Winter Sports Season Brings World-Class Fun
Published Apr 15, 2004
Lake Placid Toboggan Slide.
When you promote yourself as “Winter Sports Capital of the World,” you give visitors certain expectations. The Lake Placid region prides itself on meeting – and exceeding – those expectations with a full calendar of activities and some of the finest winter sports facilities found anywhere.
“The first thing we hear from first-time visitors is, ‘Wow, we had no idea,’ ” says Jim McKenna, president of the Lake Placid Visitors Bureau.
In fact, the entire New York Tech Valley region is known as a world-class winter playground. Soon after the last autumn leaves fall, ski resorts from the Catskills to the Adirondacks crank up their snowmaking machines, signaling the start of another winter season.
Lake Placid earned its reputation by hosting two Olympic Winter Games – in 1932 and 1980 – sharing that distinction with only St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Innsbruck, Austria. The 1980 games are most remembered for the “Miracle on Ice” men’s hockey game, in which the United States stunned the Soviet Union.
Although it has been more than two decades since Lake Placid hosted the Winter Games, the North Country continues to host international competitions at its Olympic venues. This winter alone, six World Cup competitions are scheduled to take place there.
In the village of Lake Placid, the winter season doesn’t officially begin until the Lake Placid Toboggan Slide opens. Operated by the town of North Elba, the 30-foot-high converted ski-jump trestle launches toboggans and their riders down an ice-covered chute onto and across frozen Mirror Lake.
McKenna says the toboggan run, horse-drawn sleigh rides and other activities add to the charm of what he describes as “an old-time Alpine winter village atmosphere.”
Meanwhile, the Catskills also offer their fair share of high-altitude winter fun at such places as Belleayre Mountain, Hunter Mountain and Windham Mountain.
The Belleayre Ski Center in Ulster County is the oldest ski area in the state and boasts the longest ski trail in the Catskills. Roaring Brook stretches for 2.27 miles from the summit to the lower lodge. Belleayre has 37 other trails and eight lifts.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation owns and operates Belleayre Mountain, nestled in the Catskill Forest Preserve on “forever wild” land. Belleayre also has the state’s highest base lodge, at 2,541 feet above sea level. The historic lodge was built in 1949 from logs brought down from the Adirondacks after a major hurricane.
“It’s just what you think a ski lodge should be,” says Belleayre Marketing Director Pat McVitty, who notes that Ski magazine recently nominated Belleayre for Best Snow, Best Value, Best Weather and Best Access.
In nearby Greene County, the Hunter and Windham mountains make up the largest ski resort in the region. The slopes are conveniently located close to the New York State Thruway, only two hours from Manhattan and northern New Jersey.
“We consider ourselves New York City’s first mountain destination,” says Daniela Marino, director of the Greene County Tourism and Promotion Department. “Many people get a two-mountain experience with one visit. We’re ideal for day trips or as a vacation destination.”
Hunter Mountain touts itself as the Snowmaking Capital of the World and typically opens a handful of trails by early November. The mountain’s renowned snow-tubing park features 12 snow-covered chutes.
Hunter and Windham are both well-known for excellent snow grooming. Together they offer 92 trails on 482 acres of terrain for skiers and snowboarders. Downhill skiers enjoy a 1,600-foot vertical drop. Both slopes also offer a variety of lesson packages for beginners.
Meanwhile, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice climbing and ice skating also help make Greene County the winter sports capital of the Hudson Valley.
Story by Noel Neff
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