NEWSLETTER
Lake Placid, N.Y. - Temperatures are dropping in Upstate New York; snow guns are producing white gold at Whiteface Mountain. The calendar has turned to December, and the season of winter fun in the Adirondacks is upon us. It can only mean you should be in Lake Placid for the holidays.
The staff at the AAA Four Diamond Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa has installed some 300,000 lights across the sprawling seven acres that comprise this quintessential resort. This marks the beginning of the holiday season, and beyond that, a winter of enjoyment on snow and ice.
Past visitors will attest: the holiday season in Lake Placid and our resort property go well beyond the week between Christmas and New Years. We know this is a special time of the year, so why not expand it?
While the exterior lights trumpet the holidays, by early December the Inn’s common areas inside the resort, adorned with Christmas trees, poinsettia, balls and boughs, provide an appropriate ambiance for those enjoying a holiday beverage, cookies or a quiet conversation.
Whereas most resorts highlight one week at the holidays, our schedule in Lake Placid requires most of the month. It began with World Ice Skating Day on Dec. 3 in the Olympic Center, site of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, and continued Dec. 4 on the Sheffield Speed Skating Oval where Eric Heiden won five Olympic gold medals. This global festival celebrated ice skating around the world.
The Holiday Village Stroll is close behind. The annual event, held village-wide, takes place December 8-10. The weekend comes complete with visits with Santa, the tree-lighting in Mid’s Park on Main Street, a scavenger hunt, crafts, storytime and much more.
Visitors should make room for a Main Street stroll where many unique shops will have those perfect holiday gifts.
As all of this is unfolding, winter sports on snow and ice come alive for the season as temperatures fall and snow totals rise. Olympic silver and bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht, son of Mirror Lake Inn owners Ed and Lisa Weibrecht, will ski with hotel guests (surcharge). Upon retiring in 2018, Andrew was inducted into the U.S. Skiing Hall of Fame and Museum in April 2019.
World Cup luge racing opens its season in Lake Placid Dec. 8-9 at the Olympic Sports Complex. The event features many international competitors from the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Whiteface Mountain, where lifts were turning on Thanksgiving weekend, adds terrain in December on a daily basis for skiing and riding. The Olympic network of cross-country trails at Mount Van Hoevenberg, the Whiteface Club Golf Course and the Cascade Ski Touring Center are all online at this time with Nordic skiing and snow shoeing.
On the ice at the Olympic Sports Complex, the thrilling half-mile bobsled ride, with a professional driver, is offered to the public. Or for an experience that’s a bit tamer, lace up your skates and take a few laps on the Sheffield Olympic Oval, about a mile from the hotel. Night skating, before or after dinner, is the best!
The holidays are a special time at the Mirror Lake Inn, honored with the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award as the number one resort in all of Upstate New York and number two in the entire mid-Atlantic region. Furthermore, browsers on TripAdvisor continue to rank the property as the best in Lake Placid.
In keeping with a longstanding tradition, the Mirror Lake Inn staff will lead evenings of Christmas caroling on Dec. 22 and 23 from 7 – 8 PM. Booklets will be dispensed to guests who participate in the holiday classics while enjoying homemade cookies and eggnog.
“The atmosphere we create here reminds me of the popular holiday song, ‘Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go’,” says Mirror Lake Inn owner Ed Weibrecht. “It’s that sense of family and being at home with your loved ones that our staff delivers to each guest. We’re glad people decide to spend this time of the year with us, so it’s important that we give them the environment and warmth of being home for the holidays.”
Now you are in the mood for the season. But we’re not done yet as events and activities abound until the end of the year and well beyond. There are two youth hockey tournaments in mid-December in the Olympic Center, followed by a men’s college hockey tournament to close 2023.
As we said at the top, the holidays here extend well beyond one traditional week. We hope you can experience some of these events and activities with us, making this a joyous and blessed season for you and your family.
The staff at grandmother’s house awaits.
###
Photo: Courtesy Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa/Joseph Rector
About the Mirror Lake Inn
The AAA Four Diamond Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa is a luxury lakefront resort, offering its’ guests an authentic Adirondack experience. The Inn, rated Four Diamond for 39 consecutive years, offers both Four Diamond world-class cuisine and casual dining options, with impeccable service amid awe-inspiring views. Only one other property in New York (located in Manhattan), has maintained the Four Diamond designation longer than Mirror Lake Inn. It is the only property in Lake Placid that combines Four Diamond lodging and dining. The Inn's renowned Lake Placid spa pampers the body and refreshes the mind with a comprehensive menu of services. The Inn is conveniently located one block from the restaurants and shops on Main Street in Lake Placid.
Contact: Sandy Caligiore, 518-302-3086, sandy@mirrorlakeinn.com