Lake Placid News
Publisher & Editor
ANDY FLYNN aflynn@lakeplacidnews.com
518.891.2600 x 14
Ad Director & Sales
LINDSAY MUNN lmunn@adirondackdailyenterprise.com 518.891.2600 x 20 PO Box 318 Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Paddling Destinations in the CliftonFine Region
Adirondack Sky Center brings together astronomers to showcase April 8 eclipse
Reconnecting with outdoorsy roots in the town of Keene
Barbara Agnes Lewis
Saranac Lake: Adirondack Style, turn key townhome on the shores of Ampersand Bay on lower Saranac Lake with 3 stories, new siding and HVAC system, on-site restaurant & wine bar, great rental potential. $569,000
Lake Placid: Sand Brook Lodge is a turn key 4 BR, 4 BA townhome at the Whiteface Club & Resort. It is adjacent to WFC golf course, on .24 acres with a wrap around deck. 3 floors of living space, primary bed & bath on main flr, gas fireplace, att. garage. $1,025,000
Lake Placid: Beautiful 5 BR, 2.5 BA spacious home in Fawn Ridge neighborhood, being sold fully furnished with many upgrades including new appliances, quartz countertops, flooring, paint and furnishings, attached 2 car garage. $1,425,000
Lake Placid: Harbor Condo, updated end-unit coming fully furnished with rare sweeping views of both Lake Placid Lake and Mirror Lake including Whiteface Mtn and the High-Peaks. Excellent vacation rental oppt’y. $948,800
Wilmington: Commercial Opportunity on 6.9 acres, 11 room B&B, owner’s quarters, working pub/restaurant. Current owner has made many substantial improvements to the property, very close to Whiteface Mountain. $1,749,000
Saranac Lake: This charming lake house is nestled in a prime location adjacent to the Upper Saranac Lake Boat Launch & across from the prestigious Saranac Inn Golf Course, 2 BR, 2 BA, 1627 sq. ft., being sold furnished. $675,000
Jay: Adk ranch in Ausable Acres, being sold fully furnished, 3 adjacent parcels. Many recent upgrades including custom molding, insulation, ceilings, plumbing, electric, flooring, tile, hot tub, established rental history! $599,000
Lake Placid: A landmark multi-unit building with 8071 sq. ft. of prime commercial space presenting a sound investment prospect. Centrally located, currently houses 3 tenants under NNN leases. Some equipment and furniture included. $2,600,000
Lake Placid: Spacious 4 BR, 3.5 BA home in Placid Meadows, shared rights to Alford Pond, 11.23 acres, borders NYS land, radiant in-floor heat, covered porch, beautifully landscaped, heated in-ground saltwater pool, trails, 2-car garage, work shed. $1,125,000
Follow your dream, home.
2297 Saranac Ave | Lake Placid | NY 12946 O + 1 518-523-4404 | F + 1 518-523-4405 lakeplacid@evrealestate.com Real Estate lakeplacid.evrealestate.com | Vacation Rentals lakeplacidvacationhomes.com
and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.
ACTIVITY: Flatwater paddling
DIFFICULTY: Easy
DISTANCE: 0.1 mile carry (flat)
PERKS: Seclusion, seclusion, seclusion. For a short carry, this will access you to a small hidden pond just off the Grass River.
DIRECTIONS: Follow state Route 3 east out of Cranberry Lake. Continue for roughly 4.5 miles to the carry on the right. The pond can be seen from the road, but not easily. Only a small carry sign is located there on a tree.
ACTIVITY: Flatwater paddling
DIFFICULTY: Easy
DISTANCE: Roadside access
PERKS: The swamp and pond combined will give you some outstanding opportunities for birdwatching and fishing if the idea strikes.
DIRECTIONS: From the intersection of state Route 3 and Tooley Pond Road in Cranberry Lake, follow Tooley Pond Road for just under 3 miles to River Road on the left. Follow River Road 4.5
miles to the widening of the Oswegatchie River called Chaumont Pond. Locate the small public access site.
