Lake Placid: Modern Mountain living in this 2688 sq. ft. 3BR, 3 BA home built in 2020, on .89 acres, open concept, fireplace, custom cabinetry, being sold fully furnished, excluding personal items. Move in ready to enjoy all that the Adirondacks have to offer!
$1,275,000
Essex Marina: Picturesque facility on Lake Champlain featuring 300’ of wooden crib docks, a “Technomarine” floating dock system, two 100’ boathouses with marine railways, laundry, restrooms, and a ship store. Includes a vintage Texaco station. $1,300,000
Onchiota: Stunning Adk Camp on 78.6 acres of Rainbow Lake, 4BR, 3.5 BA open concept main house, luxurious main-floor primary wing, radiant slate floors, two stone fireplaces, 2-slip boathouse, seasonal beach house, 2-car garage with 1BR/1BA apt. Serene, lakeside retreat. $2,950,000
Jay: Stickney Bridge Rd, partially finished on 8.9 acres, 4000 sf potential for 5-7 BR’s, 3.5+ BA’s, equipped with roof, siding, windows, infloor heating tubing, kitchen appliances, septic system, well, 2-car garage, workshop. Minutes to Whiteface Mountain. $600,000
Lake: 4 BR, 3
Frame home on .9 acres in the beautiful & private Back Bay neighborhood with shared beach access on Upper Saranac Lake. Chef’s kitchen, Jotul wood stove, Guardian generator, walk to Saranac Inn golf.
$910,000
Lake Placid: 4 BR, 1 full BA, completely renovated, 1104 sq. ft. home, one level living, laundry room, new electrical, plumbing, insulation, flooring, 2 car-detached garage. On main corridor so plenty of opportunities - primary, second, investment, long or short term rentals. $495,000
Wilmington: 2 BR, 2 full BA cabin in the woods on a 2.70 acre private lot with a stream. Great room with stone fireplace, huge windows, birch bark door, trim & cornices, lower level has 2 finished rooms. Screened porch, new roof 2024 round out the property.
$475,000
Jay: Adirondack style ranch, located in Ausable Acres is being sold fully furnished and includes two tax map parcels. Recent upgrades & renovations include - completed lower level plumbing and electric, scratch proof flooring, gutters, hot tub, furnishings/bedding.
$568,500
Loon Lake: Only steps away from your deeded beach rights to beautiful Loon Lake. Quaint cottage offers both history and charm 3 BR, 2 BA, one floor living, hardwood flrs, gas log fireplace, screened porch, .25 acres, great fishing, swimming, boating! $269,000
Saranac
BA, 2167 sq. Legacy Timber
T H R E E - B A G G E R THREE-BAGGER
T H R E E - B A G G E R
Three new CVBL teams make their way to the Tri-Lakes
By Parker O’Brien
Saranac Lake’s
Brady Roberts
In an area dominated by winter sports and ski resorts, baseball is rising. That’s at least what three hearty locals believe.
This summer, the Plattsburghbased Champlain Valley Baseball League will venture south and into the Tri-Lakes region.
Saranac Lake will have two teams, which include the Essex County Expos and the Saranac Lake Merchants — which may be changed to the Ray Brook Larry’s, according to its organizer. Meanwhile, Lake Placid will have the Lake Placid Brewers.
It’ll be the first time that Saranac Lake has had a CVBL team since 1999. Lake Placid last had one in 2023, under the Adirondack Lightning.
“I think it’s great for the Tri-Lakes; the more baseball the better,” said Expos organizer Brady Roberts.
The CVBL has been around since 1971, and has had dozens of teams over the years. Along with the three from the Tri-Lakes, the league will include the newly-formed Eastern Eagles based out Saranac, as well as two returning teams — the 4th Ward Cardinals of Plattsburgh and the Lyon Mountain Miners.
Lake Placid Brewers organizer Jesse Izzo, who has been competing in the league nearly every year since 2020, was glad to see that CVBL is expanding down to the Tri-Lakes. He added that there may even be room to grow down here.
“I think if we can manage to keep these teams alive for a couple of years, I could totally see a Tupper Lake team eventually,” he said.
Izzo said that the CVBL Opening Day is slated to take place on May 18 in Lake Placid. He said all six teams are going to play at the school-owned North Elba Show Grounds baseball fields.
“Were going to make it like an event with concessions and community day-type thing,” Izzo said. “That’s my goal for right now. The league was OK with that happening.”
THE START
Roberts has always wanted to coach a Saranac Lake baseball team, but the 19-year-old SUNY Canton baseball player didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
The 19-year-old recently suffered an arm injury, leaving him sidelined for his sophomore season, and for the next few months, he couldn’t stay away from the sport entirely this summer.
