Weekend Window: Lake Placid, N.Y.
Best known for the "miracle on ice," the region is a winter wonderland.
Dec. 18, 2008 — -- Tucked away in the northern edge of Adirondack Park is the village of Lake Placid — home to two Olympic Games, in 1932 and 1980.
"Up here you're surrounded by nothing but natural beauty," says Ron Ofner, executive director of VisitAdirondack.com. "The air is crisp and clean. I mean it's just a gorgeous place to be -- it's a place where people can come and enjoy themselves."
Adirondack Park sits on more than 6 million acres, making it the same size as Vermont. The Adirondack Park contains 85 percent of all wilderness in the eastern United States and is the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi.
The park's landscape changes as you head northeast -- from hills, lakes, ponds and streams to the highest mountains in the state. There are 46 high peaks in the park, including Whiteface Mountain, which was designated a ski area by former New York Gov. Averell Harriman -- who also helped develop Sun Valley, Idaho.
"Whiteface Mountain has something for everybody from beginners to experts to those that want to have an easy ride down, snowboarders," says Mary Jane Lawrence, marketing director from the Mirror Lake Inn. "It's really a very well rounded mountain."
But skiing isn't the only activity visitors to the area can take part in.
"We're very different than a lot of ski area destinations because most places you go to you can just ski," said Ofner. "We're fortunate here that there is skiing, you can take a bobsled ride or luge run at Mt. Van Hovenburg. You can go skating on the Olympic speed skating oval. Back country skiing has become quite popular recently and even outdoor winter camping."
To complete the winter wonderland picture, the village of Lake Placid really gets into the holiday spirit.
"The residents and the merchants and the hotel owners -- everybody really puts a lot of effort and energy and love into decorating the community," said Lawrence. "Lake Placid is just sparkling with holiday lights. At any given evening you can drive through Lake Placid and the village and just be taken back by the beauty of the holiday decorations. Its really special. We have a lot of different things going on during the holiday that make it special."
