We stayed in the Heron Suites for the week before Labor Day and hated to leave so we extended for a day. The two adjoining suites were perfect for our annual extended family get-together. Yes, we could hear what was going on next door (bottom floor only, not the bedroom areas), but it didn't bother us. The beach & lawn areas were great for our preschooler to run off energy safely. There were always canoes & kayaks available. We hope we can return next year. We did get a significant price break, due to end of season.

Ampersand Bay is great place for the family and couples to stay for a week and meet other families around the fire pit in the evening. Kids have great time meeting other kids. Some families have come at the same time every year for last 15 years because they have become such good friends. New families that come up for the first time end up booking the same time the following year due to them also making friends with other families. You are also greeted with a great barbabcue thrown Kathy and Ira who are the property managers upon arrival for the week. Lots to do also at the site such as boating, fishing, horse shoes, volleyball on the beach and so on. One can also just relax by the lake during the day or watch the shooting stars at night. You do have a choice in staying in the rustic older cabins or new modern cabins.

We stayed in one of the Heron Suites that sits directly on the water. We have 3 college age and older daughters, and we all had a blast. We were there for 3 nights and we wish it was longer. We hiked Ampersand Trail one day, and kayaked/canoed on Saranac Lake the other day, along with a evening cruise on one of Ampersands' pontoons. Kathy was tremendous help and very prompt when we made our reservations, and Johnny helped us arrange anything we wanted to do.
The cabins are extremely nice, with kitchens fully equipped and a washer and dryer upstairs.
After driving through Lake Placid to get to Saranac Lake, we were very happy to not be staying there. It was very "touristy" or if you have ever visited the Gatlinburg, TN.. Lake Placid is just like it with all the cheesy shops. It was great to drive through the Olympic village there, though.

I would highly recommend Ampersand Bay. It is a great place for families or couples. We went to Red Hawk for dinner one night, and it was great. I also recommend the Mountain Mist Ice Cream for a little treat.

I bumped into Ampersand Bay after my sister yammered on about "how great a place it was," so I decided to give it a shot. Coming from Soho, the ride was about 6 hours long (which isn't that long of a ride, considering that there were a couple of decent rest-stops in Albany and Saratoga). The route was very scenic; it's what you would expect from a ride to the Adirondacks. And honestly, I was surprised. I didn't really comprehend how large New York state was, and how vast the Adirondacks as a region truly is (mountain climbing and hiking must be fun). Anyways, about 5 hours and 30 minutes into the ride, I arrived at the Village of Saranac. It was a small town, but it had stores and restaurants, so I decided to drop by the Grand Union Supermarket (SP?), and grab some stuff.

So on the way to Ampersand Bay, I decided to take a bit of a detour and find Main Street, because my sister told me that I might need a fishing license to go fishing, go figure (it cost me about 19 USDs). After collecting all of the essentials, I finally decided to head to Ampersand Bay. When I arrived, I was greeted by Kathy Holland and Johnny D (two warm, friendly folks). They told me to feel free to help myself to a kayak and a life vest, if I wasn't too tired. Kayaking right after a 6 hour drive is usually a bad idea, so instead, I decided to test the lake out and go fishing for a bit, but before that I needed to go get my room keys. Take this with a grain of salt if you would like, but when I was waiting in the office, there were a bunch of pictures of large bass and pike that were caught on the lake. Those pictures gave me a much needed boost to go catch some fish. Can't go fishing on an empty stomatche, though.

I stayed in one of the log houses called Heron Creek (SP?), and when I entered the first things I saw were: a stair-case, a nice kitchen with what seem to be fresh out the box appliances and granite work, a conveniently located bathroom (right beside the kitchen, as well as two other bathrooms), copper (or possibly bronze) fixtures, an automated fireplace, a nice leather couch (quite the comfy couch, may I add), a flat screen TV, two balconies (one on the top floor, another on the second), and a jacuuzi in the master suite. The unit was fairly large. I felt a tad bit bad renting the whole thing to myself. There were plenty of towels, utencils, and anything that you would need in a home, I guess. The unit was well-kept and clean, no complaints here. (Again take it with a grain of salt, but I thought that the wood-work looked nice.)

So me and a couple of guests lit a bonfire on the beach and BBQ'd some burgers (they were Jersey folk, good company). They mentioned that they've been there a couple times, so I took that opportunity to ask them for some good reccomendations, as far as camping spots, fishing locations, etc, etc. Some recommendations they gave me for pike fishing were to stay in the shallow weed beds with a spinner bait, etc. (keeping the others a secret.) He mentioned that there was an eagle that had a resting spot near by, and it just happened to be that the next morning I spot two flying by the property (I took a picture, albeit a bad one). Oh, also, ironically I bumped into a great-blue heron. (Heh, that whole day was like a NatGeo documentary.) They also said there were plenty of camping spots near by, shame I didn't have my camping equipment, though.

The boats (like the previous reviews mentioned) were always fueled up and cleaned. There's a bait shop near the main office with some minnows (if bait fishing is your thing). There was also a snack shop near the main office as well. Overally, I had a great stay. I honestly don't have any complaints. Perhaps some of the reviewers had a bad day, or something like that, but the staff was great. The view was also nice, I mean, waking up to a lake-side view like that is not something you can really appreciate in the city. The fishing was great, I caught a couple of pike and bass. It was a peaceful, very quiet and serene. Oh, and in case any one is having troubles sleeping: the beds are great, and you really will wind up racking up the hours (don't oversleep, though). :)