October.

The Idem sloop is a sailing boat designed in 1899 for the specific purpose of racing on the Upper St. Regis Lake. Many of these boats have been carefully maintained over the course of the last 100+ years and kept up for racing on the lake. In the summertime, they race roughly between Memorial Day and Labor Day, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It’s a sight! However, races depend on how many of the boat owners and their crew are in town on a given day, the weather conditions and if there’s enough wind to race. So there isn’t any guarantee you’ll get to watch a race.

This fall we’re excited to host two groups of friends coming to visit Lake Placid. One couple will be here for a week in early September and another couple comes in late September. None of them have ever been to upstate New York or the Adirondacks, so I’ve started a menu of activity options for visitors to consider.

If you’re visiting Lake Placid between late-May through mid-October, there are two quintessential sightseeing stops that we highly recommend.