The following narrative sums up the extended holiday season in Lake Placid and the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa.
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It’s just after Thanksgiving and the 300,000 lights sprawling across the seven acres comprising the AAA Four Diamond Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa help create a one- month celebration of the most wonderful time of the year.
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 we’ve expanded it.
While the exterior lights trumpet this holy season, 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 some quiet conversation.
The kick-off is Lake Placid’s premiere social event, the 30th anniversary of Joy to the Children, on Thursday, December 8. Held in collaboration with the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Joy to the Children is an annual fundraiser at the Mirror Lake Inn, supporting the mission of raising needed funds for children’s programs at our local arts center. All proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction benefit this cause.
Hosted by resort owners Ed and Lisa Weibrecht, attendees enjoy extraordinary food, drink and service at no charge in this season of giving.
On this evening, the Weibrechts open their resort to over 500 gala attendees, who range from local and regional officials, to members of the Lake Placid athletic and tourism worlds, to business leaders in the community.
All facets of life here and in the surrounding region intersect once a year at Joy to the Children.
Mirror Lake Inn staff restores the property within a matter of hours, just in time to welcome visitors and residents for the Holiday Village Stroll. The eighth annual event, held village-wide, takes place December 9-11.
Friday features an ice skating party and live music; On Saturday, you can participate in the Jingle Bell Walk/Run, bring the kids to the Mirror Lake Inn for holiday story time and view the Christmas tree lighting in Mid’s Park on Main Street; Sunday begins with breakfast with Santa at the Mirror Lake Inn, the movie The Polar Express at the Palace Theater, and a holiday skating show at the Olympic Center.
Visitors should make room for a Main Street stroll where many unique shops will have that perfect holiday gift.
If any Mirror Lake Inn families would like a special visit from Santa, just make that request known in advance, or book the Santa package.
As all of this is unfolding, winter sports on snow and ice come alive for the season as temperatures fall and snow totals rise.
World Cup bobsled and skeleton racing, featuring an Olympic field of competitors, hits the Lake Placid track December 15-17.
Whiteface Mountain, which opens in late November, adds trails 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 all come 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. Or for an experience that’s a bit tamer, lace up your skates and take a few laps on the 1980 Olympic Oval on Main Street, about a mile from the hotel.
Along the same lines, and at the same venue, public luge rides will be offered Dec. 27 and 29. Get the experience on the final seven curves of the track where the world’s best and fastest athletes compete.
The holidays are a special time at the Mirror Lake Inn, recently honored with the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award as the number one resort in New England and the mid-Atlantic region. Furthermore, it was ranked 11th in the entire country by Conde Nast Traveler readers.
After Christmas Eve dinner in The View Restaurant, Lake Placid’s only Four Diamond rated dining establishment, the booklets are handed out and one hour of caroling takes place from 9-10 PM. Restaurant Manager Katie Welch (vocals), Executive Housekeeper Steve Wyle (guitar) and former Lake Placid Police Chief Mike Saulpaugh (piano) lead the traditional holiday festivities as guests join from the dining room, and visitors arrive from the village. The hour is capped by homemade cookies and egg nog.
“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.”
Now you are in the mood for the holiday season. But we’re not done yet as events and activities abound until the end of the year and well beyond.
On December 30, Stars on Ice makes its annual return to Lake Placid with some of figure skating’s greatest stars. ECAC men’s hockey action comes to the Olympic Center January 7 as Clarkson University skates against RPI. And World Cup freestyle skiing, another yearly event, brings the sport’s best mogul and aerial skiers to Whiteface Mountain and Lake Placid January 16-17.
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.
