Day-On, Day-Off: Lake Placid Lodge & Lake Placid
Here, we map out two full days in Lake Placid, New York – one spent exclusively on-property at the Lake Placid Lodge; the next, a full day in town.
Day On at Lake Placid Lodge
Breakfast at Artisans
Start the day with breakfast at Artisans restaurant in the dining room or, depending on the weather, on the terrace, which overlooks Lake Placid to give you a view that even your favorite local restaurant will never compete with. While the buttermilk pancakes have been called one of the ten best in the country by Travel + Leisure, the Adirondack Sunrise is another guest favorite: two farm eggs served with potatoes and your choice of smoked bacon, country ham, pork sausage, or apple chicken sausage.
In-Room Massage
No drive, no waiting room, no unfamiliar setting. Treat yourself to a 60- or 90-minute massage without leaving the comfort of your room. There are a variety of treatments available, but one you can never go wrong with is the Swedish Massage, which uses kneading, gliding, and vibration techniques to bring peace to your body and mind. If you’d prefer something a bit more intense, the Deep Tissue Massage focuses on achy areas and works to relieve sore muscles.
Tour the Lake Your Way
Just down a short hill from behind the lodge, a dock – and dock attendant – provides guests easy access to Lake Placid with whatever craft they’d prefer: canoe, kayak, even electric boat. If you’re looking for more of a guided tour, every afternoon (in season) the resort offers an hour-long cruise aboard its 35-foot mahogany Hacker-Craft Christie, which travels the five-mile-long lake past several rustic “camps” (don’t be fooled by the term; some of these Adirondack-inspired estates are home to as many as 12 buildings). While Christie holds about a dozen people, for an added cost, you can turn it into a private champagne cruise around the lake.
Check Out the Worldly Wine Cellar
There are so many surprising nooks and crannies throughout this lodge, but one of the coolest – quite literally as the temperature of the room must be kept between 52 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit – is the Wine Cellar. Located on the ground level of the lodge, the cellar boasts an otherworldly vibe: an arched ceiling composed of herringbone brick, a 13-foot table fashioned from a door taken from an old Spanish Mission, and a series of lit alcoves where hundreds of bottles lay tucked away to slumber. It’s so stunning, it serves as the site for the lodge’s private dining experiences.
Maggie’s Pub
Visitors to Maggie’s Pub love the sense of coziness and comfort in the dark wood-paneled restaurant. There’s a satisfying roster of food and many choices of drink, but what will stick in the minds of many is the selection of games to play. There’s a pool table, chess and checkers sets, and board games like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly that’ll have you and your loved ones competing until the night winds down.
Day Off in Lake Placid
Crepes for Breakfast
The folks at Big Mountain Deli and Creperie boast that their menu has “the 46 best sandwiches in the High Peaks.” Still, you should save room for one of their crepes, with sweet (s’mores, strawberry shortcake, apple pie a la mode, and more) and savory (think Philly cheese steak, pesto chicken, and homemade mac and cheese) options that’ll make you question your allegiance to other breakfast pastries.
A Mid-Morning Hike
Just southeast of Lake Placid, the 4,000-foot Cascade Mountain is known among local day hikers for having one of the best summit views, equal to that of other High Peaks, but requiring way less work. A 4.8-mile out-and-back route climbs 2,000 feet through a mix of birch, beech, and striped maple before making a final craggy ascent to the bald summit (a result of a 1903 fire). From here, you’ll witness views south to peaks in the Great Range, north to Whiteface, and east to Hurricane Mountain, Lake Champlain, and Vermont’s Green Mountains.
Stroll Through Downtown Shops Before Dinner
Hugging the western edge of Mirror Lake for just about a mile, Lake Placid’s Main Street combines the charm of an Adirondack alpine village with pedestrian-friendly shopping that offers both name-brand outlets and boutiques, carrying hard-to-find labels. Not to mention, there’s plenty to check out in the way of Olympic heritage – owed to the fact that the town hosted both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games.
A Night Cap at Top of the Park
Located on Main Street and overlooking Mirror Lake, this upscale bar is best known for its expertly curated selection of scotch and bourbon, which the staff is just as expertly well-versed in to find something best suited to your taste. Think limited and hard-to-find rare spirits, like Elijah Craig 18 Year single-barrel bourbon and Kentucky Owl 11 Year Batch No. 2 straight rye. Straight whiskey not your thing? There’s plenty of craft beer with four drafts pouring local brews and can and bottle options, while the cocktail list boasts signature creations like the Pamplemousse Martini (Tito’s Vodka, Pamplemousse Liqueur, fresh grapefruit juice, and grapefruit bitters) and Avatar (Toki Japanese Whiskey, maple syrup, rosemary, thyme, sage, and “blue foam”).
Where to Stay Lake Placid Lodge
