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A Paddlers' Paradise is one description of the northern New York area accessed via the Adirondack North Country Scenic Byways
Bartok Cottage Historic Site
Olympic Byway, State Rt. 86, near Saranac Lake in Franklin County
In 1945 the great Hungarian composer Bela Bartok spent the last summer of his life in Saranac Lake, writing two pieces, his Third Piano Concerto and Viola Concerto.
In the summer of 1945, the Bartoks moved into a four room cabin on Riverside Drive. It is not known when the rustic cabin was built, though it seems likely to have been a summer curing facility for tuberculosis patients when the house was a cure cottage called Balsam Manor. Here, wrote their son Peter, He found the peace and tranquillity suitable for composing. Through proceeds raised and volunteer support, Historic Saranac Lake worked to save the modest cabin. The cabin is privately owned and only visited by appointment, ask at the Historic Saranac Lake office on Church Street.
| Closest Community: | |
| Closest Byway: | Olympic Byway |
| Distance from Byway: | near |
| Closest Route #: | State Rt. 86 |
| Months Occurring: | july and august |
| Best Season: | summer |
| Indoors or Outdoors: | both |
| Admission Fee: | no |
| Latitude: | 44.319147 |
| Longitude: | -74.126162 |
| URL: | Bartok Cottage Historic Site website |