Adirondack Family Time™

By Diane Chase (Adirondack Family Time) We are always looking for Lake Placid inside activities that do not revolve around watching television. My children have complete understanding of how the TV remote works so my husband and I feel they do not require additional experience. Since my kids are climbing up the walls, really the door frames, we felt it is the perfect time to try the High Peaks Cyclery indoor climbing room. Appropriately named “The Climbery,” High Peaks Cyclery has cordoned off an upstairs room, near the yoga studio, dedicated to the practice and perfection of rock climbing.  We are all novices, unless we can count my daughter’s habit of hanging from the molding. We are told her particular parlor trick will come in handy but will not be the same experience. We sign a waiver and decide to rent shoes along with the 2 hours fee in hopes that the tight fitting climbing shoes will help us grip the rock handles.  The room is heavily padded but we are stil...

The view of Lake George from Prospect Mountain Driving to and past Lake George on Route I-87 I’ve often wondered where the footbridge crossing over the Northway leads. There are always signs or flags hanging over or people waving as we pass underneath. After being able to spend a day in Lake George, we discover the footbridge is one start to Prospect Mountain. We’ve been told the 1.5-mile trail is steep and can be difficult. We are only wearing sneakers but decide it is worth the attempt if to only cross the footbridge. I am terrified. My children skip across as if huge trucks were not speeding beneath their feet. They gesture to the drivers to beep their horns. They finally look back, realize I am not following and come back to retrieve me.  The path is relatively steep and follows the old Incline Railway that had been used for guests to reach the once thriving Prospect Mountain Inn. The Inn was destroyed by fire, twice. Now all that remains are pictures, a partial f...

Boots and Birdies Lake Placid mining sluice Though my kids enjoy our outdoor hiking adventures, they like to spend just as much time exploring all the various activities in our area. Recently a friend asked if I knew of any ropes courses around. We’ve been to a large ropes course in Bolton Landing and a few private courses attached to summer camps, but we hadn’t tried the Ropes Adventure Challenge Course at Lake Placid, New York's Boots and Birdies. Booties and Birdies is not just a cowboy themed, 18-hole mini-golf course, but a facility with a variety of activities that can entertain a wide range of ages and abilities. When we park in their lot my daughter gives the Eurobungy a look of longing and is torn between the ropes course and the trampoline bungy. 18-hole mini golf course at Boots and Birdies, Lake Placid Though there are options to save some money with a bungy/ropes course package or multiple tokens, it’s just the ropes course for my little monkey.   I’...