“This is sort of something I wanted to put together while I was injured,” he said. “I have a lot of people that I know that play baseball in the area and play on several college teams that were willing to come play. When I get older, I plan on coming back to Saranac Lake as a teacher and a baseball coach, so it’s just kind of getting my foot in the door a little bit with this stuff.”
For the past couple of years, Mark Gillis has been in charge of the Saranac Lake Mudcats, a 16U travel baseball team. Gillis has been involved in the Saranac Lake Youth Baseball and Softball Association, having been the organization’s president for around 10 years, but recently he’s begun to realize that there’s not a local league nearby for kids older than 16.
“Once you start to reach that 17, 18-year age, there’s not much out there for baseball unless you want to travel to Canada every other week,” he said. “There’s a few opportunities, but not many. The last couple of years, I’ve always been thinking about ‘What is the next step?’ or ‘Is there a next step?’”
While traveling with the Mudcats, one of Gillis’ catchers was approached about possibly playing for the Lyon Mountain CVBL team.
“Then it clicked, ‘Why don’t we just do our own Champlain Valley team?’” he said.
After talking with the CVBL, Gillis said he kept the idea of the team under wraps until everything was confirmed.
“But the next thing I know, Brady has his own team. I was like ‘Man, I was hoping Brady was going to be one of my pitchers,’” Gillis joked.
After playing a season with the 4th Ward Cardinals, Izzo didn’t have a CVBL team for the upcoming season. Gillis had reached out to him to see if he’d want to play.
“I was like ‘maybe I’ll play there, it’s closer to home,’” Izzo said.
“Then I was like, ‘Why don’t I ask around, and what if I find enough kids? Could I make a team here?’”
Izzo, who has coached modified baseball at Lake Placid and has
helped out part-time with the school’s varsity team, began asking around to see if there was any interest. And it turns out there was.
“All of a sudden I had like 18 guys that wanted to play,” he said. “So I was like ‘wow, I can definitely do this.’”
THE WORK
Kickstarting a new baseball team is a lot harder than it seems. Robert said it’s taken a lot of work to do, but he’s had a lot of support in doing it.
“From the local businesses and several players’ parents have helped me with fundraising and other fundraising events and things like that,” he said. “There’s certainly a lot that goes into it. You’re looking at uniforms, umpire pay, a place to play and then making the schedule.”
In total, Roberts has gathered support — in the form of a sponsorship — from 14 different businesses.
“Brady has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting for us in Saranac Lake,” Gillis said. “Him and I have probably had six to eight conversations over the last couple of months, making sure that we’ve been on the same page player-wise and field-wise.”
Roberts credited Seamus Lewis for helping out, as well as SLYBSA President Chris Knight and Saranac Lake’s varsity baseball coach Bryan Munn.
“Those guys are really big baseball advocates,” Roberts said. “Bryan has done a really nice job with the varsity program and rejuvenating Saranac Lake. And Chris Knight, who is the president of the Saranac Lake Youth Baseball and Softball organization, he’s done a fantastic job with that league and promoting Little League Baseball.”
Izzo said the progress he’s put into making the Brewers has been shaping up to be a little bit easier than he thought, especially since the league has been helping him out.
“They want to expand — so they’re helping us as much as they can,” he said. “The school is backing me on this. They’re OK with it happening, so I have the use of the fields. Really, once you find the field, you have to find a way to get jerseys for people and pay the umpires. That’s really the two biggest things.”
TOP 5
Saranac Lake Bike Routes
By Morgan Ryan
Split Rock Loop
DISTANCE: 17.4 miles
ROUTE: Follow Route 3 East to Bloomingdale. Go straight through the stop sign in Bloomingdale (Route 3 goes right) and bear left onto the Bloomingdale-Gabriels Road. Take that to Split Rock Road in Gabriels and go left. The Split Rock itself is on the left and soon you’re on Route 86 heading back to Saranac Lake.
HILL FACTOR: Relatively flat until just before Gabriels. From there it’s a steady uphill until reaching the high point. That’s when it’s time to tighten your helmet for a roller coaster ride back into Saranac Lake.
Lake Clear Loop
DISTANCE: 20.8 miles
ROUTE: Take Route 3 West, turn right on Edgewood Road (just after high school). Edgewood turns into Ampersand, then take a left on Forest Home Road. Ride up Forest Home for about 8.5 miles to Route 30 and turn right. Bear right onto Route 186 and
after four miles, you’ll be on 86 heading back to Saranac Lake.
HILL FACTOR: Hilly would be an understatement. The climb between 4 and 5 is challenging. Pretty steep coming back down 86 too.
Mount Pisgah Loop
DISTANCE: 7.4 miles
ROUTE: Route 3 West to Edgewood Road (just after the highschool). Right on Ampersand Ave. Left on Broadway (Route 86), then bear right on Old Lake Colby Road (Upper Broadway) to the T with Trudeau Road. Take a right onto Trudeau Road. Once you reach the top, Mount Pisgah Road to the ski center is on your right. Continue on Trudeau down to Route 3 and turn right to get back into town.
