LAKE PLACID – The summer has been so beautiful and the fall is shaping up for more of the same with very few cold nights, but once we hit October, thoughts in the Adirondacks turn toward the holidays in Lake Placid.
Is there a more beautiful place from Thanksgiving to New Year’s than our alpine village? Put some snow on the ground and conviviality in the air, and the holidays in Lake Placid come to life.
Skiing, snowboarding, cross country, snow shoeing, skating, bobsled and luge rides – it all adds up to a winter wonderland, embellished by the hotel’s display of some 300,000 lights, Christmas trees, balls, poinsettias and more, all in place by late November.
Thanksgiving at the Mirror Lake Inn is literally a feast. The grand harvest buffet brings guests to The View Restaurant from far and wide.
Next, we cast our eyes on Lake Placid’s social event of the year. Joy to the Children is set for December 6 and trumpets the holidays in Lake Placid and the true spirit of the season. Joy to the Children was a creation of Mirror Lake Inn owners Ed and Lisa Weibrecht as a way of generating much-needed funding for children’s arts programs at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.
The entire North Country seems to turn out for this worthwhile cause. In return, the Weibrechts open their rustically luxurious inn and offer the finest foods from its AAA Four Diamond kitchen and beverages from their renowned mixologists.
As the inn recovers from this gala, it welcomes visitors for the annual Lake Placid Holiday Village Stroll, December 7-9. The kids – young and old – look forward to readings and breakfast with Santa, the arrival of the Yule log in Lake Placid, skating on the Olympic oval, holiday movies at the Palace Theater, village shopping and more.
A week later, December 15-16, it’s the 2018 Winter Olympics revisited as World Cup luge racing returns to nearby Mount Van Hoevenberg. Virtually every Olympic medalist from South Korea – including Chris Mazdzer, Saranac Lake’s silver medal winner and cast member of Dancing With The Stars – will be on the ice.
Whether or not you are staying at the Mirror Lake Inn, please stop by on Christmas Eve. From 9-10 PM, staff members distribute booklets and lead one hour of caroling with all the traditional holiday hymns and songs. Guests emerge from The View Restaurant and walk in from Mirror Lake Drive to participate.
The holidays in Lake Placid would not be complete without visits to our nearby ski and ride areas. Starting in early November, weather-permitting, snowmaking will commence, with the goal of a Thanksgiving opening, and then adding trails each week in December.
Cross country skiing and snow shoeing will also take shape at this time, embellishing the spirit of the holidays in Lake Placid. If conditions cooperate, you can choose from trails at our sister property at the Whiteface Club and Resort, the Cascade Ski Touring Center and the Olympic complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg.
And, of course, those who enjoy the great outdoors in winter, greatly anticipate the opening of the 400-meter speed skating oval on Main Street where Eric Heiden won five Olympic gold medals in 1980. It is THE place to meet friends on the ice for some socializing, or work up an appetite before dinner, or burn some calories afterward.
As we contemplate what’s ahead, and keep an eye out for the first snow flurries of the season, let’s continue enjoying this spectacular autumn weather which will soon give way to the holidays in Lake Placid.