Our family is in the process of planning a trip to LP during Feb. vacation (we are both teachers). We are looking for a cozy and inexpensive place to stay that is within walking distance to the Olympic village as I will take the truck to Whiteface. Is there a shuttle that takes you from the village to Whiteface? Are there any good restaurants? We plan on doing some XC skiing as a family and are curious if it is also located at Whiteface. I've skied many places in the East but never Whiteface. What are some of the better runs on the hill? (I'm an expert) Are there slow chairs to avoid? Thank you in advance, John.
Lake Placid planning help.
- Thread starter cutgrass
- Start date
Don't go to often due to there being better snow usually elsewhere, but will stay at Golden Arrow which is right across the street from the ice skating. The lake is right behind it where you could xc. At Whiteface we mostly hide in the trees off the Little Whiteface lift. Upper Empire nice little narrow run where you can duck into the trees on left. If you dare and there is lots of snow there's a sweet line under the top portion of freeway.
http://www.golden-arrow.com
http://www.golden-arrow.com
rfarren
New member
There are many great restaurants in lake placid. I would recommend however not limiting yourself to the strip. There are a few great restaurants just outside the strip on the way to saranac.
There are indeed shuttle buses that go from town the mountain. I think they run every ten minutes till about 5 and stop and most of the hotels.
The cheaper places aren't always cosy, especially close to town. Art Develin's motor inn is actually pretty nice and is right in town. It is run by a former olympic speedskater, and is right on the olympic oval. The lake placid summit hotel is a bit older and not cosy by any means. However, it is close to town and pretty cheap. The mirror lake inn is right near everything but is expensive. If you don't stay there it's worth going to their bar on the lake where you can see kids playing hockey on the lake. They have great warm drinks!
With lake placid it is worth doing things other than just skiing. The bobsled ride is really fun, and the new course is pretty nice. It is also worth tubing at the ski jump area if you have kids. Off of main street at parkside drive there is tobogganing onto mirror lake. That is tremendous fun and worth it even without the kids. It is also fun to go for a dog sled ride around mirror lake. You can get the rides right next to the ems on main street. It is also worth doing a little x-c skiing while there, although I prefer doing it at the adirondack loj rather than mount van hoevenberg.
Maybe someone can jar my memory but there is a sandwich place near the mirror lake inn on main street that is worth while. Oh well, if I can remember anything else I'll be sure to post.
There are indeed shuttle buses that go from town the mountain. I think they run every ten minutes till about 5 and stop and most of the hotels.
The cheaper places aren't always cosy, especially close to town. Art Develin's motor inn is actually pretty nice and is right in town. It is run by a former olympic speedskater, and is right on the olympic oval. The lake placid summit hotel is a bit older and not cosy by any means. However, it is close to town and pretty cheap. The mirror lake inn is right near everything but is expensive. If you don't stay there it's worth going to their bar on the lake where you can see kids playing hockey on the lake. They have great warm drinks!
With lake placid it is worth doing things other than just skiing. The bobsled ride is really fun, and the new course is pretty nice. It is also worth tubing at the ski jump area if you have kids. Off of main street at parkside drive there is tobogganing onto mirror lake. That is tremendous fun and worth it even without the kids. It is also fun to go for a dog sled ride around mirror lake. You can get the rides right next to the ems on main street. It is also worth doing a little x-c skiing while there, although I prefer doing it at the adirondack loj rather than mount van hoevenberg.
Maybe someone can jar my memory but there is a sandwich place near the mirror lake inn on main street that is worth while. Oh well, if I can remember anything else I'll be sure to post.
rfarren
New member
As for the mountain, depending on your ability there are many options. The big factor is how icy whiteface is. Often times parrons run and the other blues from the peak are pretty scratchy due to the wind. The fastest two lifts are the gondola, although during holiday weekends the lines ca be brutal and the face lift. If you want to go to the peak face lift is pretty nice. Cloudspin can be loads of fun if the snow is good and not too icy. I also love mountain run and thruway and parkway. Avoid the little whiteface lift, it is slow and often cold!!! It is better to ski to the base and catch the gondola. I like the mountain run lift because it never has lines even during vacation weekends. However, you have to be comfortable with blacks for that lift. Wilderness also has nice terrain. If you like bumps there is often a bump course that has been constructed by hand on mountain run. Upper Mckenzie also is rarely groomed so you're sure to find bumps there, however, beware they are often the iciest bumps you'll ever see. I'm not huge on the trees at whiteface, although I've yet to see the new terrain they added this season. The slides will most certainly not be open in february, so it's not worth worrying about it too much. It is worth eating boule's bistro (mid-mountain), not for the food, but to avoid lines. For cruising, the face lift is the best lift. You can rack up vertical and enjoy nice wide runs blue and green.