ACTIVITY: Flatwater paddling
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
DISTANCE: Roadside access
PERKS: Cranberry Lake is the thirdlargest lake in the Adirondack Park, and its vast shoreline will not allow you to run out of things to do. Miles and miles of hiking trails access the lake from all corners and much of it is wilderness area. With ample state primitive camping along shore and on the islands, you will be able to camp for weeks and not see everything.
DIRECTIONS: The best access for Cranberry Lake is at the state boat launch in the hamlet of Cranberry Lake. The launch is located about 0.25 miles up Columbian Road off state Route 3, just west of Cranberry Lake.
Oswegatchie River from Inlet
ACTIVITY: River paddling
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
DISTANCE: Roadside access PERKS: Inlet is the prime entry point for the Oswegatchie River and will access you upstream to the Five Ponds Wilderness. This perk should say enough - what an amazing region of the Adirondack Park.
DIRECTIONS: Locate Inlet Road (dirt road) about halfway between Cranberry Lake and Star Lake, then drive Inlet Road to its end to the launch site, which is about 3.5 miles.
ACTIVITY: Flatwater paddling
DIFFICULTY: Easy
DISTANCE: 200-foot carry, downhill
PERKS: Star Lake can only be enjoyed from the water and so much is missed when passing through town and not realizing the wealth of beauty this lake offers.
DIRECTIONS: In the hamlet of Star Lake locate Youngs Road from state Route 3, next to the Nice and Easy The public launch is not far down on Pine Street.
Real estate experts are pondering the fate of the housing market in 2024.
The market saw highs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, but 2023 was a rough year, with high interest rates and a low inventory of homes available for sale. Now homeowners, prospective buyers, and industry experts are eager to discern what trends are on the horizon.
The outlook for the housing market in 2024 hinges on a multitude of factors, ranging from economic indicators to policy interventions. Here’s a closer examination of key considerations influencing the potential trajectory of the market.
The pace and robustness of the broader economic recovery will play a pivotal role in shaping the housing market’s fate. Factors such as GDP growth, employment rates, wage growth and consumer confidence will influence housing demand and affordability.
Mortgage interest rates significantly impact housing affordability and demand. The trajectory of interest rates, as determined by central bank policies and market forces, will influence borrowing costs for homebuyers. Lower interest rates generally stimulate housing demand, while higher rates can dampen activity.
Industry experts are, according to Forbes Advisor, convinced that the Federal Reserve isn’t going to raise rates again in 2024. On Jan. 31, 2024, they kept rates unchanged for the fourth
time and have indicated there will be rate cuts later this year. However, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, Greg McBride, predicts that rates won’t drop below 6% until late in the year.
The balance between housing supply and demand is a critical determinant of market conditions and price trends. Supply shortages, exacerbated by factors such as labor and material shortages, zoning restrictions and slow construction activity, have contributed to rising home prices in many markets.
Addressing supply constraints will be crucial for restoring balance to the housing market.
A “balanced” market exists when there is a five- to six-month supply of homes on the market for sale. As of December 2023, the supply was at 3.2, making it firmly a seller’s market. Lawrence Yin of the National Association of Realtors said the market could easily absorb a doubling of inventory.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reported in February 2024 that builder sentiment rose from 44 to 48, with ratings of 50 or higher indicating good conditions for new construction. Meanwhile in January, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported the 12th consecutive monthly increase in new single-family building permits.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices are still at a historic high with the median sales price for an existing home at $382,600 in December 2023. They predicted that median home prices will rise 1.4% in 2024 and another 2.6% in 2025.
Government policies and interventions, including fiscal stimulus measures, housing assistance programs and regulatory changes, can have significant implications for the housing market. Policy decisions related to taxation, mortgage lending standards and housing affordability initiatives can also influence the market.