HILL FACTOR: One big hill –you go up, then down.
Fish Creek Ponds Loops
DISTANCE: 36 miles
ROUTE: Take Route 3 west for about 15 miles then turn right on Route 30, Stay
on 30 for about 11 miles and turn right onto Forest Home Road which will take you back into Saranac Lake.
HILL FACTOR: Very hilly on Route 3, generally gaining elevation until you reach Route 30.
Mirror Lake Loop
DISTANCE: 20 Miles
ROUTE: Head west on Route 86 (River St.) and go straight through the triangle until you reach Pine Street. Turn right on Pine, which becomes McKenzie Pond Road. Turn left on Route 86, after about three miles and you’re on your way to Lake Placid. Stay on this road for about 5.5 miles until you get to the intersection with Mirror Lake Drive where you want to go left. This will take you around the lake and back out on the other end of town in front of the Olympic oval. Go left and then right onto Route 73, then take another right on Averyville Road which leads you to Old Military Road and back to Route 86.
HILL FACTOR: Hilly
ABOVE:
Clarkson’s Shawn O’Donnell, left, fights for the puck with Cornell’s Ian Shane (30), Kyler Kovich (18) and Ben Robertson (21).
ABOVE:
Clarkson’s Erik Bargholtz, Center, fights strong to score while Cornell’s George Fegaras, left, helps out his goalie.
ECAC HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
ABOVE:
Cornell’s Hoyt Stanley, left, and Clarkson’s Aryton Martino.
ABOVE:
Cornell’s associate coach Casey Jones, who formerly coached at Clarkson for 13 seasons, hoists the Whitelaw Cup. Also pictured are Cornell players, along with head coach Mike Schafer.
LEFT:
Fan’s cheering after the first goal scored by Cornell against Clarkson.
The ECAC Hockey Championship game took place on Saturday, March 22nd at the Olympic Center’s 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. Cornell beat Clarkson 3-1 to earn its 14th ECAC Hockey Crown.
Photos – Lou Reuter
Adirondack Waterfront Living – Under $1M
Waterfront homes at this price point don’t last long. Whether you’re looking for a cozy lakeside cabin, an island retreat, or a home with a private beach, these five properties offer an unbeatable opportunity to own a slice of the Adirondacks. With crystal-clear waters, mountain views, and endless outdoor adventure right outside your door, now is the time to make your waterfront dream a reality.
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(518) 524-0526
62 Springfield Rd. Upper Jay, NY 12987
Discover the potential of this spacious 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home on a sprawling 2.5-acre lot just minutes from Whiteface Mountain! Ideal for year-round living or as a high-demand short-term rental, this property offers ample room and unique features throughout.
Improvement to $699,000
79 McKinley St. Lake Placid, NY 12946
This modern 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath home is perfectly situated in the heart of Lake Placid, just four blocks from Main Street. Designed with energy ef ciency and comfort in mind. The home offers stunning mountain views and easy access to year-round activities.
34 Facteau Ave. Tupper Lake, NY 12986
Discover this beautifully renovated 3-bedroom, 2-bath home offering both charm and functionality in the heart of Tupper Lake.
Price Improvement: $209,000
150
Mud Pond Road Colton, NY 13625
Located in the Foothills of the Adirondacks, “Stork’s Rest” is an opportunity to purchase a split level waterfront camp with it’s own boathouse on Higley Flow.
Listed for $399,000
Renovating Before Selling
Should You Invest in Upgrades or Sell As-Is?
Deciding whether to renovate your home before putting it on the market can be a tough call. While some upgrades can boost your home’s value and attract more buyers, others may not provide a significant return on investment.
Here’s a look at the pros and cons of renovating before selling.
Pro: Increased Home Value
Renovating key areas of your home, such as the kitchen or bathrooms, can significantly increase its value.
Modern, updated spaces are more appealing to buyers, and these renovations can help your home stand out in a crowded market.
Even smaller updates, like fresh paint or new fixtures, can make a big difference in your home’s perceived value.
Pro: Faster Sale
Homes that are move-in ready often sell faster than those that need work. Buyers are willing to pay a premium for homes that don’t require immediate repairs or renovations.
By investing in updates, you can attract buyers who are looking for a hassle-free purchase, potentially leading to a quicker sale.
Con: High Costs
Renovations can be expensive, and there’s no guarantee you’ll recoup the costs when you sell. Major upgrades like kitchen remodels or new roofing can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
If the market doesn’t respond as you hoped, you could end up with a lower return on investment. It’s important to carefully consider which renovations will offer the best value.
Con: Time-Consuming
Renovations take time, and they can delay your home’s entry into the market. If you’re in a hurry to sell, the time required for renovations might not be worth the potential benefits.
