Adirondack Family Time™

It seems like this is finally the time that the snow may stick around. Some ski mountains are able to make snow so we can get on those trails as quickly as possible while others wait until Mother Nature helps with that base layer. I am still in autumn mode, even with shoveling snow. I am not so quick to pass up that beautiful time of year. I like the chilly nights and warmish days. That is why I live here. Every season is so different and I enjoy each one. Yes, even mud season. Look for more 33 easy hikes, snowshoe/XC trails swimming holes and over 300 activities in Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (covering Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and more) Recently my daughter and her friends had suffered through my list of errands and really needed a place to run around.  I didn’t want to get into a long hike and they didn’t either. My husband recommended the new trails behind the tennis courts at Mount Pisgah, Saranac Lake. What started as a quick jaunt, turned into a w

This Adirondack Mama always thinks that I have stumbled upon the deal of the century, only to find that everyone is already in on the family fun. So just in case I am not the last person to find out that New York State is once again offering the FREE Ski and Ride Passport Program to all third (3rd) and fourth (4th) grade children, I’m here to let you in on the secret. The program was first established in 2000 to introduce children to skiing and promote a healthy lifestyle choice. The passport offers free lift tickets to 31  New York ski mountains including 7 Adirondack ski resorts and other discounts like soft drink coupons. Personally, the beverage option seems to cancel out the healthy lifestyle choice. On the other hand, perhaps it may help encourage a child to get off the couch and onto the slopes.

By Diane Chase, Adirondack Family Time™ There are so many options for families and kids to hike in the Adirondack woods. Though my husband is a  Adirondack  46er a couple times over and still enjoys hiking the High Peaks, he also likes to share simple trails. One  favorite  place is  the Ausable Club's  “Ladies Mile.” My first thought was he was joking. There is such a thing as a ladies’ mile? Have I been walking a man-mile all this time and not knowing it? I am going to run a 5K and I’m not in shape. So if a ladies’ mile is shorter, I plan on requesting a few of them.  No such luck.  The Ladies’ Mile is a beautiful path, part of the private Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) and  Ausable Club . Though the public has permission to hike in the AMR it is still private land and has strict rules to follow in order to have access. No dogs, camping or swimming. (Please do not leave the trails and carry out anything you bring in.)

The Lake Placid Film Forum performed quite a coup in grabbing Gabe Polsky's film "Red Army" before its official national opening in New York next week. This award-winning film will be shown at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts for this weekend only, before being released to all major commercial movie houses.  Director Gabe Polsky, “Red Army” goes behind the Iron Curtain and tracks the Soviet Union’s hockey team domination to its unraveling at the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympic Games to its ultimate demise.  Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kathleen CarrolI first saw the ”Red Army” at a film screening during the New York Film Festival. She knew immediately that this would be an important film to show in Lake Placid with its focus on the Cold War Russian dominance of hockey, ties to the 1980 Winter Olympic Russian hockey team and the United States Olympic gold medal win, dubbed “The Miracle on Ice.” “I knew this film’s conn

(Saranac Lake) This year’s Rising Star Productions has found a new home for its fall children's musical at Pendragon Theatre . Over 30 area kids will be on stage to dance and sing their way through the pages of the classic 1945 Swedish book series “Pippi Langstrump” by Astrid Lindgren. This family-friendly show is a fun kids' activity, appropriate for all ages. The book series was adapted for the stage by Sebastian and Staffan Gotestam and became “Pippi Longstocking: The Family Musical.” This two-act play is directed by McCayla Quinn and focuses on the free-spirited adventures of the red-haired, self-reliant character Pippi (played by Robyn Rutgers) who lives with her horse and pet monkey in the Villekulla Cottage while her sea captain father (Simon Thill) is out at sea. “There are all sorts of hijinks throughout the show,” says Quinn. “Pippi stops thieves from stealing her pirate gold. She takes over the circus where she is stronger than Mighty Adolf, the strongest