Adirondack Boathouses

Boathouses are a covered structure with direct access to body of water. Some say it is only for the storage of boats and boating equipment. They also regulate them in some areas of the Adirondacks. In those areas they can not have bathrooms, beds, a kitchen or heating. In other places they have all of those things. Lake Placid tends to have more of the latter in this description.

The original style of the houses and boathouses was labeled Adirondack. It was used in the great camps, some of which were built during the Gilded Age for the rich. Adirondack style is known for using local materials such as birch and cedar logs that were whole, split, or peeled logs. Using bark was common as well as granite fieldstone. The inside of these houses or boathouses they would use rustic furniture. Some of these boathouses pictured are quite old while others may be a modern take on the boathouses of old.

There are two main lakes near the village of Lake Placid. The one most people see on the main business thoroughfare in the village of Lake Placid is actually Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake is about a mile long and covers about 128 acres. There are homes and businesses around the lake. Lake Placid, however, is on the north side of the village. Lake Placid covers about 2,170 acres.

Most of the shoreline around the Lake Placid is undeveloped. However, there are some pretty specular homes and boathouses on some parts of the lake. Most of the homes are well over a million dollars. CEOs of companies own these as vacation homes, as well as musicians, and other famous people. In other words, the top 1 percent vacation in these homes. Some homes are only accessible via boat.

I took an hour long pontoon boat tour with Lake Placid Marina and Boat tours to see the lake. If vacationing in the area this is a nice boat trip. The captain, Captain Cook, is very knowledgeable about the history of the houses and their inhabitants. Yes, I went in June 2020. This boat tour is operating. As of the end of June, the Adirondack region is in stage 4 of opening up.

If visiting the Lake Placid area consider going on this boat tour. Not only do you learn some of the history of the lake, but also experience some really scenic mountain and lake views.

For more information about the boat tour use this link: https://www.lakeplacidmarina.com