LAKE PLACID – There are very few resort experiences that offer as much after dark as they do in daylight. But here in the Adirondacks, Lake Placid is that rare exception where you can ski and ride on world-class trails by day, and also enjoy outstanding events.
This Upstate New York community is blessed to have hosted two Winter Olympics, so with that come the venues that can host hockey, biathlon, Nordic skiing and more. There is no resort east of the Rockies that can say this.
In other words, with longer and warmer days in March and April, the time is quite right to book that late-winter ski/snowboard vacation. While you’re here, let’s go over the events that will occur in Lake Placid over the next few weeks.
Here’s the quick link to the lineup: https://tinyurl.com/ysmj5vxa
The U.S. Collegiate Ski Association is currently in the area through March 12 conducting their national championships at Whiteface Mountain and Mt. Van Hoevenberg in men’s and women’s alpine, Nordic, free skiing and snowboarding.
The ECAC Men’s Division I hockey championships return to the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. The final four teams will play for the title March 18-19 in a completely renovated and updated facility. The winner receives an automatic berth to the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Lake Placid will honor the American athletes who participated in the recent Beijing Olympic Winter Games with a parade down Main Street on March 24. Beginning at 5:30 PM, the athletes will march down Main Street, culminating at the James B. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, which has also undergone a massive upgrade. A public free skate will take place on the oval from 7-9 PM.
International Nordic skiing comes to town March 25-26 with the FIS Intercontinental Cup ski jumping and Nordic combined meets for men and women. This will be the first women’s FIS-sanctioned ski jumping competition to take place in the U.S. since 2009.
At the same time – March 25 to 27 – you’ll see 100 of the finest biathletes skiing and shooting at Mt. Van Hoevenberg during the U.S. Biathlon Association’s National Championships. The field will include juniors, national team members and para-biathletes competing in a venue that has received significant investment from the state of New York.
Moving back to hockey, the top four teams in NCAA Men’s Division III hockey will hit the ice in late March, also in the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena, for the D3 national crown. Semi-finals are set for March 25 at 3:00 and 6:30, followed by the title contest March 26 at 7 PM.
A whirlwind three weeks concludes, appropriately, with the whirling dervish known as short track speedskating. This sport is must-see, pitting athletes against each other instead of the clock in an indoor rink. Lake Placid will welcome the U.S. Short Track Speedskating Age Group National Championships April 1-3. These races will be held in the 1932 Jack Shea Arena.
There you have it – a March to remember that concludes in April.
Skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, ice skating, cross-country skiing AND an event menu to keep you spinning nearly around the clock. Only in Lake Placid.