The Lower, Middle, and Upper Saranac Lakes are also called the Tri-Lake Region. The Adirondacks, where the Saranac Lakes lie, are noted for their boundless wilderness. Boundless wildernesses attract artists and photographers, conservationists and environmentalists, nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, and solitude seekers. The Saranac Lakes offer nature lovers the ultimate indulgence.
Why the Fascination with New York’s Saranac Lakes?
The Saranac Lakes boast imperial mountain backdrops and stunning picturesque landscapes and captivates visitors. The Adirondack region holds historical significance. It is rich with a heritage of outdoor recreation, conservation efforts, and cultural influences dating back to its European discovery in the early 16th century.
How visitors arrive at the Saranac Lakes depends on where they come from. The town of Saranac Lake, New York, is not one of the Saranac Lakes triad. For clarity, this article refers to the town as SL, NY, and the Saranac Lakes by their official names, which begin with Lower, Middle, and Upper.
Where Are the Saranac Lakes?
The Saranac Lakes are three lakes, Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes. Saranac Lake, New York, is a town on the northeast side of Lower Saranac Lake, but surrounds Flower Lake. All three Saranac Lakes lie in the 75,000-acre Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF). The SLWF is part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve (AFP).
Upper Saranac Lake lies in the AFP and the SLWF. New York State bought a five-acre parcel, including 570-feet of shoreline on Upper Saranac Lake and added it to the SLWF in 2020.
The SLWF contains 144 water bodies ranging from ponds owned by New York State to vast lakes touching the shores of state and privately owned lands. All three Saranac Lakes rest in Upstate New York and the AFP in multiple New York counties.
What is Saranac Lake Famous For?
SL, NY, was a heralded worldwide health resort and a scientific research center for curing tuberculosis. The Saranac Laboratory Museum in the downtown scientific research center’s history houses the history of the research center in SL, NY. The National Register of Historic Places lists 186 buildings in SL, NY.
The Saranac Lakes are famous for the same reason the Adirondacks that they live in are well known for, their unparalleled natural beauty found nowhere else. The Saranac Lakes are best known for their paddle routes, with primitive camping and island hopping on Lower and Upper, and nature under the backdrop of Adirondack Mountain ranges.
Canoeing the Saranac Lakes
Archeological evidence shows that native peoples have been in the Adirondacks since the Paleo-Indians. Indian Carry is a boat launch and canoe/kayak portage trail on the south end of Upper Saranac Lake today. Native Americans, primarily Mohawks and Algonquins, lived in a base camp there until European settlers began moving in.
Carry is a term in the Saranac Lakes region, meaning to carry your vessel on a walking route, i.e. trail. Jesse Corey, a pioneer, built a hotel at that settlement in 1850. He made a business of transporting people and canoes over Indian Carry.
Tupper Lake Free Press And Herald, December 11, 1958 (From the Files, Dec 6-18, 1912):
“OLD GUIDES AND CANOEISTS of the Adirondacks are not pleased with the closing of the old Indian Carry, from the head of Upper Saranac Lake to the Raquette River, used by the Indians as a carry long before the first white man set foot In these woods, and which guides and boatmen have come to regard as public domain. Rustic Lodge stood at the Saranac end of the trail. The boathouse has been torn down and the laundry and grocery are being razed to the ground. The main building will soon follow. On this site there once stood an ancient Indian village. The Corey family made Rustic Lodge famous many years ago, and more recently Charles H. Wardner operated it for 17 years. The Messrs Swenson of New York, who acquired the property some years ago, have built a new road around it, terminating at a new dock to divert traffic from the Rustic dock. The landing place is too shallow to please those who use launches, and the road is longer than the old one and has not been used by canoeists. A barrier has recently been built, however, across the ancient carry road”.
The outdoor industry and businesses throughout the Northern Forest and North America supports the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) of Vermont. This canoe trail is a 740-mile paddling route. SL, NY is on that route. NFCT follows historic waterways from Old Forge, New York, to Fort Kent, Maine. The NFCT sponsors the Round the Mountain Canoe & Kayak Race hosted in SL, NY.
