Recommend a great day hike near Lake Placid

[DAJA]

Preferably something with a great swimming hole.. Maybe hit a peak along the way. Open to all suggestions. Thanks

[Rasty]

Preferably something with a great swimming hole.. Maybe hit a peak along the way. Open to all suggestions. Thanks

Option # 1 - Go to Adirondack Lodge, Hike to the top of Algonquin (4 tough uphill miles), go down to lake Colvin, then head to avalanche lake, then to Marcy Dam then back to Adirondack Lodge. 12 1/2 very nice miles. Highlights are three lakes, Marcy dam and Algonquin which is beautiful.

Option # 2 - Park at the Garden Parking Lot (Off Route 73 in Keene Valley), Trail #3 to the interior outpost, Then to Wolfjaws, Armstrong and Gothics, go back towards Johns Brooke Lodge. There was a swimming hole near the river crossing from trail #1 to the interior outpost. Then go back to your car. Total mileage is around 15 miles.

Hope this helps.

[VT-Mike]

I will second Algonquin! Great hike & views, 2nd highest peak in the state. Did it as a day hike from the ADK LOJ trailhead at Heart Lake, BIG swimming hole.

[StubbleJumper]

Option # 1 - Go to Adirondack Lodge, Hike to the top of Algonquin (4 tough uphill miles), go down to lake Colvin, then head to avalanche lake, then to Marcy Dam then back to Adirondack Lodge. 12 1/2 very nice miles. Highlights are three lakes, Marcy dam and Algonquin which is beautiful.

Option # 2 - Park at the Garden Parking Lot (Off Route 73 in Keene Valley), Trail #3 to the interior outpost, Then to Wolfjaws, Armstrong and Gothics, go back towards Johns Brooke Lodge. There was a swimming hole near the river crossing from trail #1 to the interior outpost. Then go back to your car. Total mileage is around 15 miles.

Hope this helps.

Algonquin is a great suggestion. It's steep as hell, but once you get to the top there is a large alpine area with great views of the entire High Peaks region. If you are lucky enough to get a clear day, you can see forever.

Best to not count on there being a lake at Marcy Dam. Hurricane Irene hit the Daks pretty hard last August/September, and wiped out the dam. Now it's effectively "Marcy mud flats" until the vegetation naturally takes over. I spoke to a ranger two days ago and she told me that they cannot replace the dam safely without bringing in heavy equipment. Theoretically, that could be done by using the truck trail from South Meadows Road, but it would still create a fair bit of damage over 2.3 miles of trail, so they don't want to do it.