Where to snowshoe around Lake Placid
If you’re traveling to the Adirondacks and looking for where to snowshoe around Lake Placid, we’ve got you covered! There are several great places in and around Lake Placid for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. A few of my favorites include the Flume Trails in Wilmington and Heaven Hills in Lake Placid, but more on those later.
On this particular day, I wanted to check out a trail I had not snowshoed before. So, I headed to the Visitor Interpretive Center, or VIC, at Paul Smith’s College. The VIC is a 3,000-acre property with year-round access to over 25 miles of trails, great for skiing or snowshoeing in the winter (December 1 – April 1) and walking the rest of the year. A daily or season pass is required for winter visits and can be purchased when you arrive. Rentals are also available.
Getting There
Getting to the VIC is an easy 30-minute(ish) drive from the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort. You’ll turn right out of our driveway and head towards Saranac Lake. When you get to Saranac Lake, you’ll turn right onto Main Street and stay straight on 86 until you get to Paul Smith’s. You’ll see the main entrance to campus in front of you, but you’ll take a right, following the signs for the VIC. About one mile down the road, you will turn left into the VIC parking lot. Everything is well signed and leads you to the main parking lot, where parking is free.
After parking, you can head into the Frank M. Hutchins Lodge, where you can purchase a pass, rentals if needed, use the restroom, and gear up. There are two giant trail maps, one inside the lodge and one outside. You can also download their free app, which has descriptions, distances, and conditions of all the trails. The app was convenient and easy to use while on the trails as it updates to let you know where you are. You can also view all the trails and recent reports online. Both places will also let you know which trails are for snowshoeing and which are for skiing.
Winter adventuring with your furry friend? The VIC has dog-friendly trails!
Being Prepared
Winter in the Adirondacks offers a variety of fun and exciting adventures. Whether you are snowshoeing like I did, skiing, biking, hiking, or anything else, the most important thing is to do your research and be prepared. The weather can change instantly or be completely different from when you start to finish. Love Your Adks has some great resources for how to get ready for your adventures.
A few highlights –
- Do your research, check the weather, and share your plans.
- Pack the right gear, especially if you’re going somewhere new. Think headlamps, first aid, etc.
- Dress in layers, starting with a non-cotton, moisture-wicking base layer.
- Keep yourself hydrated and nourished. Fuel up before you leave, and bring snacks and water.
Snowshoe Time
The weather the day I went was perfect for snowshoeing. It was sunny and around 35 degrees. I wore a base layer (top and bottom), snow pants, a fleece, and a windproof/waterproof jacket. I run warm, so the jacket didn’t last long. I didn’t need gloves either, but I did bring them just in case! I recommend bringing a backpack to carry your layers, water, and snacks.
As mentioned earlier, this was my first time snowshoeing at the VIC, so I stuck to the trails close to the lodge. I snowshoed the Heron Marsh Trail to Woods & Water to Easy Street back to Heron Marsh. The trails were a mix of intermediate and easy (as Easy Street implies.) The mix of trails I snowshoed allowed for scenarios of woods, marshes, and observation platforms. Upon arriving, I was told that there were a lot of kids there that day, but after leaving the lodge, I only encountered two on the trails. In total, I think I only saw four people while snowshoeing. This led to a quiet and peaceful snowshoe.
About The Trails
Heron Marsh | Intermediate | 3 mile loop | dog friendly
Walk across a 900-foot boardwalk over the Heron Marsh on this nature trail, which passes over Shingle Mill Falls, by several observation platforms, lean-tos, and scenic vistas. This intermediate ski has several fun moderate hills.
Woods & Water | Intermediate | 3 miles
A sampler of the VIC’s varied habitats. See hardwood and conifer forests, traverse a floating bridge across a marsh, and be sure to visit a lean-to near a quiet pond along this nature trail.
Easy Street | Easy | 1 mile loop
Flat, wide, and smooth as the name implies. A great early and late-season ski. Visitors pass by a working Sugarbush!
Side note
Something I would like to mention because it impacted my experience was the pass/payment process. Before going to the VIC, I looked up pricing information online. The first source that came up was saranaclake.com. This is on me for trusting a source other than the VIC – but it said it was $10 for a day pass. Thinking that was a reasonable price, I was ok with it and headed inside with cash to pay. There are also signs everywhere saying you need a pass and to make sure they are visible. When I asked for a day pass, I was told the price was actually $20. I was surprised that it was double, but was still going to get the pass. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a credit card or enough cash on me. After several failed attempts with Apple Pay, I went back to the car to get more cash. When I came back in, I was able to get my pass – yay! After paying, I received a receipt but no pass. When I asked about the pass, I was told that there were a lot of kids that day, so they weren’t checking passes. What? I just went through this whole ordeal of buying a pass, and you are not even checking them? Why did I even need to purchase one? I’m not sure how stringent they normally are with passes, but had I know this information ahead of time, I would not have paid $20 for a 2 hour snowshoe.
Overall, I enjoyed my time at the VIC, and would like to revisit to explore the other trails. My time there also has me itching to buy new cross country skis!
Other Places to Snowshoe
As I mentioned earlier, some of my other favorite places for snowshoeing are the Flume Trails and Heaven Hill.
The Wilmington Flume Trail System has around 10 miles of trails in total. In addition to snowshoeing, these trails are open to mountain biking, hiking, trail running, and skiing.
The Flume trails offer beautiful views of the Ausable River, waterfalls, and trees.
One of my favorite places to go for year-round nature walking is Heaven Hill. Heaven Hill offers trails that go through the woods as well as big fields with stunning views of the Adirondack Mountains. It’s also a great place to bring your dog!
Read our blog on nature walks to learn more about Heaven Hill and some of our other favorite places to explore.
Find more snowshoeing and skiing fun (plus rental locations) by reading our Winter Adventure blog!
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