Forever synonymous with the 1980 Winter Olympics, where the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated the Soviets in the “Miracle on Ice” and U.S. speed skater Eric Heiden won five individual golds, Lake Placid, N.Y., is equally timeless for its postcard-perfect collection of soaring mountain ranges, crystal lakes and enchanting forests. Like the “Miracle” team, which reunited here for its 35th anniversary last year, groups can create their own winning moments in this storybook century-plus-old alpine village.
“Meeting planners often find that attendance exceeds expectations when choosing Lake Placid,” says Mary Jane Lawrence, marketing and operations director for the Conference Center at Lake Placid.
Anytime Fitness, which will host its annual conference in Lake Placid in September, is a prime example of that phenomenon.
“The conference will bring 2,800 people to Lake Placid,” says Lawrence. “Unique activities, the gorgeous landscape and the fact that they will essentially have the entire village to themselves have boosted attendance from their international membership,” she continues. “Attendees love to walk Main Street and experience our unique shops and trendy restaurants, many times joining other attendees at a local bistro or bar.”
The village’s Adirondack setting, range of appealing group venues and attractions, over a century tradition of welcoming visitors, and winter sports heritage further set the destination apart.
All-Natural Hospitality
Despite its spectacular wilderness location, amid 6 million-acre Adirondack Park and the breathtaking High Peaks region, Lake Placid, contrary to perception, is convenient to reach. Under five hours’ drive from New York City and Boston, and roughly two hours from the international airports in Albany, N.Y., Burlington, Vt., and Montreal, Lake Placid is reachable via Amtrak from NYC, Albany and Montreal, shuttle service included. Lake Placid Airport serves private aircraft, with commuter service from Boston into Adirondack Regional Airport.
Opened in 2011, the LEED-certified Conference Center at Lake Placid provided the destination with a much-need contemporary venue. Connected to the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena and 1932 Jack Shea Arena, the facility offers 90,000 square feet of flexible meeting and exhibition space, including 12 breakout rooms, a 9,000-square-foot ballroom, and full-service production kitchen.
“For meetings, the Center offers breathtaking views and natural light that make for a completely refreshing experience as compared to traditional convention venues,” notes Lawrence.
Conveniently located in the heart of the village, the Center attracts a combination of regional day business and multiday, town-wide conferences, cooperatively marketed by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) and the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA).
Advantageous, too, is the venue’s close proximity to local lodging and off-agenda activities. Featuring 131 newly renovated rooms and offering more than 6,000 square feet of unique and versatile meeting space for business and social events, including teambuilding events and corporate retreats, the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, AAA Four Diamond rated for three decades, is a stellar lakefront address.
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Another prime group option is the Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club. Located adjacent to the Olympic Center in the heart of the Olympic village, the property offers a mix of rooms, chalets and cottages along with 30,000 square feet of versatile meeting and event space, and the historic Lake Placid Club. Established in 1910, the region’s only 45-hole golf course includes the Lake Placid Club Executive Nine, renowned as “a slice of heaven” for corporate groups. The hotel has also renovated its Birch Room restaurant to increase seating capacity.
Other group coordinates include High Peaks Resort, offering 177 rooms and more than 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space for groups of up to 300 people, and the luxurious 94-suite Whiteface Lodge, with versatile spaces for 10 to 200 attendees.
Thrilling Encounters
Lake Placid is one of only three places in the world to have hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice, in 1932 and 1980. Each time, Whiteface Mountain was the center of the action. Opened in 1958, the peak, with 87 trails and the greatest vertical drop in the East (3,430 feet), remains the stage for major national and international skiing events—and Olympian options for groups.
The Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex incorporates the only combined bobsled, luge and skeleton track east of the Rockies with extensive groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoe trails and a biathlon shooting range. Groups can watch athletes in action, or participate themselves, via programs including bobsled rides, shooting and guided snowshoe hikes.
Tours of the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex take groups to the observation deck of the K-120 meter jump and behind the scenes of the training and preparation areas. The panoramic views of the Adirondack High Peaks are breathtaking, as is watching freestyle aerialists and ski jumpers train. For adrenaline-thirsty delegates, Extreme Summer Tubing is a rocket-ride down the ski jump landing hills at speeds approaching 50 mph.
Offering ready group tie-ins, Lake Placid is home to two nationally preeminent summer equestrian events, the Lake Placid Horse Show, and I Love New York Horse Show, both held at the North Elba Horse Show Grounds. Discounts for groups of 20-plus are available, as well as behind-the-scenes tours and open space for tents.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this July, the award-winning, nationally acclaimed Wild Center on Tupper Lake is a preeminent natural showcase including live exhibits, trails, its own river and pond, canoe trips, multimedia shows and hands-on experiences. Designed to “transform the way we see into the natural world,” its signature attraction is the new uniquely fascinating Wild Walk, which takes visitors up a series of bridges to the treetops of the Adirondack forest. Highlights include the four-story twig treehouse, swinging bridges, a spider’s web for “hanging out” and full-size bald eagle’s nest.
Created by the same firm behind the Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the venue offers a number of versatile spaces for events and social occasions. These include the expansive domed Big Wolf Hall, seating 150 guests at round tables; Esplanade Tent, set on a permanent stone floor; 165-seat Flammer Theater; and for after-hours events, exhibit spaces such as the Hall of the Adirondacks and Hall of Planet Adirondack.
Yet more inspiration awaits groups on aptly named Heaven Hill, part of the Henry’s Woods trail system. Established around 2005 by the local Uihlein Foundation, which is connected to Lake Placid’s popular Ironman North America event and has long promoted athletic competition in the area, Henry’s Woods features some five miles of multiuse trails for hiking, running, mountain biking and snowshoeing. Opened in October 2015, four additional miles of trails on the 940-acre Heaven Hill Farmhouse property offer yet more prime “networking” options for groups.
