Bring out your inner Olympian in Lake Placid
Storied town offers chances to show winter sports mettle or just earn gold in leisure time
Lake Placid helped me fully discover my love for winter. There’s so much to do and see, including a wide variety of winter activities that will help you embrace the cold, snowy weather even if you’re not a skier.
Checking into the Mirror Lake Inn
77 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid; 518-5232544
In addition to housing the No. 1 resort and hotel, No. 1 restaurant, and No. 1 spa in the area (according to Tripadvisor), they’ve created an environment where hotel guests can feel safe. In addition to amping up cleaning methods and taking visitors’ temperatures, they’ve upgraded the inn’s technology to include Haiku Clean Air Systems, ionization air filters in common areas, and hospitalgrade electrostatic sprayers to disinfect highly trafficked areas. The rooms are gorgeous, and each guest gets a view of the lake and the mountain peaks. Our room had a spacious balcony with picturesque views and a giant jacuzzi tub with a TV. Being able to warm up in a steaming hot bath while watching a movie was blissful. The hotel also has a heated indoor swimming pool with a grotto and hot tub area.
Where to eat Dining at the Mirror Lake Inn
The View is Lake Placid’s only AAA fourdiamond restaurant, with an award winning wine collection. I drank the hibiscus martini with floral notes and bubbly prosecco. We started with the seafood salad followed by the cheesy Lyonnaise onion soup and the Hudson Valley foie gras with sautéed apples and raisins. The foie gras was buttery and decadent. For our entrées, we split the prime beef filet mignon with green beans, shoestring potatoes, a bourbon-whiskey glaze, and savory potato purée. The free-range chicken with campanelle pasta, mushrooms, Banyuls vinegar sauce (made from a sweet French wine), local spinach and crisp snow peas. We ended the meal with a steaming cup of coffee to pair with the flourless chocolate cake and silky crème brûlée.
The Cottage has two dining shelters on their patio overlooking the lake and the mountains. After ordering some local beers, they brought out our shrimp cocktail appetizer and spinach and artichoke dip. The mushroom soup was outstanding, loaded with mushrooms and creamy brie cheese served in a bread bowl and drizzled with truffle oil. If you’re looking for something a little more protein packed, try the apricot chicken salad, which blends sweet and savory. The coconut cream pie is an absolute must for dessert.
(5686
Big Slide Brewery & Public House Cascade Road, Lake Placid)
At this spot, opened in 2016, I started out with a flight of some of their winter beers: a cranberry sour, a hot pepper pale ale brewed with poblanos and jalapeños, a cinnamon stout, the Santa Quad (an aged sour Belgianesque quadrupel), and the Belgian Waffle. To soak up the suds, go for the pretzel bites while you’re there. We also split the French onion “soupoutine”: Fries loaded with shredded gruyère and cheese curds, French onion broth and crispy onions. For our entrées, we had the burger and fried quail, super crispy and served with rice and peas, salsa verde, and a drizzle of spicy honey.
Toboggan Chute
(31 Parkside Drive, Lake
Placid)
The toboggan chute has been up and running since the 60s and actually used to be a ski jump. You can go whipping down the hill at a fast speed. It’s quite the adrenaline rush.
Cliffside Coaster at Mt. Van Hoevenberg (220 Bobsled Run Lane, Lake Placid)
New to the area is the Cliffside Mountain Coaster, the longest mountain coaster in North America. It used to be a bobsledding track, so during your ride you’ll hear a prerecorded guide taking you through the twist and turns of the track that was used in previous Olympic games. Even if you’re not much of a thrill seeker, you can still enjoy it because you can control your speed. If you do love to zip along, you can absolutely do that by putting the pedal to the metal. If you prefer slow and steady, you just pull back on the throttle.
Dog Sled Ride (On the ice of Mirror Lake
Inn)
Once the ice across from the Mirror Lake Inn is thick enough, activities open up on the actual lake. Not only are there impromptu ice hockey games and an ice rink around the perimeter, but try the dog sledding where you can take in views of the peaks and get to meet the fluffy, energetic dogs that pull the sleigh.
Skyride Gondola (Olympic Jumping Complex, 5486 Cascade Road, Lake Placid)
You can take a short, peaceful gondola ride up to the ski jump to see what the professionals see before attempting their jump. I can’t even believe that people used to do these ski jumps, and still use them to train. Main Street shops in Lake Placid
Stop into places like the Lake Placid Christmas Company (2435 Main St.) filled with home decor, many different ornaments, candies and more. The Adirondack Decorative Arts & Crafts (2512 Main St.) is a gift shop with kitchen supplies, maple syrup, candles and books. The Alpine Mall (2578 Main St.) has a few restaurants and shops to explore within. The Adirondack Popcorn Co. (2461 Main St.) has savory and sweet flavors of the namesake treat.
Bobsled Experience at the Olympic Sports Complex
(87 Bobsled Run Road, Lake
Placid)
In the Olympic Village, you can ride in a bobsled along the track, whipping at crazy speeds up to 55 miles per hour. However, they’re currently closed so check their website (lakeplacidolympicsites.com) or give them a call (518-523-4436) to see when the activity is available.