Lake Placid may be best known as a sporting center but there is history to be found here.

Visit John Brown's Farm (518-523-3900) in North Elba, where the famous abolitionist is buried. See the world's first and largest collection of Robert Louis Stevenson memorabilia at the Robert Lewis Stevenson Cottage (518-891-1462; http://www.adirondacks.com/robertlstevenson.html), 11 Stevenson Lane, Saranac Lake, where the author stayed during the winter of 1887-88, hoping to recover from tuberculosis.