Lake Placid – In a manner of speaking, every Winter Olympics runs through Lake Placid. Okay – let’s explain.
The next version of the Olympic Winter Games begins Feb. 6, 2026 in Milan/Cortina, Italy. In the months leading up to the Games, athletes must qualify to represent their respective countries. Many of them do so via a series of World Cup competitions that are held in late 2025 and early 2026. It’s the total of their results – from November to January – that will determine if they make it to Italy in February. That’s where Lake Placid enters the picture. With world class venues that host elite level athletes for training and competition, many of them will work their way in and out of our Adirondack village in the first half of winter. Also, as a bonus, sports such as biathlon and cross-country skiing will make March appearances in Lake Placid after the Olympics.
The lineup for this season will complement your own itinerary of skiing, snowboarding, skating, snow shoeing and cross-country skiing in and around our two-time Olympic village.
Here is the pre-Olympic schedule of events:
–Nov. 11-14 / Saatva Skate America: part of the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix Series. Lake Placid held the inaugural Skate America in 1979, just before the 1980 Winter Olympics. This is the sixth time this event has come to the Olympic Center and the third time in an Olympic season.
–Dec. 19-21 / FIL World Cup Luge: the fastest sport on ice will bring the fastest athletes on ice to Mt. Van Hoevenberg. Olympians of the past and the future will rocket past you at speeds approaching 80 MPH. Spectators love the upclose access they get along the one-mile chute of ice.
–Jan. 11-12 / FIS World Cup Freestyle Aerials: Held at the Olympic Sports Complex, you won’t believe your eyes when you see athletes ski down steep ramps and then launch themselves off kickers 60-feet into the air. But there’s more – as they are suspended, expect to see a variety of twists and spins prior to touch down.
When the Olympics conclude in Milan/Cortina, some World Cup schedules continue in March. Such is the case here.
–Feb. 26 – March 1 and March 4-8 / IBU World Cup Biathlon: This is the strenuous art of combining cross-country skiing with 22-calibre marksmanship. Biathletes ski the race trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg and then enter the shooting range, taking aim at distant targets. The trick is to lower one’s heartrate to hold a steady rifle and fire accurately. For each miss, there’s a penalty loop that adds to the racer’s total time.
–March 20-22 / FIS World Cup Finals in Cross-Country Skiing: As is the case with the biathlon World Cup, expect an Olympic field of skiers at Mt. Van Hoevenberg as they will decide the season long World Cup champions in each discipline.
To sum up the approaching winter season, our 2025-2026 calendar offers you access to Olympic stars right here in Upstate New York and without the expense of flying to Italy. And always remember, whether you’re here for recreational purposes, or to watch the aforementioned action, or both, the Mirror Lake Inn is in the heart of it all, just minutes to everywhere you’ll want to be.
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Cover image courtesy BiathlonWorld.com/IBU