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Big Towns, Big Lakes, Big Misconceptions
Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid
Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid are among the more densely populated areas of the Adirondack Park. Picturesque bodies of water provide shores for locals and tourists alike to meander up and down; the difference is that the the majority of locals know something that most of the tourists don’t. The most prominent bodies of water in Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid are Raquette Pond, Lake Flower, and Mirror Lake respectively.
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“I remember when I was younger, I thought that Mirror Lake was Lake Placid and that Lake Flower was Saranac Lake,” said Rachael Cartier, of Beekmantown, NY. “I don’t know why they do that,” she said, “I think they’re trying to confuse me.”
The misconception behind Lake Placid is simple confusion. The Village of Lake Placid is home to two bodies of water, Mirror Lake and Lake Placid. Cruising down the main village drag, the obvious body of water is Mirror Lake. Just to the north-west of Mirror Lake, cloaked behind buildings and a tree line, is the true Lake Placid. Lake Placid (the lake) is in the Village of Lake Placid.. “People always ask ‘why is Mirror Lake in Lake Placid?’ When they find out that we have two lakes and not just one, they’re surprised,” said Margret Marchuk, director of media relations for the Lake Placid and Essex County Visitors Bureau.
“Lake Flower was named after Governor Flower, who once visited the area.”
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Confused tourists aren’t an anomaly of the Village of Lake Placid, but at least in Lake Placid, tourists only have to turn around to view the lake that they’re looking for. In the Village of Saranac Lake, one would need to leave the village in order to locate Saranac Lake.
“Tourists frequently confuse Lake Flower for Saranac Lake. It’s become a standard question,” says Mary Hotaling, executive director of the Saranac Lake Historical Society. Though not very far away, Saranac Lake is just outside the limits of the Village that named itself after the lake.“Lake Flower was named after Governor Flower, who once visited the area,” explains Hoatling.
The Villages of Saranac lake and Tupper Lake share the same name-based derision. The main shoreline in the Village of Tupper Lake is on Raquette Pond, even though the boundaries between Tupper Lake and Raquette Pond are visually sketchy. Raquette Pond is the initial body of water one comes across on their way east on Route 3. Technically, the Village of Tupper Lake doesn’t have any water in it. Altamont, the town that the Village of Tupper Lake is in, shares the border with both Raquette Pond and Tupper Lake.
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“Cranberry Lake is named Cranberry Lake because cranberries used to be grown in it,” said Andrea Arquette, librarian of the Clifton Community Library, located across the street from the lake.
Since there are signs on the shores of all of these lakes to clarify the waters identity, one might assume that the only confusion is why some people are still confused by the names.
Smaller Towns, Smaller Lakes, No Misconceptions
Not all of the Adirondack Lakes have misleading names. The Village of Star Lake is named after the lake within it's boarders, and the same can be said about the Village of Long Lake. Not only do the names of these two towns imply which lake is in possession of the Village, but the lakes themselves are named after their distinctive characteristics. Star Lake is said to have been named after the many points made by it's shores, and Long Lake is said to have been given it's name because it's narrow width and great length. Heart Lake, in Lake Placid is another lake named after it's distinctive heart shape.