OK, so once there was a hockey game in Lake Placid, N.Y., with some sort of international sporting festival attached (the 1980 Winter Olympics). By many accounts, it's still the greatest hockey game ever played, an underdog story for the ages between U.S. college kids and the supposedly unbeatable Soviet juggernaut, it was the “Miracle on Ice.”

After it was all over, the lake was placid in Lake Placid once again, as peace and calm returned to the snow-dappled Adirondacks.

However, winter sports don't totally define the area. It's almost as beautiful in the fall, when the leaves are in their splendor.

Until the gigantic killer crocodile shows up. Yes, a monster movie (actually a franchise) called “Lake Placid” (1999) shows up before Lake Placid, the place, in some online search results.

That aside, and before the snow starts to fall, there are plenty of reasons to check out this beautiful part of the country, way up north — none of which has anything to do with hockey or crocodiles.

Flaming Leaves Festival

As the slogan goes, it'll be “Blues, Brews and BBQs” at the Olympic Jumping Complex on Whiteface Mountain, in nearby Wilmington on Oct. 10 and 11.

The “flaming leaves” part refers to the fiery coloration of the deciduous precipitation, of course. But this festival combines fall and winter, as some of the world's top ski-jumpers will be competing, concluding with the U.S. Ski Jumping Championships at 11 a.m. Oct. 11.

The top of the 120-meter ski jump will be open to the public — for Adirondacks leaf-watching. There will also be games (horseshoes, et cetera), craft vendors and the usual attractions and distractions.

Details: 518-946-2223 or whiteface.com/events/flaming-leaves-festival.

High Falls Gorge

Great views are sort of a dime-a-dozen in Lake Placid — hike to the top of any mountain, and you're good. But with four waterfalls cascading over a billion-year-old crevice, plentiful forested hills and a plethora of cleared hiking trails, self-guided nature trails and a few glass-floor walkways, this is an easy place to start.

It's in a privately owned (but open to the public) nature reserve. It also features “one of New York's largest potholes,” so Pittsburghers should feel quite at home. It's located close to Whiteface Mountain.

Details: 518-946-7293 or highfallsgorge.com

Fort Ticonderoga

A crucial nexus in the French and Indian War as well as the Revolutionary War, Fort Ticonderoga has the added bonus of a beautiful location. Its influence was felt far beyond its mountaintop perch — when Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured it from the British by surprise, the fort's guns were dragged to Boston, which forced Britain to withdraw from that crucial city, as well.

The star-shaped French fort on Lake Champlain is now a museum and hosts lots of battle re-enactments and musket demonstrations.

Details: 518-585-2821 or fortticonderoga.org

Wild Center

The Wild Center is a high-tech interpretive nature site in Tupper Lake, N.Y. There are all kinds of hands-on exhibits and nearby trails, of course, but this year, they opened the “Wild Walk,” an elevated trail at treetop height.

Check out the Fall Foliage Center online for the best spots to see the splendor of an upstate autumn, selected by the Wild Center's naturalists.

Details: 518-359-7800 or wildcenter.org

Food

Don't forget that Lake Placid is a ski resort, so there is no shortage of places to eat — both of the overpriced and tourist-trap variety.

But you can also eat quite well, if you know where to look.

Artisan's at Lake Placid Lodge is a good place for elegant (possibly outdoors, lakeside or fireside) farm-to-table dining. Details: 518-523-2700 or lakeplacidlodge.com/artisans-dining

For lunch, the Good Bite Kitchen is a vegetarian deli, full of healthy stuff like quinoa bowls or roasted beet and eggplant sandwiches, to fortify you for an afternoon of hiking. Details: 518-637-2860 or thegoodbitekitchen.com/menu

Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort

Directly adjoining Lake Placid's charming main street and the shores of Mirror Lake, this is as good a place as any to start. It's got that classic rustic-lodge ski-chalet feel, on a lake instead of the slopes (although those are quite close, of course).

Details: 844-209-8080 or golden-arrow.com

Michael Machosky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at mmachosky@tribweb.com or 412-320-7901.

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