For things to do in Lake Placid with kids, it’s all about the outdoors and enjoying the mountains, regardless of the season. It’s more pleasant in summer but some say more beautiful in winter with the snow. Regardless, there’s quite a few things to do in Lake Placid with kids.
Cobble Hill Hike – situated near the shore of Mirror Lake. This is a nice little easy hike for everyone in the family and with two different ways to up way it’s a nice loop. The top of Cobble Hill has some excellent, without being outstanding, views out over Lake Placid town as well as the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. This is a 1.3 kilomter hike one way (if doing the steeper route), or a 2.5 mile hike doing the easier ways. From the start of the hike where there’s parking, jump over the fence then go right for 20 yards to a sign for the trail going left into the woods. That’s about all I can remember sorry – but see full details here.
Hire a canoe or tandem kayak and take a paddle out on Mirror Lake. There’s some white water paddles and rafting opportunities for adults in our Things To Do in Lake Placid travel guide, but for kids, particularly younger kids, the best thing is just to hire a canoe or kayak from your hotel or one of the many boat hire places along Lake Placid. There’s over 3000 lakes in the Adirondacks and Lake Placid is just one of them so if you want something a bit more adventurous just hop into the local tourist center or ask a local – they’ll be glad to help out.
In winter you can get right into cross country skiing, skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. And for something a little different you can try dog sledding when Mirror Lake freezes over. Dog sled operators usually hang out on the Main Street of Lake Street and you just walk down to the lake and pay the driver directly to have a ride behind the dogs. The drivers are always careful about checking the thickness of the lake ice so don’t worry about blatting into the lake and freezing to death.
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