Again, the nice part about whiteface is that if it is too icy and too cold, you can find plenty of other things to do wintery that will keep you entertained.
Whiteface has been my family mountain since I was 9 so I'm going with 20 years experience. Have a great trip. BTW, if it rains it is worth skiing because the snow will be great on the mountain, that is if you don't mind getting wet.
Again, the nice part about whiteface is that if it is too icy and too cold, you can find plenty of other things to do wintery that will keep you entertained.
Whiteface has been my family mountain since I was 9 so I'm going with 20 years experience. Have a great trip. BTW, if it rains it is worth skiing because the snow will be great on the mountain, that is if you don't mind getting wet.
rfarren":1kizgnbq said:
Agreed.
rfarren":1kizgnbq said:
Hey! My kid played hockey there. :lol:
OK, now that others have answered...
Here's an article that I wrote in 2003. It's slightly dated now, but addresses many of your questions:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2 ... -Heritage/
And here's a video filmed on that trip:
[skitube2]http://www.firsttracksonline.com/modules/crpVideo/pnmedia/videos/1227397297_placiddreams.flv[/skitube2]
rfarren
New member
Your article mentions the hungry trout which I heartily recommend for dinner. I disagree with you on the little whiteface lift, although I suppose it's not that bad if it is not too cold. Good advice on the parking! Just make sure you go back to the kids campus before 3:30. If you mess that up, you will have a rather unpleasant hike in your ski boots.
I also hear the new whiteface lodge is a nice hotel although it is pretty expensive. Dinner there was nice... but it's a drive out of town.
I also hear the new whiteface lodge is a nice hotel although it is pretty expensive. Dinner there was nice... but it's a drive out of town.
Patrick
Well-known member
Admin":8bgndi25 said:
Didn't the article in details, but that first pic of WF by ORDA is totally dated. That was back when Excelsior was a fun trail prior to the savage widening.
Ah yes, traffic management...looks like you got a lot of traffic the day that you filmed. :lol: I tend to disagree, I love the Little Wf lift. I never bother skiing all the way to the bottom unless I ski Parkway/Thruway. I just yoyo between the Summit and the base of Little WF.rfarren":8bgndi25 said:
WF is among my top 4 areas in the East, however I've never sleep there. Always going daytrip either from Montreal or Ottawa.
Patrick":3fum03k0 said:
And before the widening of Paron's Run, too. But it's such a great shot! For many of the same reasons that I like the shot of Saddleback in this story:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2 ... -Business/
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
I have taken my family to Lake Placid / WF a couple of times. We stay at the Holiday Inn . I know what your thinking, this is a really nice hotel with a great indoor pool and it is reasonably priced... It is very conveniently located within a short walk of the town and all the sites..
Patrick":3nrlna8o said:
I'm with Patrick on this one. Little WF is an older lift, but I don't find it particularly slow, or it doesn't seem that way to me.
Parkway is a favorite, especially on my recent trip:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7357
Sharon
New member
Is that Jimski in the vid?
I don't have much more to add on the LP and WF recommendations. I think y'all covered it and that video tells a story...except for the gas burning fireplace in the intro...I find LP much more homey than that fake fireplace.
LP is a great place to take the family...so much to do. Whiteface can be good, but can also be icy...it's a very cold mountain.
If you end up parking in the upper parking lots at WF, the shuttle is very frequent and is actually easier than hauling the gear from the lower lot across the bridge. They drop you off right at the base lodge. My friends walked while the rest of us lazy (tired) people waited for the bus...we got to the car about at the same time, even with the wait for the bus to load.
I don't have much more to add on the LP and WF recommendations. I think y'all covered it and that video tells a story...except for the gas burning fireplace in the intro...I find LP much more homey than that fake fireplace.