The interconnectedness of the global economy means that international events and trends can affect domestic housing markets.
Factors such as geopolitical tensions, trade policies and global economic conditions can influence investor sentiment, interest rates and capital flows, all of which have implications for the housing market.
While predicting the housing market’s exact trajectory is inherently challenging, several indicators suggest a potential for a strong market in 2024. Continued economic growth, supportive monetary policies and ongoing efforts to address supply constraints could bolster housing market activity and affordability.
This property encompasses three quarters of a mile of river frontage on the main branch of the St. Regis River in the town of Waverly in Franklin County, NY. The property includes 50 acres of land. A rustic 2-bedroom cabin that sits just feet above the river and a large storage shed make up the only buildings on the parcel. The camp is fully off-grid and has electricity provided by solar, and hot and cold running water provided by propane and a second separate solar set-up. The land is accessed from a several mile-long private drive that brings you right to the bank of the river. The land is surrounded on most sides by NYS Forever Wild land, including the land across the river. This guarantees no neighbors or development could ever be seen from the camp. This section of the river is designated a “recreational” river on the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers system. Motor boating is allowed. This is one of the most remote river-front parcels you will find in all of this part of the Adirondacks.
Adirondack Sky Center brings together astronomers to showcase April 8 eclipse
Pat Quinn, who is the grandson of “L.P. Quinn,” traveled 1,000 miles to be in his hometown in the path of totality. (Staff photo — Aaron Marbone)
Mark Bagdon lines up the sun in his telescope to get ready for the total solar eclipse along with a slew of volunteer astronomers invited by the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory.(Staff photo — Aaron Marbone)
By Aaron Marbone
Even before the eclipse began on April 8, the thousands of people at L.P. Quinn Elementary School in Tupper Lake got stellar up-close views of the sun through the eyepieces of telescopes brought by members of the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory, NASA eclipse ambassadors and volunteer amateur astronomers.
“Astronomy is for everybody,” ASCO Board President Seth McGowan said. The skilled telescope operators ASCO brought in helped facilitate this.
A few dozen tripods, each carrying a large lens, were set up in a roped-off corner of the field where members of the public could wander in, tap the shoulder of someone adjusting knobs and ask if they could take a peek.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Michael Goldstein said. “It’s been fun to show the beauties of the sun to everybody.”
He came from the Catskills. When a friend who works in Tupper Lake in the summers told him ASCO was looking for volunteers with telescopes, he agreed. He had never seen a total solar eclipse before.
it would take 1.3 million Earths to fill the sun.
Quinn is named for his grandfather, Lawrence Patrick Quinn, the same L.P. Quinn that the elementary school is named after. April 8 was his first time being in the building named for his grandfather. He graduated from Tupper Lake High School in 1969, before the school had even been built.
But he has the star-seeking spirit of Tupper Lake.
Quinn lives in New Hampshire, where he works at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. He drove to the Midwest a few days before the eclipse, ready to jump over to Texas or Arkansas for the event, thinking those states would have good weather. They didn’t, so the night before the big event, Quinn turned around and drove 1,000 miles back to his hometown in Tupper Lake.
Mark Bagdon, of Delmar, is a mechanical engineer who has done design work for ASCO’s planned new building. He got into astronomy back in high school when, for a science project, he ground a telescope lens and built his own. He said he saw the nearly seven-minute 1991 total solar eclipse in Baja, California.
L.P. Quinn was a meetup spot for astroobservers who mingled, chatted about prior eclipse experiences, looked at how each telescope captured the sun differently and excitedly pointed out several sunspots.
Pat Quinn pointed to one of the smaller sunspots and said it was around the size of the Earth. That’s a typical size for a sunspot. He said
“When I heard it was here and they were putting on a presentation, I was like ‘That’s where I’m going to be,’” he said.
