Family Travel: Lake Placid, New York
/KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel. During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.
It is not every day you see your child hurtling down an Olympic Bobsled course at sixty miles per hour. My wife and I got to live that experience on a recent trip to Lake Placid, New York.
Lake Placid was home to the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. The town and surrounding area still have the infrastructure of what you would expect from an Olympics including the aforementioned bobsled run, ski jump and hockey arenas.
Conveniently, it is also only about a three-hour drive from Ottawa. Here is our family guide to Lake Placid, New York.
Things to Do - Olympic Sports Complex - This area is home to the bobsled experience and also to the nearby cross-country ski and biathlon center.
Our son, David, has always been the daredevil of our family. Sandy and I declined to do the bobsled experience while David eagerly signed up. After I filled in the paperwork, David was taken to the top of the bobsled run by vehicle. Sandy and I walked to the midway point platform.
We saw several bobsleds go by at extremely fast speeds. Sandy held her breath every time the sleds passed by. We honestly did not know if David had gone because the sleds went by so fast.
Upon further investigation, we found an area near the finish line that offered a better view. We also found out David was to go next. We could hear the sled coming down the course and saw it approach the finish line. Again, Sandy held her breath and even I held my breath. Once David and the sled safely stopped, his smile ear to ear confirmed it was a great experience.
David described it as being one of the coolest experiences of his life and said it was a similar feeling to a roller coaster.
David was shuttled back to the centre and was given a commemorative pin and t-shirt. We also learned one of the bobsledders working that day was U.S Olympian, John Napier. While he did not guide David’s sled, he was very giving of his time as we chatted about his Olympic experience and took photos.
Olympic Jumping Complex - I’ve always thought that Olympic ski jumpers are a bit crazy. At Lake Placid, it is possible to get the perspective of a ski jumper at the Olympic Jumping Complex.
We arrived on-site and took a gondola ride up to the base of the 120-metre ski jump. On the gondola, we were treated to a panoramic view of the Adirondacks.
If it was not already high enough, we took an elevator to the top of the ski jump. We proceeded outside to the observation deck. The view was amazing but it still confirmed my idea that ski jumpers are crazy. I had also gained a new admiration for their bravery.
We eventually made our way back down the elevator and gondola. I must admit, Sandy and I were both happy when David said he does not want to become a ski jumper.
Cloudspltter Gondola Ride - Whiteface Mountain is one of the most popular downhill ski hills in the northeast United States. Luckily, the Cloudsplitter Gondola takes skiers and non-skiers to the top of Little Whiteface Mountain. Our family fell into the non-skier category. The gondola ride took about fifteen minutes to reach the peak. It was easy to understand why Whiteface is so popular. Skiers and snowboarders were carving up the freshly fallen white powder.
Once at the top, it was a perfectly clear day and we were treated to a stunning view of the valley and surrounding peaks. David wanted to explore some of the side trails. If he had it his way, he would have spent hours at the top of the mountain. The only problem was that the temperature at the top of the mountain was a brisk -20 C with the wind chill. I was good after about fifteen or twenty minutes.
We made our way back to the gondola and had worked up an appetite. We checked out the Base Camp Market and all had a delicious clam chowder soup.
Where to Stay - We had a very comfortable stay at High Peaks Resort. Located right in downtown Lake Placid, the resort was centrally located to everything. Some of the touches I liked was the central lobby area where one could find multiple fireplaces and comfortable chairs. It was the perfect place to lounge and just relax. There were many board games to be found including chess. The resort provided a delicious hot chocolate and cookies to complete the ambiance.
David, Sandy and I also enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tub found in the resort.
We look forward to checking out the resort in the summer as well.
Where to eat - There is no shortage of restaurants to be found in Lake Placid. One thing I did like is that most seemed to be locally owned. There were no golden arches on every street corner. We had several good meals in Lake Placid but for us, the standout was the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery. It had the right mix of the friendliness of a pub mixed in with relaxed family dining. The food was delicious with Sandy and David enjoying the fish n chips while I tucked into the bacon cheeseburger. Our server was extremely attentive and friendly.
If you go - It is impossible to summarize everything there is to see and do in Lake Placid during the winter in one article. A few other activities include dog-sledding on Mirror Lake, tobogganing down a chute, and skating on the outdoor oval where the Olympic speed skating took place. It is also a pleasure to just walk around Lake Placid downtown. It is not uncommon to find winter sports competitors from around the world mingling.
Lake Placid will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1980 Olympics from February 14-23. There will be many activities with an Olympic theme.
As with any winter activity, it is necessary to plan ahead and check the weather. A very useful website for all Olympic related activities is www.whiteface.com. For an overview of all tourism-related activities in Lake Placid visit, www.lakeplacid.com.
Full disclosure, we were guests of the tourism office of Lake Placid. Our hotel and attractions were covered but as always, all views are my own.
