Planning a trip to Northern Adirondacks
Getting There -- I-87 cuts north right through the forest, making it easily accessible. Swing east on Route 73 and you'll be headed toward Lake Placid. Amtrak (800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com) stops in Westport and Plattsburgh, both 50 miles from Saranac Lake. Westport is the closest stop to Lake Placid; book your transfer with Amtrak when you buy your ticket and Ground Force 1, 2 Main St., Lake Placid (tel. 866/226-1152 or 518/523-0294; www.groundforce1.net), will shuttle you back and forth for about $25 each way.
Getting Around -- You'll need a car. Rent-A-Wreck (tel. 800/698-1777 or 518/523-4804; www.rentawreck.com) in Lake Placid offers free pickup/drop-off service to customers in the local vicinity. Enterprise, also offering free pickup service, has an office in Saranac Lake (tel. 800/325-8007 or 518/891-9216; www.enterprise.com), as does Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com). From late December through March, the free Mountain Valley Shuttle links Whiteface with Lake Placid. The shuttle runs hourly and picks up at a few hotels in town -- Mirror Lake Inn, Golden Arrow, High Peaks Resort, and Art Devlin's -- but if you flag them down on Main Street, they'll stop. From town, the shuttle runs direct to Whiteface.
Visitor Information -- The Adirondack Regional Tourism Council (tel. 518/846-8016; www.adirondacks.org) operates an information center on I-87 southbound between exits 41 and 40. It's open daily year-round, from 8am to 5pm; from Memorial Day to Labor Day, it's open later. The Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, Olympic Center, 49 Parkside Dr., Lake Placid (tel. 800/447-5224 or 518/523-2445; www.lakeplacid.com), is open year-round Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm. The office is closed on Sunday in April and November.
