Lake Placid / Whiteface Mtn. KOA

The Great Outdoors

When you rent an RV near Lake Placid/Whiteface Mtn. KOA, you'll be planted in the naturally stunning Adirondack Mountains region. Epic scenery and fantastic views from lofty mountaintops make for quite a memorable trip, especially when you take your RV rental for a spin through the countryside in search of upstate New York’s best parks and forests. A large chunk of the Adirondack Mountains consists of wilderness areas, like the High Peaks Wilderness, the Dix Mountain Wilderness, the Sentinel Range Wilderness Area, and the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness. The McKenzie Mountain Wilderness, in particular, surrounds Lake Placid, with a myriad of impressive trails and vantage points overlooking the water.Both Macomb State Forest and Macomb State Park combine to make an excellent place to visit when you rent a campervan and take it north through the mountains. The land which was once used as military training grounds now serves a different purpose, with pleasant beaches, nature trails, picnic spots, pavilions, fishing areas, and a campground along the water. In the winter, you can take part in some ice fishing, skating, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.Adirondack State Park is one of the country’s largest parks, not far from Lake Placid to the northwest. This designated National Historic Landmark contains hundreds of villages, historic sites, wetlands, farms, old-growth forests, and over six million acres of land. There are endless numbers of other parks and places visit with your campervan rental, so no need to stress out about what to see and visit.

City Sightseeing

Even though it's a small village of just a few thousand people, Lake Placid is known the world over since it hosted the famous 1980 Winter Olympics. This brought lots of notoriety to the area, forever changing it from a sleepy town into a prosperous and booming town with wineries, restaurants, hotels, lodges, resorts, and more. Many of the town’s attractions revolve around the Olympic games, like the Lake Placid Olympic Museum which tells the stories of the event, like the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game where the United States took the gold medal despite being pitted against the heavily favored Soviet Union.The Herb Brooks Arena is where the actual “Miracle on Ice” game occurred, also part of the Lake Placid Olympic Center. You can tour the center with knowledgeable guides to learn about the international tensions of the Cold War and the memorable games that took place in 1980.Not everything in Lake Placid is about the Olympics, however, as there are other historical sites in the area to see too. The John Brown Farm State Historic Site and the Lake Placid/North Elba Historical Museum both dive into the past, showcasing the fascinating history of the Adirondack region. Historic homes, old train depots, and lots of artifacts tell the story of Lake Placid, about the first pioneers and the Iroquois native people who call the land home to this day. There is much more to do if you venture out from town and visit nearby cities, but anything can be an adventure when you book an RV in Essex County.