Cure your cabin fever by indulging your sweet tooth or playing in the snow.
Cabin fever? No problem! We've got plenty to do!
1.
Solo day at Whiteface
There it was. An opening in my work schedule. The weather said snow for the two days prior. The kids are in school and my wife would be at work. That means it’s time to head to Whiteface!
So the texts go out to the usual suspects, but when the replies come back it’s “Gotta work” and “Can’t make it” I realize that something amazing is about to happen.
A day at Whiteface all by myself.
Now “all by myself” is a relative term because Whiteface is a popular ski destination with a wide range of people. So there are technically other people at the mountain. And while I generally like riding with friends, there are benefits to being a party-of-one.
So here are my 10 tips to enjoying “me time” at Whiteface.
2.
Ride into winter
A few inches of fresh snow and the potential of more in the forecast have snowmobile enthusiasts anxiously awaiting good ground cover.
I spoke with the Schroon Lake and North Hudson Snowmobile Club to learn about the trails they operate and maintain. Steve Krupski, the club’s former secretary, told me that the club maintains over 50 miles of trails in and around the village of Schroon Lake! He provided me with a good deal of information to share with you.
3.
On the ice
If you're in the Adirondacks and you start to ask around about ice climbing, you're likely to hear the same thing: Talk to Matt Horner, an experienced climber and avid outdoorsman. Matt's social media channels make it pretty clear why. They're loaded with stunning photos of people wielding ice axes as they ascend impossibly steep, otherworldy-white-and-blue curtains of shimmering ice. It's inspiring, beautiful, and a little scary. He's climbed around the world and completed a lot of new routes in the Adirondacks, including one on Poke-O-Moonshine called "Endangered Species" that's only been repeated once.
4.
Lake Placid spring events
Lake Placid has a diverse range of activities all year long, including the spring. Spring is not when most travelers think to visit. Lake Placid is considered a winter wonderland and a perfect summer destination. The leaves light up the mountains in the fall, but what about the spring? Well, this is also a great time to visit; in fact, it is one of my favorites. The weather starts to get a little warmer, the town quiets down just enough, and there are a lot of great events to enjoy. You can still even do some skiing at Whiteface Mountain. Spring is a great time of year to belly up to the bar and learn all about the town from great bartenders, go out to eat without being added to a waiting list, and shop local stores with hardly any lines. You get all of the best aspects of Lake Placid including great events to round out your trip.
Here are some of the highlights of Lake Placid's great events coming up this spring.
5.
Winter birding in Hamilton County
Camp Robber, Whiskey Jack, and Gray Jay are but a few of the endearing nicknames used to describe a Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis). A member of the corvid family, which in our area also includes Blue Jays, American Crows, and Common Ravens, Canada Jays are highly intelligent birds and easily tamed. Canada Jays are year-round residents in the Adirondacks.
6.
Saranac Lake ice fishing
The lake and mountain country of the Adirondacks offer excellent ice fishing, with several close-to-town lakes that offer ice anglers convenient and productive ice fishing opportunities. One of the coldest place in the northeast each winter is Saranac Lake. Safe ice fishing conditions usually can be found from mid to late December through the month of March.
Ice fishing is a challenging and relaxing way to spend a day outdoors in winter. Anglers enjoy magnificent landscapes and often excellent ice angling. When the lakes’ surfaces freeze and make for safe travel, anglers venture out to catch fish for both sport and for food.
Fish do not stop feeding when the cold and ice comes. In fact, many species, like lake trout, landlocked salmon, and pike, are active and feeding all winter long. Schooling panfish, like perch, bluegill, crappie, and smelt, can be found in great numbers and make for excellent angling with good action and great eating!
7.
Sweet tradition
Today, thanks to The Wild Center’s Maple Program, visitors and residents alike can see, taste, and even take part in the maple sugaring process. Back in 2011, The Wild Center began exploring a unique way to connect people to nature through food by piloting a community maple sugaring program. The concept was to invite the community to tap their own trees. The Center provided them with the taps, buckets, and instruction needed to get started. Once the sap started flowing, staff from The Wild Center went out to collect the sap and brought it back to their portable sugaring shack at the museum. The Center processed the sap into syrup and then split it with the community members who were participating in the program.
8.
Malone maple weekends
It's that time again in New York where we celebrate everything maple. This year's New York's Maple Weekend, sponsored by the New York State Maple Producers' Association will be March 21 - 22 and 28 - 29, 2020. These two weekends are a time when producers open up their operations for tours, sampling, and some even have pancake breakfasts. Northern Franklin County is home to thousands of acres of sugar bushes so here are a few that I would recommend.