Lake Placid is a peaceful and beautiful small town, nestled in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. Perhaps best known as being the host town for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid is a particularly wonderful destination for winter sports lovers. It's also a great place to visit in the summer, though, with all sorts of wonderful indoor and outdoor activities to try.

If you're a fan of winter sports - anything from hockey to figure skating to skiing, you simply must see Lake Placid's Olympic Museum at some point. The museum is open all year round, with self-guided tours through various exhibits (including one particularly exciting one about the "Miracle on Ice," when the 1980 USA Men's hockey team bested the USSR Men's hockey team 4-3, even though the Soviets were considered the best team in the world). The Olympic Museum is particularly fun in the winter, though, especially if you've always wanted to give speed-skating a try. It's not easy, but there's a nice big open track/rink for you to skate on. For under $15, you can have a full day's experience at the Olympic Center!

If you're not such a fan of sports, there are plenty of other wonderful activities. If you love the outdoors and rural history, you might like to visit the Adirondack Museum, a great interactive museum where you can learn about the natural and social history of the Adirondack region. Watch traditional-style artisans demonstrate woodworking, blacksmithing, weaving, and quilting. See rustic furniture, canoes, boats and other Adirondack artifacts. View paintings by American masters such as Winslow Homer, as well as artists from the Hudson River School of Painting.

Downtown Lake Placid is also a wonderful place to shop for gifts and antiques, and it's also home to dozens of delicious restaurants for lunch and dinner.

The best part about Lake Placid is that your vacation there can be as fancy or as rustic as you'd like it to be. You can stay at an upscale hotel and eat at gourmet restaurants, or you can camp in the mountains and cook your food over the fire... and there are many options in between!

For more information about visiting Lake Placid, visit the official Lake Placid website.