Last Updated on December 23, 2022
If you can’t make it to one of the Winter Olympics, consider a trip to the Lake Placid…
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
By Carla Marie Rupp and Jason Rupp
If you can’t make it to one of the Winter Olympics, consider a trip to the Lake Placid Olympic Center. It’s in the town of Lake Placid, New York, America’s first winter resort. It will help you understand what makes the Olympics so wonderful.
Everyone ought to visit Lake Placid, the cute, tiny village in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. In fact, it should be considered every American’s patriotic duty to visit the site of two legendary Winter Olympics, in 1932 and 1980.
There’s so much pride here: we couldn’t recommend it more highly. And you might even run into a past or future Olympics star!
Breathtakingly Beautiful
Lake Placid continues to be just as breathtakingly beautiful as ever. In the autumn awesome colors cover the mountains. In the summer you can spent gorgeous days on the region’s lakes. And in the winter the entire region is transformed into a wonderland.
Surprisingly, although Lake Placid is renown for winter sports, about 70 percent of visitors visit in the warm months.
But even if you hate snow, you’ll love this famous American village. It offers eclectic shopping and dining on the quaint Main Street to extreme outdoor adventure. You’ll find the latter in the Adirondack High Peaks, the 46 mountain summits in the region.
During the exciting heyday of the 1980 Winter Olympics, we spent a month there, celebrating our country’s victories. We also watched the nightly fireworks on the lake and just enjoyed the setting and the lifestyle.
Still Picturesque
It’s just as picturesque today. And there’s a lot to do if you like outdoor recreation, shopping, a laid-back peaceful feeling, friendly people and nice scenery.
On this visit, we flew into the Adirondack Regional Airport in Saranac Lake, which is absolutely the cutest airport. It’s easy accessible because it’s so small and cozy. It even has a tiny lounge with books to browse.
After picking up our rental car we were off driving past the lake, talking about the times many years earlier. Then we walked across the frozen lake, four-year-old Jason in a sled, on our way to the Olympic shuttle bus.
Lake Placid Olympic Center: Reliving Olympic Memories
We wound our way to Lake Placid, where Carla worked during the Olympics for the Associated Press. Passing Lake Placid High School, where the media headquarters had been located, she remembered being thrilled by the speed skaters practicing and competing in front of the school. We also saw where Jason was in school and daycare during those Olympic weeks.
After checking into our hotel, we were soon off again, reliving more of our Olympic memories. We drove about, touring the Olympic sites and wandering through the village as we had on other visits.
After the 1980 Games, New York State committed to maintaining and managing the Olympic venues under one organization, the Olympic Regional Development Authority. Luckily there have been updates to the venues over the last 30-plus years, as the community has continued to bid on international winter-sports events.
An Olympic Training Center was built in 1995, and a new combined bobsled, luge and skeleton run was constructed in 2000. Improvements have been made at nearby Whiteface Mountain, including the addition of a high-speed gondola and quad, and most recently, construction of a new conference center, a state-of-the-art meeting facility that opened in the spring of 2011.
A Great Museum, a Wonderful Inn
A must-visit for anyone here is the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, the only museum in North America to interpret two Winter Olympic Winter Games. It’s fascinating to see so much great memorabilia assembled, thanks to many individual donations.
Of course, this is where you will see memorabilia from the “Miracle on Ice” hockey team! We often talk about how we watched the U.S. and Russia battle it out in hockey, memories never forgotten! They also still have the bobsled and skates of champions from 1932 on display.
The Olympic Museum was opened in 1994 and is part of the Lake Placid Olympic Center, where we watched ice skaters practice in the big rink, which still holds championship events. There are also hours for the public to skate at a reasonable price and it’s fun to see amazing skaters now practicing where we skated over 30 years ago.
It’s also interesting to see all the Olympic pictures of medalists along the wall of the Center, lovingly presented for visitors to admire. Our country’s victory over the Soviet Union was 4-3 in the must-see Herb Brooks 1980 Arena, named after the winning coach.
The Mirror Lake Inn, a block from Main Street, is a relaxing and casual-yet-classy place to unwind and spend the night. A highlight at the inn was its delicious, bountiful breakfast buffet including all kinds of eggs to order and everything to go with them, great hot coffee, and a specialty, the homemade muesli with yogurt and fruit. We also tried a bit of the best hot oatmeal. They’ll even give out recipes if you ask!
At the Lake Placid Olympic Center: Bobsled and Luge Rides
One day we headed to Whiteface Mountain, the fifth highest peak in the state, and site of the downhill skiing events in 1980 and now also good for snowboarders. We took the thrilling bobsled and luge rides at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, finding it surreal to be doing so at the same venue where the world’s best athletes once competed.
Whiteface can be accessed on foot (if one wants to hike), by riding the gondola, or by car or bike up the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway, dedicated in 1935 as a tribute to World War I veterans. From the top, you can see Vermont, Lake Champlain and even Montreal on a clear day.
Après Ski at the Lake Placid Olympic Center
Circling the lake one day, we found the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, a fun stop that people in town had been talking about. We tasted the fresh micro-brewed ales and lager-beer sampler and toured the beer vats. Lake Placid has a long list of après-ski options for dining and drinks.
We also visited The Cottage, another popular hangout located right on Mirror Lake, which provided a lively atmosphere and was conveniently located right across the street from our hotel. Later we enjoyed the Dancing Bears Restaurant located nearby at the end of Main Street, now part of the High Peaks Resort, and formerly the Hilton during my time here many years ago.
We also browsed the shops on Lake Placid’s quaint, old-fashioned Main Street where we bought beautiful hand-knit stocking caps and a multi-colored blue handmade jacket that looked as if it had been fashioned from old-style bedspreads.
Celebrating the Games
In advance of past Olympics, Lake Placid officials announced a series of programs and events that celebrated the international spirit of the Olympic Winter Games and Lake Placid’s robust winter sports heritage.
Visitors and residents are usually invited to participate in several programs that take place in and around the village, which is festively decorated in red, white and blue lights and celebratory banners. There are also special events, including a 1980 Winter Games Trivia Contest.
All in all, Lake Placid is a wonderful, lively place where you can make new memories while exploring Olympic history and all its nostalgia in small-town America. It has preserved the legacy of the Olympics for all of us to enjoy. We dream of returning.
You may also enjoy: 15 Great New York Winter Experiences / Canada’s Great Winter Festivals / Things to Do In the Finger Lakes, NY
If you go:
Lake Placid CVB/Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism
2608 Main Street
Lake Placid, New York
(518) 523-2445
www.lakeplacid.com
Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa
77 Mirror Lake Drive
Lake Placid, New York 12946
(512) 523-2544
www.mirrorlakeinn.com
Lake Placid Pub and Brewery
813 Mirror Lake Drive
(518) 523-3813
Lake Placid, NY 12946
www.ubuale.com
Dancing Bears Restaurant at High Peaks Resort
2384 Saranac Avenue
Lake Placid, NY 12946
518.523.4411
www.highpeaksresort.com
LOVED reading about Lake Placid – and Mirror Lake Inn – in winter. Vermont and Colorado get most of the winter-time activities publicity but there is so much to love about Lake Placid. Story brought back some lovely memories. Thanks for posting this! Donna
Thanks, Donna! I’m glad we share a love of Lake Placid. It’s nice to have such good memories, as we do.
You are SO “experience rich!” It’s wonderful to travel to this wonderland through you. After reading about this hidden treasure in this article, I’m planning to visit sometime soon with my kids. Thanks for letting us in on this treasure!
It was great to read about Lake Placid in the winter. I spent time there years ago in the summer and this brought back some memories. Great writing as always.