Adirondack Family Time™

SARANAC LAKE , NY – A new guidebook outlining family activities in the Adirondack Park will be released in July. “Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes & High Peaks Regions,” by Diane Chase, is a comprehensive guide to over 300 activities. The first of four proposed books published by Hungry Bear Publishing in Saranac Lake, the Tri-Lakes/High Peaks edition targets four seasons of family activities for Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Jay, Upper Jay, Keene, Keene Valley and Wilmington with a foreword by acclaimed author Edward Kanze. Based on Chase’s Adirondack Daily Enterprise weekly “Family Time” column and Adirondack Family Time blog, “Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes & High Peaks Regions” is a must-have guide for anyone wishing to discover ideas on how to entertain family, friends and visitors while in the Adirondack Park. The points of interest also include GPS coordinates. “This book is designed to be used by everyone, not just those with children,” Chase said. “My

By Diane Chase One of many wonderful things about living near Lake Placid is the quality and quantity of sporting activity my children are exposed to. I realize that contact sports are the American pastime but what about endurance sports and the philosophy involved in becoming the best that you can be. I would like my children to see these Olympians, not as unattainable celebrities but as dedicated athletes. Wouldn’t it be nice for all children to have the epiphany that with hard work they too can accomplish anything? This weekend, across the globe, participating cities will be hosting the annual event, Olympic Day, to celebrate the formation of the modern day Olympic games as well as encouraging fitness through the Olympic ideals, which are “Fair Play, Perseverance, Respect and Sportsmanship. “

By Diane Chase I taught both my children to knit but my son never found it to be the relaxing activity that my daughter and I do. He will take up my daughter’s needles in a competitive way, trying to knit faster than his sister but has yet to find the joy in creating something new from a few balls of yarn. He is more interested in how the yarn is created. It is an interesting stage when children finally connect that everything comes from something else. They go to stores and turn over the packaging and exclaim, “Everything comes from China.” This Saturday Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid is bringing local sheep and alpaca farmers together to show that some things are made right here in the Adirondacks. Rain or shine, Saturday June 11 will be Fiber Fest.

You don't have to run a marathon or bike a long distance race. This weekend there are opportunities to be an "armchair athlete" while watching these two great events. People are out and about in the Adirondacks. Lake Placid is hosting its 7th annual Lake Placid Marathon and Half Marathon while all weekend between Inlet and Indian Lake, mountain bikers will be around preparing for or participating in the Black Fly Challenge. Since the mid-90's Inlet has hosted the mountain bike challenge, appropriately named,  the Black  Fly Challenge . This mountain bike race alters each year between a start in  Indian Lake and Inlet.  This year the shuttle will leave Inlet for Indian Lake so races can prepare the the long distance race.

By Diane Chase One quick, on road, bicycle ride in Lake Placid is the  John Brown Road  loop. Starting at John Brown Farm and Gravesite, we park our car and hop on the bikes. Some of us need to get our bicycle legs back after a long winter free from pedaling. As John Brown Road has two entrances off Old Military, we bear left at the Y and head northwest onto Old John Brown Road for about 0.8-mile. At the end of the road we turn right onto Old Military Road, passing the North Elba Cemetery and Lake Placid Community Garden.   Read more

By Diane Chase High Peaks Cycler y offers inside rock climbing as in intro to the great outdoors or just a means to practice. We find it a great (inexpensive) way to release pent-up energy on a rainy/snowy day around Lake Placid, Wilmington or the rest of the Adirondack High Peaks.  Rules are simple 1) All climbers must be 5 years or older 2) all climbers must complete a Waiver and Release form at least once a year 3) All climbers must sign into the Climbing Wall prior to climbing 4) All climbers must alert staff of the presence/departure. All participants must pay a fee OR show staff their card prior to use 5) Climbers under the age of 1 must have the Waiver/Release form signed by a parent or legal guardian 6) A minimum of one spotter per climber when bouldering 7) No hard soled or lug shoes are permitted. Climbing shoes or bare feet only 8) Approved climbing gear only 9) The belayer must pay attention to the climber at all times by keeping eye contact on him/her 10) No horseplay

Save the date: May 7, 2011  North Country School in Lake Placid hosts a beautiful community pancake breakfast with tours of the school facility. Come see this progressive school that focuses on art in education, farm school techniques, greenhouse, garden. See the horses and other livestock. Last year there were even tours of available of the latest green buildings!

By Diane Chase There are many paint choices at Brush On In! Brush On In in Lake Placid offers many inside activities and events to keep the whole family busy on a rainy, snowy or anytime! The final product!  Each object is individually priced with an additional studio fee of $9 for adults and $7 for children that covers the firing, glaze and paint.  Look for online specials as well as toddler special (M-F) 1/2 price sitting fee. It can get pricey but there are small items that children can paint that are very reasonably priced. 

By Diane Chase We are a bit stir crazy and I need a break from the winter. I just want to grab a quick bite to eat and not think about snow.   B owlwinkles has specials each day for those on a budget. For example, each Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – noon it is $5 all you can bowl with free shoe rentals. (Subject to change). My son suggests  Bowlwinkles Family Entertainment Center  in Lake Placid. He lobbies hard and wins. My son would live at Bowlwinkles, if possible. He thinks it a slice of heaven to have an arcade, food, laser tag and glow-in-the-dark bowling in one location.

