Attractions

Climb aboard for a 45-minute rail journey through the forest (between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake) on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad (tel. 518/891-3238; www.adirondackrr.com). Trains depart weekends and summer weekdays from the end of May to mid-October from Saranac Lake (19 Depot St.) or Lake Placid (20 Averyville Rd.); themed rides take place throughout the summer. Round-trip tickets are $16 adults, $15 seniors, and $8 for kids 3 to 12.

Seeing The Olympic Sights

The 1932 Winter Olympics put Lake Placid in the international spotlight; hosting the Games again in 1980 cemented its legacy. You can see some of the sites where legends were made, including the "Miracle on Ice" hockey victory of the Americans over the Russians. The Olympic Regional Development Authority (tel. 518/523-1655; www.orda.org) handles it all.

Skip the Olympic Training Center (421 Old Military Rd.); there's not much open to the public. You can see all of the following in 1 day. Start off at the Olympic Sports Complex, Route 73 (tel. 518/523-2811), 20 minutes west of Lake Placid, for cross-country skiing. In the same complex -- and definitely something you should not miss -- is the bobsled/luge/skeleton track, where you'll watch athletes bomb down on crazy machinery. You can even strap yourself into a bobsled and race down the half-mile track with a guide and brakeman ($55 summer, $65 winter) -- you'll never watch the Olympics the same way again. The sleds are on wheels in summer, but they go much faster on the winter ice. Then, drive 10 minutes back toward town and you'll see the towering presence of the ski jump towers at the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, Route 73 (tel. 518/523-2202). From December to March and May through October, watch athletes soar off these ramps. Ride the lift alongside it and take the 26-story elevator to the top of the 394-foot tower to get the skiers' terrifying perspective ($10). From May to October, you can watch them jump, too -- into a 750,000-gallon pool at the adjacent Freestyle Sports Park. Drive back into town and spend a half-hour in the Winter Olympic Museum (tel. 518/523-1655) at the Olympic Center; it's $4 to check out a good history of the Games in Lake Placid and tons of memorabilia. While there, go skating on the rinks where legends like Sonja Henie and Eric Heiden made history .

Savings Passport

You can get a discount on most Lake Placid attractions (and other money-saving coupons) for $29 by purchasing the Olympic Sites Passport, available from the Olympic Regional Development Authority (tel. 518/523-1655; www.orda.org). Different options are available seasonally.

Especially For Kids

In winter, nothing in town is as much fun as screaming down onto the ice of Mirror Lake, holding onto your toboggan for dear life. Right in Lake Placid, you'll slide down a converted ski jump (tel. 518/523-2591); get a four-person toboggan and a 40-mph rush ($5 per toboggan, $5 per adult, $3 per child). The slide is near the Olympic Center and the Best Western. Go mushing around the lake with Thunder Mountain Dog Sled Tours (tel. 518/891-6239), located across from the Lake Placid Hilton ($10 per person). For a true Christmas experience (for part of the year, anyway), take the kids to Santa's Workshop, 324 Whiteface Mountain Memorial Hwy. (Rte. 431), 1 1/2 miles northwest of Route 86 in Wilmington (tel. 800/806-0215), where they can hop on rides, pet reindeer, and see Santa's house. The place is geared toward the wee ones; older kids will get bored quickly. Open daily 9:30am to 4:30pm from the end of June to Labor Day; weekends only (9:30am-4pm) Labor Day to Columbus Day and 5 weekends prior to Christmas (10am-3pm). Admission is $19 adults, $17 for seniors and for kids 2 to 16.