The Saranac Lakes Wild Forest
The Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF) comprises 75,000 acres surrounding the three Saranac Lakes and is part of the AFP. The SLWF is near other popular destinations, the Sentinel Range Wilderness and Wilmington Wild Forest on the east, the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness and Debar Mountain Wild Forest on the north, and the High Peaks Wilderness on the south.
The SWLF is open year-round. This forest features:
- Boating
- Boat and paddling launches and portage trails
- Camping
- Campsites may be full in peak season
- Many campsites are boat-in only
- At-large backcountry camping
- 3 NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation campgrounds
- Cross-Country Skiing
- Fresh Water Fishing
- Excellent brook trout, lake trout, land-locked Atlantic salmon
- Hiking
- Hundreds of miles of trails
- Hunting
- Excellent bear, deer, ruffled grouse, snowshoe hare, wild turkey
- Mountain Biking
- Paddling
- Snowmobiling
- Snowshoeing
- All hiking, mountain biking, and snowmobile trails
- Trapping
- 14 Species of furbearing animals
- Wildlife Viewing
Is Saranac Lake the Coldest Place in the Nation?
There are tons of sources claiming what the coldest places in the U.S. are, and those places are all over the U.S. Map. The states that are most frequently cited as having the coldest cities in the nation are Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
From the resources and research available, it appears that it depends on the year’s weather where the coldest place in the nation is. SL, NY, has been cited at times as being the coldest place in the nation.
Is it Safe to Swim in Saranac Lake?
Beautiful beaches on the Saranac Lakes and their islands abound, and many places to swim are only accessible by boat. Many islands are privately owned. On Upper Saranac Lake, Chapel Island offers ecumenical church services on Sundays. Stanley Mortimer, a distant relative of the Roosevelt family originally owned Doctor’s Island. Eagle Island was a Girl Scout Camp from 1938 to 2008.
Yes, it is safe to swim in the Saranac Lakes. Plenty of public beaches and secluded beaches dot the shores and islands of the Tri-Lakes region. Plus, there are quite a few swimming holes.
Spooky Saranac Lake, New York
The City of Saranac Lake on the northeast border of Lower Saranac Lake is rich in history and old buildings. Damon Jacobs, the current team manager, founded the Adirondack Park Paranormal Society (APPS) in 2011. The APPS has investigated and researched what might be the most haunted town in the Adirondacks, Saranac Lake.
Local residents of this town grow up with spooky stories, eerie sounds, and paranormal sightings. Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau established a tuberculosis sanatorium in Saranac Lake, New York, in 1885. The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium served as a surgical, medical, and maternity hospital and a short-term care facility for tuberculosis patients undergoing surgical procedures.
Now the main Administration Building of North Country Community College, visitors experience strange happenings in the basement, which was the hospital’s morgue. Staff who work late hear footsteps in the hallways and squeaking gurney wheels when no one else is there.
The Hotel Saranac, built in 1927, is the only hotel left of the fifteen grand hotels that thrived at the turn of the 20th century. It has operated almost continuously since its establishment and the site of creepy goings on. This hotel was erected on the land of a former high school. Locals report that the ghost of Howard Littell, the school’s superintendent, wanders its halls and basement.
Guests and staff report a mysterious little girl walking the hotel’s fourth floor and spectral singing on the sixth floor. An elderly lady who was a long-term resident on the third floor instructed the staff not to bother her. A deathly smell compelled the staff to open her door. She had expired, and her cat ran away. There are reports that this cat sleeps on the bed in her room.
The APPS team conducted a two-day paranormal investigation of the Hotel Saranac and reported, “The Hotel Saranac does, in this team’s professional opinion, contain spiritual energy.” The APPS team detected apparitions in photos, picked up electronic voice phenomena on recorders, and experienced interactions with spirits.
Is Saranac Lake Expensive to Live?
This depends on where you want to live and what type of housing you prefer. SL, NY, is the largest town of the three Saranac Lakes. It is more expensive to live in than most of the SLWF areas that are not state owned. Different real estate sources present significantly different median home values in the Tri-Lakes region.
The Saranac Lakes themselves are in an extremely tight real estate market. For example, ten homes for sale as of this writing on Upper Saranac Lake range from $125,000 to $6,000,000. In SL, NY, the median household income ranges from $48,000 to $54,000 a year. As a whole, it is more expensive to live in New York State at 25% higher than the national average.
