Historic Walking Tour Lake Placid, NY

The Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society invites you to take a walking tour of some of the busy main streets and quiet side avenues of our lovely Village of Lake Placid. The Village was inhabited as early as 1805 with an iron mill but was not incorporated until

1900. Currently, the average year round population is 3000.

The tour is just over four miles. Take it at your own pace and indulge your curiosity about the sites along the way. Do part of it or all of it. Do it in one day or several. See the history of many of these buildings. There are hills (after all, you’re in the mountains!), so be prepared for some good exercise.

During your walk you will pass by many old homes and businesses, some dating back to the late 1800’s and some quite new. Many are unique to our little Village. Some businesses on Main Street survived the “1919 Main Street Fire” and another was built to accommodate the visitors for the 1980 Olympics. The Library has been in existence since 1884 with dozens of improvements and add-ons. There are various interesting eating places, resting benches and shops for diversion along the way. Comfortable walking shoes will make this tour a wonderful way to spend time getting to know the Village of Lake Placid. Welcome and enjoy!