Whiterface Veteran’s Memorial Highway – Lake Placid

I had mentioned in my earlier post that we went up the Whiteface Veteran’s Memorial Highway on our recent visit up North in the US. The drive is probably the easiest in America, as opposed to Mount Washington Auto Road that we took last year. We took the Olympic Region Passport (provides you discount if you want to cover many activities together) from Lake Placid, a village famous for its 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Lake Placid also hosted the 1972 Winter Universiade and 2000 Winter Goodwill Games.

Saru with our Olympic Passports. The Peak is in the background, captured from another spot

Whiteface Mountain – just 13 miles from Lake Placid – is New York’s fifth largest and stands at 4,867 feet. It provides a spectacular 360-degree view of the Adirondack Region and even glimpses of Vermont and Canada on a clear day. The parking area is at an elevation of 4,600 ft and from thereon one can either take the elevator or walk, as we did. Next to the parking is also a Castle built from native stone and a restaurant and a gift shop.

The walk of just 267 feet further from the parking area was pretty challenging as it was lined with boulders, with railing on both sides. Even with running shoes, it was slippery at times. I am glad we took we chose to walk up (as opposed to taking the elevators) as the views were breathtaking!

P.S. – I am back to the US and will be more active on my and your site 🙂