SARANAC LAKE , ten miles northwest of Lake Placid, is a smaller, more laid-back community. The tranquil lakeshore is lined with lovely gingerbread cottages, most of them built during the late 1800s when this was a popular middle-class retreat and spa. Robert Louis Stevenson spent the winter of 1888 in a small cottage here, now preserved as a museum (for details and directions contact the Saranac Area Chamber of Commerce , 30 Main St tel 518/891-19... [More]