LP is a great place to take the family...so much to do. Whiteface can be good, but can also be icy...it's a very cold mountain.
If you end up parking in the upper parking lots at WF, the shuttle is very frequent and is actually easier than hauling the gear from the lower lot across the bridge. They drop you off right at the base lodge. My friends walked while the rest of us lazy (tired) people waited for the bus...we got to the car about at the same time, even with the wait for the bus to load.
rfarren
New member
skimore":2unbey3b said:
The reasons I disagree are mainly that:
a) The little WF lift is slow and is on an exposed side of the mountain that with a bit of wind on a day where the temps are around 20 you can get mighty cold.
b) Except for holiday weekends the crowds at the base gondola are negligable. That is if you don't mind taking your skis off and walking 20 feet.
c) Descending from the top of little whiteface to the little WF lift literally takes no time at all, so for me it is often worth just going straight to the bottom and getting a full 2400' of vert.
Whiteface is a special mountain in large part due to its sustained steeps. If you plan on skiing wilderness, or mountain run there is no reason to go to the top of the litte WF. If you ski parkway or thruway you more or less go to the bottom, unless you cut across onto thruway and over to the lift. Approach isn't worth skiing to get to either parkway or thruway. In fact, I've always considered approach just a means to get to empire and mackenzie etc. That being said Mackenzie and wilderness aren't very long runs, and take a very little time to get back down to the lift. It's about a 13 minute ride of the LWF lift. Personally I would rather ski to the bottom, do wide open turns on parkway then valley, and then warm up in the gondola. Now on a warm sunny day in march I would suppose LWF lift would be worth it especially if there were huge lines at the bottom.
For planning help, I would recommend the gondola, as it is warmer, because as sharon said earlier in this thread:
Any respite from the wind and cold bite is well appreciated.
Finding cozy and inexpensive will also depend on when you go. Mid-week, non-holidy is a lot better value. We went during the Christmas break last year, and for budget stayed at the Comfort Inn. Typical room, but the included breakfast is very decent. It has an indoor pool as well if the kids want that. If considering it, make sure you stay in the main building, not the rooms in the building with the check-inn, as they have exterior access.
tripadvisor.com has a big Placid section.
The Shuttle picks up at pretty well all the hotels. I also bought a student pass for a few days for my teens, that was the cheapest pass going, but had to be bought a few days before getting there. The best thing I did was to get the kids moving early in the morning on ski days to get there for first lift because by the afternoon the ice and chop build up can be ugly.
If going to the ski lift, bring the vehicle with the snow tires, don't leave it in the driveway. It's a steep hill out of the parking lot and when it freezes after a bit of rain yoiu may need a few runs at it ...
There are some good X-country trails, but a web search will lay that out well.
tripadvisor.com has a big Placid section.
The Shuttle picks up at pretty well all the hotels. I also bought a student pass for a few days for my teens, that was the cheapest pass going, but had to be bought a few days before getting there. The best thing I did was to get the kids moving early in the morning on ski days to get there for first lift because by the afternoon the ice and chop build up can be ugly.
If going to the ski lift, bring the vehicle with the snow tires, don't leave it in the driveway. It's a steep hill out of the parking lot and when it freezes after a bit of rain yoiu may need a few runs at it ...
There are some good X-country trails, but a web search will lay that out well.
admafw
New member
A good place to eat in LP is the Lake Placid Brewing Company - they have an upstairs restaurant and a downstairs pub - no problem brining the kids upstairs. Food is reasonably priced and beer is excellent. Many places in town have a Wednesday bratwurst deal ($8). Last year the wife & I went to bratwurst night at "The Cottage" - part of the Mirror Lake Inn. Excellent food, great atmosphere and live oompah music.
As for entertaining the kids outside of skiing, if you've got the cash take them for a bobsled ride. (Check the ORDA website for times/prices) If the weather is bad you can also spend some time along Main St checking out the shops - lots of funky "Adirondack" themed stuff for sale.
Adam Wiech
Oshawa (the flat lands), Ontario, Canada
As for entertaining the kids outside of skiing, if you've got the cash take them for a bobsled ride. (Check the ORDA website for times/prices) If the weather is bad you can also spend some time along Main St checking out the shops - lots of funky "Adirondack" themed stuff for sale.
Adam Wiech
Oshawa (the flat lands), Ontario, Canada