Paul Rissetto, from Saratoga, said he comes up to ASCO as often as he can. On April 8, he brought his telescope, a birthday present from his wife and kids that got him started on his cosmic journey three years ago. His birthday coincided with the time that Comet Leonard was visible from Earth.
He said the folks at ASCO are a “fantastic” source of knowledge. It’s one of the few gathering places in the region for people like him, where they hold birthday parties and other stargazing events.
Rissetto said the total solar eclipse was an excuse for the average person to get a safe look at the sun though a telescope. The sun is in the sky every day and with a solar lens can be viewed with a telescope. But people do not often get the chance unless a special event like an eclipse happens.
Paul Rissetto of Saratoga prepares for the total solar eclipse at L.P. Quinn Elementary School in Tupper Lake. His telescope, not pictured, was a gift from his wife and kids, and got him started on a solar journey of learning and contemplating the skies. (Staff photo — Aaron Marbone)
Nestled between Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York, this vast 1100+ acre farm and cattle ranch is a thriving organic ecosystem where sustainable practices harmonize with the land, fostering a balance necessary for a healthier environment. In an increasingly troubled world, this is truly a sanctuary, free from rising oceans, shrinking shorelines, and natural disasters that occur more and more frequently in other parts of the world. The Lewises have channeled wisdom, respect for soils, and determination into crafting a property that seamlessly blends functionality with aesthetic appeal. No expense was spared in redeeming the land. Thoughtfully planned infrastructure, including 12 barns for varying purposes and six farmhouses, including the owner’s restored 1880 homestead, ensures that every aspect of the farm is optimized for efficiency and prepared for the future. The cattle are hardy for our winters and only eat organic grass. There are no antibiotics in the water here. The commitment to sustainable agriculture ensures that the land remains bountiful for generations to come.
Details
Address: Whallons Bay Rd
Town: Essex
Bedrooms: 5
Full Baths: 2
Approx. Acres: 1117
Approx. SF: 3,366
Year Built: 1880 Views: Farm Land Features: Acreage, Cattle
201340
2527 Main Street, Suite 7
Lake Placid, NY 12946
fourseasonssir.com
m. 518-524-7742 o. 518-523-2550
bob.martin@fourseasonssir.com
Caroline Rupp
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson m. 516-238-1151 o. 518-523-2550
caroline.rupp@fourseasonssir.com
$3,890,000
Discover an exquisite waterfront retreat at this meticulously maintained property in Saranac Lake. A newly crafted boathouse, unparalleled in design, offers an idyllic setting for entertaining and savoring the summer breeze, providing effortless access to your preferred water activities. The Adirondack-style log home has been thoughtfully constructed to harmonize with the stunning natural surroundings, resulting in a sanctuary nestled within the wilderness. A massive boulder is ingeniously integrated into the foundation, adding to the home’s impressive allure. Kiwassa Lake serves as a gateway, granting access to the renowned Saranac Chain of Lakes, inviting exploration and adventure amidst its interconnected waterways.
w 5 beds, 3.5 baths
w 3,396 sq. ft.
w 3-car garage
w 2.97 acres
w 300 ft. of frontage
w Boathouse built in 2015
518-523-3224 • 518-524-3273
2577 Main Street Lake Placid, NY 12946 www.TinaLeonardRealEstate.com
4 Bedroom, 1 bath mountain getaway with 17 acres, your own pond, and an additional 1 bed, 1 bath rental apt.
Listed for $489,000
53 Manning Road Wilmington, NY
3 bedroom/2 Bathroom home with views of Whiteface. Sold for $20,000 over asking!
91 Station Street Lake Placid, NY
Early 1900’s home with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and hardwood floors. Listing includes house and 1/4 acre adjacent buildable lot. Price Reduced $285,000
8222 Newcomb Rd. Long Lake, NY
Quintessential Year Round Adirondack Cabin with Wood-Fired Hot Tub! Sold for full price!
