Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States.

The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Plattsburgh.

Lake Placid was founded in the early 19th century to develop an iron ore mining operation.

By 1840, the population of "North Elba" (four miles southeast of the present village, near where the road to the Adirondak Loj crosses the Ausable River), was six families.

In 1845, the philanthropist Gerrit Smith arrived in North Elba and not only bought a great deal of land around the village but granted large tracts to former slaves.

[2] The abolitionist John Brown heard about Smith's reforms and left his anti-slavery activities in Kansas to buy 244 acres (1.0 km2) of land in North Elba.

Brown would become known for his militant abolitionist work, which led to his raid on Harpers Ferry and his conviction for treason and murder.

[3] Nearby Saranac Lake had hosted an international winter sporting event as early as 1889 and was used year-round by patients seeking treatment for tuberculosis at sanatoria.

In 1929, Godfrey Dewey, Melvil's son, convinced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Lake Placid had the best winter sports facilities in the United States.

Especially during and after World War Two, many cosmopolitan refugees from Hitler's Germany and Austria spent their summers in Lake Placid.

[9] In addition to the John Brown Farm and Gravesite, the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run, New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District, and United States Post Office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[12] Jack Shea, a resident of the village, became the first person to win two gold medals when he doubled in speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics.

In 2010, U.S. News & World Report highlighted Lake Placid as one of the "6 Forgotten Vacation Spots" in North America.

The geographic features of the Adirondacks were considered reminiscent of the Scottish landscape, where the game started, and thus a fitting canvas for original play, or "mountain golf.

"[26] Lake Placid is near the West Branch of the Ausable River, a well-known stretch of water for fly fishing.

[28] Musicians associated with New York City's Greenwich House Music School summered in Lake Placid around 1920, as did the opera singer George Hamlin.

During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is −24.5 °F (−31.4 °C), corresponding to hardiness zone 4.