Additionally, living in a home that’s undergoing renovations can be disruptive, especially if you’re trying to maintain a tidy, show-ready space for potential buyers.
When to Sell As-Is
In some cases, it may be better to sell your home as-is, particularly if the necessary renovations are extensive
or if you’re selling in a strong market where buyers are more willing to take on projects.
If you choose to sell as-is, be transparent with buyers about the home’s condition and price it accordingly to reflect the work that needs to be done.
Ultimately, the decision to renovate before selling should be based on your budget, timeline and the specific needs of your market. Consulting with a real estate agent can help you determine the best approach for your situation.
• Many health benefits for family and pets: with cleaner air quality, easy to clean, no harmful sealants
• Less allergens and toxins than other flooring
• Versatile styles and finishes ideal for indoor or outdoor spaces
• Low-to No Maintenance
• Water resistant
LIVING IN THE ADIRONDACKS
Lisa and Tom Toole Showcase Pride in Years of Support LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
By Grace McIntyre
Behind every international sporting competition is an army of local volunteers working behind the scenes to make it happen.
Lisa and Tom Toole moved to the area in 2020 and have been volunteering for ORDA events for five years. They spent many previous years traveling regularly to Lake Placid, and Tom has both competed and volunteered for the IronMan competition.
“It takes a village to put on an event like this,” Tom said. “I know from doing the IronMan — without volunteers, it just doesn’t happen.”
They’ve volunteered for events in “just about every sport.” Both Tooles said they are sports fans and love getting to see behind the scenes. They’ve even taken the test to become officials since some of the volunteer roles are quite technical. In sliding sports, Lisa said, a lot of the volunteers are there to make sure the conditions are the same for every athlete.
temperature of the sled runners.
Normally, the sleds are put in an ice box for a set amount of time to make sure the runners are cold enough. However, Friday was so cold that they didn’t need the ice box. They bustled around the Start One building, transporting plastic bins of warm clothing for the athletes and recording temperatures and times.
“All you see is people going down the hill. There’s just so much that happens behind the scenes that takes volunteers.”
This can mean anything from sweeping the start of the track after each run to taking temperature readings of the skeleton sled runners. Warmer runners decrease friction on the ice, so the sleds are required to be at a certain temperature to level the playing field — or in this case — the ice.
In addition to helping at the start of the track, Tom and Lisa have helped at the finish.
When skeleton athletes finish their run, they need to be weighed with and without their sled to make sure they meet regulations. Sometimes, a sled even needs to be fully taken apart and inspected.
“Wherever they need you, that’s where you go,” Tom said.
The second day of competition for the IBSF World Championships, Tom and Lisa were needed as technical volunteers at the start, helping take the
When asked what they enjoy most about sliding, Lisa is quick to answer.
“The energy,” she said. “The athletes are very supportive of each other. There’s usually somebody out there cheering the person on, saying, ‘You’ve got this, go for it.’ It’s really nice to see that and as a volunteer, you get to be even closer to that than you are as a spectator.”
Bill McInerney, a part-time resident of Keene Valley who spends much of his time in the Adirondacks, is in his second year of volunteering for ORDA sports events. He started with the World University Games and somewhere along the way, learned that ORDA also needed event volunteers. Among other benefits, this has been a way for McInerney to find community post-retirement.
“You immediately make 25 friends from the other volunteers and staff,” he said.
In that time, he’s also helped with the Empire State Games and has become an official for luge, bobsled and skeleton.
He’s helped with a variety of tasks, from the timing sleds in the ice box, sweeping the track and helping athletes in other ways. This weekend, he was at the finish helping weigh athletes and sleds.
Compared to other sports, he appreciates that sliding events allow him to get close to the action. He also expressed gratitude to the ORDA staff.
“They’re half the reason this is so much fun,” McInerney said. “They treat us like gold.”
The Tooles both knew next to nothing about sliding when they started working these events. Now, they’re familiar with the details and rules — like how athletes can’t hold sleds against their bodies because it might warm the runners. Now they watch and help all the details fall into place, and have learned more than they ever thought they could.
“I never thought about the fact that as an athlete runs down the track and jumps in the bobsleigh or onto the skeleton sled that they’ve dug up the ice a little bit,” Lisa said. “So somebody goes through behind them and sweeps it up so the next person has the nice ice again.”
“There are just so many little things that you don’t see on TV,” Tom added. “All you see is people going down the hill. There’s just so much that happens behind the scenes that takes volunteers.”
These little, but important jobs are part of what makes these competitions exciting for McInerney also.
“On TV, they see one sled getting ready to start,” he said. “But just out of camera range, there’s bobs, trucks and other teams and officials and the sweepers and the ice boxes. There’s just no role in those other (sports) that are as busy and as exciting.”