Pam Hummel (Photo Provided)
Recently appointed the executive director of Little Peaks Preschool and Early Childhood Center, Pam Hummel has been traveling to the North Country for 38 years, since her honeymoon. Her husband vacationed in Keene with his family as a child, and after their marriage, the couple continued the tradition.
Two years ago, they decided to make Keene a more permanent home.
“We wanted to look at retiring in this area, so we bought a home here in Keene in August 2022,” Hummel said. “We spent a year here just kind of setting it up and spending about 10 days a month here.”
Retirement soon went on the back burner, though, when an ad appeared for a part-time teaching position at Little Peaks. Hummel, whose background is in early childhood education, took the job.
“I walked through the doors and it just felt like home,” she said.
The part-time gig didn’t last long — in quick succession, Hummel was promoted to assistant director and then, last December, to executive director.
She and her husband have still not moved north permanently, so she spends around three weeks in the town of Keene and a week in her home state of Virginia every month.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Hummel said. “I’m surrounded by a great group of people and the teachers are wonderful. The board has been super supportive. Everyone in the community has been very welcoming.”
Hummel said the North Country is “very different” from northern Virginia. Previous schools
where she taught served an urban population and were much larger than Little Peaks. She said her favorite thing about Little Peaks is its play-based, nature-oriented lessons.
“Kids are kids. They go and they play in the mud, they sled in the snow,” she said. “We’re tapping trees and collecting maple (sap). Where I’m from, that was a dream for me, when I did teach. ... Being able to see that happen and help that grow and have the children be grounded in their surroundings and understand that this is a gift to live in a place like this.”
She said it’s been “different” experiencing all four seasons in the Adirondacks, as opposed to the summer trips she and her husband used to take. She loves kayaking and hiking, but for her, being in the Adirondacks is about simply connecting to nature.
“It’s like my body just exhales,” Hummel said. “We would hit a certain spot driving up here and I could just feel the tension go. Our home here, we have several acres. Most of it is wooded, but the coolest part to me is to sit on the back porch and watch the deer and the turkeys and the birds and the owls and even the chipmunks and the groundhogs. ... I love just sitting and being in nature and it’s just, for me, it’s the zen part that’s super attractive.”
A self-described tomboy as a child, Hummel said that the move to Keene has helped her get in touch with her outdoorsy roots.
“It was a new introduction, coming from the city to just being in the wilderness, just nature,” she said. “As a kid, I was very much a tomboy, so I was always out, playing, climbing trees, playing in the creek. Just being outdoors. So, this was kind of a reconnection for me, coming here as an adult, and again, doing the same sorts of things.”
Christopher W. Covert, Jr., Lic. RE Broker
Carol Urquhart, Associate Broker, Patricia “Penny” Curran, Lorraine Kelley, Licensed Real Estate Salespersons Over 100 Years Combined Experience
This 3 BR, 2 BA home has a large, 3+ bay, heated and insulated garage. It is situated on 2.28 acres. Close to Upper Saranac Lake boat launch at Back Bay.
Exclusive $375,000
Enjoy the lake from your own private patio at this great, 2 bedroom, Adirondack cottage in 80’ of waterfront. This property offers boat access to Upper Saranac Lake as well as Fish Creek.
Reduced $575,000
This pristine home, built in 2015, offers the perfect mix of modern amenities and natural surroundings. With 2.85 acres of private land, a garage, and a partially finished basement, this home offers the perfect space for your family. Boasting 3 cozy bedrooms and 2.5 immaculate baths, you’ll find all the space you need in this stunning property. The hickory cabinets and granite countertops in the kitchen offer an unmatched level of sophistication. If you love the great outdoors, you’ll appreciate the location of this home. Beaver Brook boarders the property, allowing you to enjoy nature’s bounty from the comfort of your backyard. Located within the sought after Lake Placid School District, don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity set within minutes of Olympic Whiteface Mountain. Wilmington Price: $649,900 MLS #200508