My video skills are a work in progress but here is a video of the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute. Such a fun thing to do with or without kids around the Adirondacks! If you have visiting family or just go by yourself! Enjoy the fresh snow!

Lake Placid has the only indoor luge facility  The USA Luge team , headquartered in Lake Placid, gives free tours of their facility every weekday at 2:00 p.m.  Considering it is the official headquarters for the US Luge, it is an unassuming structure, more warehouse than office building. It’s a casual tour where athletes may be fine-tuning their sleds or watching videos of individual practice starts. The tour starts with a 20-minute introduction video that can jump-start anyone’s luge education. The movie is just as fast and furious as the sport.  The indoor facility, the only one in the US and one of seven in the world, is quite impressive. Athletes use three refrigerated ramps to improve their start techniques with the latest technology, shaving milliseconds off their time. There is even an opportunity to try out a practice sled (not to slide on) and find out how to steer using your legs to squeeze on the curved part of the runners (kufen), to direct the pod, the custom-formed

Travis DeValinger of The Equine Center has a team of Belgians hitched to the sleigh, ready for a trip around the Lake Placid Club Golf Course. A group gathers around while the horses are rested and watered. Travis takes this time to explain some basic information to those of us not in the horsey-know. Children stand around with mouths open as they watch these mammoth-sized animals gently nuzzle Travis for attention. He then explains the workings of the custom-made sleigh and lantern-lit options available to carry us over the golf course and back.

A quick and easy Adirondack family activity is taking snowshoes or cross-country skis to Connery Pond. A longer ski is continuing on to Whiteface Landing.  Connery Pond is a beautiful cross-country ski or snowshoe. Located just 3-miles east on Route 86 from the Route 73/86 junction in Lake Placid. It is a level, easy path for any age.  Parking is just past the Connery Pond sign, on the right. Park and cross the highway to access the trail

Treat your little princess (or prince) to a weekend at the Lake Placid Olympic Center with Disney on Ice.  This is family time at its best!  So don't be discouraged by this warm weather, you can be back skiing the slopes of Whiteface tomorrow. Enjoy some inside activities and leave plenty of time to hit the slopes tomorrow! There are tickets still available! Times Friday, February 18: 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 19: 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Sunday, February 20: 3:00 p.m. Monday, February 21: 2:00 p.m.   Ticket prices: $35 for rinkside seating $20 lower level seating $15 upper level seating  

Public skating on Mirror Lake!  By Diane Chase  Ice skating on Mirror Lake is just one option for getting outside, exercising and being in nature.  There is no better experience than being outside and skating on a natural pond looking out at the Adirondack High Peaks.  There are warnings in place for skating on ponds and lakes. Please heed those warnings, for your own safety.  According to the Saranac Lake Voluntary Fire Department  , "NO ICE IS SAFE ICE." • Frozen ice is seldom the same at the shore as it is in the center of the pond.  • Some Adirondack lakes are actually dammed rivers and have a current that seldom freezes (Lake Flower in Saranac Lake) 

By Diane Chase I t wasn't so long ago that my children would not venture onto amusement rides alone. Now I am left on the merry-go-round watching while the two of them twist and turn on roller coasters with names like Hurricane and Avalanche. Somehow they convince me that going down the   Lake Placid Toboggan Chute   will not be the same thing. 

Perhaps you have not heard of the play “It Seams Like A Mystery” showing this weekend at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA.) This play takes the meaning of children’s theater to a new level. Lake Placid High School sophomore Joan O’Leary wrote the production. Not her first foray into direction or play writing, the talented girl wrote her first play when she was only ten, and has continued to develop her passion for live theatre by continuing to write and direct original plays. From family plays to St. Agnes’s eighth grade production, Joan made the leap to the professional stage in 2010.

By Diane Chase We slip into our skates for the first time of the season at the outdoor rink best known as Lake Placid   Olympic Oval . My blades are rusty and I thrust my foot down the throat of the boot, trying to make my foot pair with the skate. Eyes are pulled out of one side and the laces are frayed. My foot is in a wrestling hold with the boot while the skates look like they lost a fight while in storage. I wonder if this is the year to invest in a new pair?

The 1932 & 1980  Lake Placid  Winter Olympic Museum is a quick and fun view of the impact the Olympics have had the Adirondack community of Lake Placid.  Location: 2634 Main Street Hours: Open Thursday through Monday  from 10 am - 5 pm (closed Thanksgiving, Ironman Sunday, and Christmas as well as noon - 1 pm)  Admissions: Adults/ $8.00, Srs.(65+) and Jrs. (12 and under) $6.00, Children six and under/ FREE Call 518-523-1655 ext: 226  The five Olympic interlocking rings represent the five continents of the world, united by Olympism  according to  Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games (1931) Safety First! 

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com By Diane Chase What better way to ring in the New Year than to celebrate the innovative and exciting ways that people bring community and guests together. Coming up with new ideas isn’t difficult.    It is the implementation that is the challenge. We have our busy lives and get caught up in all the activities. Thankfully there are those who are thinking outside the box and willing to carry out their “great ideas.” Without those special people in the community we would not have live theatre like Pendragon , Third Thursday Arts Walks and First Night® Saranac Lake , just to name a few. First Night® started five years ago when Sue Paterson and Connie Landon attended other First Night ® celebrations in Burlington and Saratoga and thought Saranac Lake would be a perfect fit. This weekend, the excitement continues with over 42 family-friendly activities in 12 venues.