Written by Clara Jones; Edited by Sandy Caligiore
Lake Placid – There’s such joy in spending time with friends. These are the people you’ve chosen to be in your life, who love and accept you, and cheer on all your accomplishments (and vice versa). So what better way to deepen and celebrate your friendship than taking a vacation together in Upstate New York?
Lake Placid is the perfect place for a group vacation, whether there’s just a few of you, or you’re organizing a big annual get-together. The calming scenery and fantastic group activities mean that you can focus on enjoying each other’s company from the moment you arrive.
We’re convinced that a group vacation, done right, is for everyone. But if you’re still not sure, then here are three benefits to consider.
Spend quality time with each other
The hustle and bustle of modern life can leave many of us struggling to balance our commitments and find time for our friends. Especially if you’ve got a young family or a demanding career, date nights with your friends may have reduced to grabbing a cup of coffee or dinner once a month.
That’s when you round up your besties and sisters and cousins and head to the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid for Girls Getaway Weekend. There are two each year. The next of these special weekends is Dec. 5-7 at our AAA Four Diamond Adirondack resort. Another will be scheduled in May 2026.
Such vacations allow you to spend time with your closest friends at a more relaxed pace. You don’t have to download all of your recent updates on them at once – you’ve got days to just spend time together and talk about things as they arise. Especially if there’s someone in the group who is going through a challenging time, a getaway in peaceful surroundings may give them the space they need to open up.
Be able split off and do different things
If you usually travel with your partner or your family, then this generally means you’ll spend all your time together, doing the same activities. That isn’t a bad thing – it can be good to try something that you wouldn’t necessarily choose – but when you’re with friends, you can split off into pairs or smaller groups that aren’t based on your household, and they can change day-to-day. Equally, if you’re used to traveling solo, going with friends can mean you can try activities that have a minimum requirement for more than one person.
You may want to grab kayaks and head out on Mirror Lake with one friend and then spend the next day hiking Cobble Mountain with another. Or, if everyone else wants to go out and you don’t, then you can easily spend the day relaxing in the Mirror Lake Inn spa. Traveling as a group means that everyone can find their perfect activity partner.
Get the kids together
Of course, traveling with your friends doesn’t have to be an adults-only affair. Vacationing as a group with children can also be a great chance for your friends to spend time with your kids as they grow, making memories with them as well as you. If they’ve also got little ones, they can experience vacation life with their ready-made friends – children love to play and explore together, and the Adirondacks are perfect for this.
It’s also potentially a chance for you to have some solo rest and relaxation time. While you shouldn’t assume your friends will babysit, if they offer, it can be nice to take an afternoon off for yourself. Remember, just make sure to leave your friends with all your child’s belongings, including any favorite toys and their car seat for safety, so you can relax in peace.
Friends for life
There you have it – three reasons to go on vacation with a group of friends. If we’ve convinced you, then we hope to welcome your group to the Mirror Lake Inn very soon.
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Author bio: Clara Jones
Clara loves nothing more than a girls’ trip away with her three closest friends. They meet up every summer in someplace new, spending the week talking and recharging before heading home.