Workout Description

From Travel + Leisure: Enjoy a wintry skate in the Adirondacks at Mirror Lake, a busy rink in Lake Placid’s town center. A maintained two-mile-long track borders the pond, while pond hockey and dog-sledding are also popular.

From Lake Placid:

Every winter, experience the simpler joys of a bygone era on Mirror Lake! 

Mirror Lake, in the middle of the village, is action-packed on a winter day — dogsleds cruise the snow-covered ice, pond hockey games fill the air with cheers, cross-country skiers and snowshoers explore the lake, and recreational skaters take advantage of the free plowed track that circumnavigates the entire lake. 

The 2-mile long Mirror Lake ice track is an example of an effort that benefits both the residents of and visitors to Lake Placid. The icy course was first cleared during the winter of 2013-14, and it was met with a great deal of activity.

Getting the track started was not without its challenges, though. Since the ice must be at least a foot thick for a North Elba Park District truck to maintain it, the community raised enough money to buy a Polaris machine, which has a snowblower, plow, and brush attachments and only requires 6 inches of ice. Once the ice forms to a safe thickness, the track is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Where to skate: The Parks Department clears a space for hockey and general skating near the town beach. The beach is also an ideal spot to access the ice track from.