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Why travel all the way to Pyeongchang, when there’s Lake Placid?
For those who love celebrating the Winter Olympics but can’t make a trip half-way around the world to witness PyeongChang 2018 in person, Lake Placid is a solid runner-up.
Known far and wide as a village that embraces the Olympic spirit like nowhere else, the Adirondacks community will host a month of special events tied to the winter games.
Activities kicked off on February 1 with the opening ceremony of the Empire State Winter Games, a multi-day sports event that ends February 4.
Now in its 38th year, the event brings together athletes from across New York state to compete in more than 30 winter sports. The 2017 Empire State Winter Games included more than 2,100 athletes and this year there are expected to be far more.
As part of the festivities tied to the Empire State Winter Games, Lake Placid’s Main Street will be decorated in red, white and blue and adorned with welcome flags, according to the Associated Press.
In addition, a mini-village adjacent to Lake Placid’s downtown Olympic Center has been created that includes a Jumbotron on which visitors can watch the Pyeongchang Olympic action. (The Jumbotron will remain on site through the end of the winter games in South Korea.)
On February 9 the community will host the official Lake Placid Olympic cauldron lighting, to mark the start of the Pyeongchang games.
Later in the month, on February 24, the Team USA WinterFest will roll into town. An event that’s crisscrossing the country, the Winterfest features athlete meet and greets, interactive experiences and activities such as the Team USA Bobsled Boomerang and the Team USA Curling Challenge.
Lake Placid has been the official host of two Olympic winter games–in 1932 and again in 1980.
“It’s a beautiful place, but the number of athletes going to the Olympics who live and train here speaks to the kind of lifestyle and activities people engage in every day. I don’t think there’s another place in the world like it, maybe St. Moritz,” former luge athlete for the United States Lisa Weibrecht, told the Associated Press.
Visitors today can still ski the cross-country trails that were used during the 1980 Winter Games, or ski and shoot at the biathlon center.
The ski trails are just one example of the many ways visitors can enjoy experiences tied to the previous Olympics held in Lake Placid.
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