Saranac Lake Camping – Lake Placid
The long weekend of May 2017 I had a chance to camp at Lake Saranac on a Private Island ! It was a last minute event organized by my friend and I couldn’t pass up the chance to say I camped on a private island . You could only get to the islands using boats – we were 8 people with two campsites rented on an island with two boats rented between us.
How to book the campsite ?
- You can use this site to rent an island for camping.
- Each site has an outhouse and a cooking/fire pit. It also has an area to dock your boat – no formal dock. Need to be careful when parking your boat to ensure you don’t hit any rocks.
- When you get to Lake Saranac – you need to check in , get your permit and can park at the camp check in place. If you need to rent a boat you need to drive to the Saranac Lake Marina. They have free parking as well.
How to get there ?
- We drove from Toronto – 5 hours and rented two boats at Saranac Lake Marina to get to our camp site.
- The Marina folks taught us how to drive the boats – you don’t need a license. This was my favorite part of the trip – driving the boat. I have never driven one and it was a fun experience ! I love controlling powerful machines .
The Area & things to do
- The Islands and the Lake is stunningly beautiful – it was a treat for eyes that are used to staring at a computer screen most of the day.
- We were on campsite 15 and 16 and the drive into the Marina was less than 20 minutes. We packed a lot of camping gear and cooking items. You have to carry everything from the boat to the camp sites. You don’t really need to take many things. You can always take the boat and drive into town in less than 40 minutes of total travel time ( boat + drive).
- We cooked over the campsite for a few meals and had two meals in the town at a Italian Restaurant called Little Italy Pizzeria . The food here was good and much appreciated after campsite meals !
- My friends went fishing one day – in the town near a bridge area.
- We took the boat out many times and explored the area.
- We drove to Lake Placid one day – and that town was huge . I would definitely go back there and take my family . It looked like a place with many things to do.
- At night time the skies were beautiful – the stars reflected onto the water – it was nothing like I have ever seen before ( I have not been camping many times :)) .
Overall loved the trip and the area – will definitely go back . It is a great getaway.
