winter travel Archives - Mom's Guide To Travel

Feb 02 2015

What To Know About A Lake Placid Winter Getaway #PerfectDayADK

Last week I wrote about ways that you can enjoy a winter getaway in Lake Placid, New York. With over a dozen different winter activities, you have your pick of how you can play in the snow.

It was funny to read all the comments from people who don’t like the snow. I feel you on that.

I grew up around snow so it doesn’t bother me. Now, do I want to be driving to work in it or trapped in my house because of it? No. However, I don’t mind watching it come down while tucked under a warm blanket with a cup of hot chocolate, marshmallows and whip cream.

I also don’t mind traveling TO snow for a three-day winter getaway. I love to play in the snow. We do it every year. The key is, I get away from it in 72 hours and leave it behind.

That’s how I appreciate snow the best.

This week I interview a local expert to find out what you need to know about vacation planning for Lake Placid. Check out the interview above for more details about the area and its offerings. I added some visuals, courtesy of the Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The contest for the Lake Placid winter getaway is anew with a second prize. You can enter the giveaway directly for your chance at a trip for two and a stay at the Lake House, the newest lodging property in town.

If you won the winter getaway to Lake Placid, how would you play in the snow? Who would you take with you?

Now that that’s settled, enter the giveaway –> http://bit.ly/15Ik819

Disclosure: As a brand ambassador with Lake Placid, Adirondacks USA, this content was written in conjunction with the “Play in the Snow” winter vacation campaign. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jan 25 2015

Plan A Perfect Stay in The Snow: Win A Trip to Lake Placid #PerfectDayADK

Growing up in Brooklyn, I didn’t enjoy many nature-driven outings unless we took the occasional family trip to the park or a drive to Upstate New York. I’d heard about Lake Placid and the Adirondack Mountains but it was one of the many regions of New York that seemed so far away.

Lake Placid is in fact, 300 miles from Brooklyn, a cool five-hour drive. If you drive further East along the 95 corridor, you actually pass through four states before you are parallel to Lake Placid, Adirondacks.

No Outdoors in New York

My family wasn’t the outdoorsy type so my parents never did any vacation planning to wilderness-centric destinations. There was so much I didn’t know about New York.

It wasn’t until I went to boarding school in Connecticut that I was able to participate in outdoor activities which didn’t offer a hard greeting of concrete. Once I got to college in California, I had acquired an appreciation for the outdoors. Traveling to friends’ homes in Oregon and Washington for school vacations, I always thought we New Yorkers were missing so much.

Lake Placid, Adirondacks — Avalanche Pass – what a name!

I soon learned it wasn’t “New Yorkers” that were missing so much, just the small percentage of us that chose not to venture into the wide open area of our great state that offers more beauty than cold high rises and skyscrapers.

More Than The Olympics

An estimated 7-10 million visitors travel to the Adirondacks region annually.

The Adirondacks is a 6-million acre area rich with Olympic tradition. More significantly, and based on research from the region’s CVB, people visit the Adirondacks for its outdoor recreational opportunities. It’s the premier natural setting for hiking, boating, ice-skating, snow-shoeing, fishing, cycling, hunting, skiing, mountaineering enthusiasts on the East Coast.

Did you know that the Adirondack Park is larger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Parks combined?

Remember what I said about thinking we New Yorkers were missing so much when I drove through Oregon and Washington? Talk about not appreciating what’s in your own backyard!

In that same vain, if you live on the East Coast and you want to plan a vacation for that perfect winter getaway, you don’t have to schlep all the way to Colorado, Utah, or Nevada. You can “Stay & Play in the Snow” in Lake Placid. The village as well as the rest of the Adirondacks offers a nice selection of winter travel opportunities.

Things To Do In Lake Placid, Adirondacks

So to help you in your winter vacation planning in Lake Placid, here are some activities to consider:

bobsledding
cross country skiing
telemark skiing
downhill skiing
snowboarding
ice climbing
ice skating
snowmobiling
hockey
sledding
tubing
tobogganing
skiing
snowshoeing
dogsledding

Snowboarding is my favorite winter activity but I also like iceskating, cross country skiing and dogsledding. I would love to try bobsledding as its not an activity that’s available in many places. There are only two tracks in the U.S. like the one in New York’s Adirondack Pack, and only four in North America.

True to a mountain village, Lake Placid offers several types of accommodations as well:

Bed & Breakfast
Cabins & Cottages
Hotels & Resorts
condos, town homes, rental homes
green lodging
hostels

With my recovering knee, I’d be participating in a little après ski. The best part of a “play in the snow” getaway (hurt or not) is either cozying up to a fireplace with a warm cup of hot cocoa or relaxing in the stillness of a spa. What’s your favorite winter activity on the list?

Enter to Win A Trip To Lake Placid

Are you ready to head to Lake Placid Adirondacks, USA? I know I am! Let me know if you need help planning your trip or enter for you chance to play in the snow in Lake Placid: http://bit.ly/15Ik819. It’s a wonderful winter getaway for two that I’m sure you’ll love. No purchase necessary (although I would love for you to send me pictures)!

Nov 24 2013

Celebrating Holiday Lights At Home And At Winter Travel Destinations

Holiday Lights Winter Travel — These two homes in Hampden were all decked in holiday lights.

Every year my husband and I say that we’re going to beat our neighbor in the race to put up holiday lights. Our December is usually broken up by winter travel and we know that if we don’t get the decorations up early, there’s a high probability that they won’t go up until a few days before Christmas. We discuss our game plan and hype each other up to do what needs to be done.

Unfortunately, once the turkey and stuffing set in, we concede as we watch said neighbor diligently put up her Christmas decorations before dinner is digested and the sun sets on Thanksgiving Day.

Bah humbug!

She won again this year. I can’t compete with that lady. She’s just so good at it! I have to admit, she does have some pretty lights and I love looking through my blinds across the street at her lawn display every evening. Maybe this year I’ll return the favor.

Across the country, you can find beautiful holiday lights whether they’re in your backyard or in neighborhoods like Baltimore’s Hampden, where the residents call their annual light display a Miracle on 34th Street. Ten minutes away in the city’s Inner Harbor, you can also check out larger display of lights, lasers, and music on the waterfront at the Power Plant Holiday Light Show Spectacular.

Whether the light displays are done by a team of neighbors or arranged by a city, we enjoy watching them. They bring out the kid in all of us and put us in the holiday spirit.

But as much as I enjoy catching a display nearby, I love traveling during the holidays and seeing displays in other cities. A few of our favorite winter travel destinations where we’ve seen holiday lights, taken a short winter getaway, or spent Christmas include the Pocono Mountains, Nemacolin Woodland Resorts, Charleston, and the Penn State area.

This year we’re considering adding some of the vacation ideas in this winter travel roundup on TakingTheKids.com to that favorites’ list. Check the list out. What’s your favorite winter travel destination? Where do you travel with the family to see holiday lights whether at home or away from home?

Mar 04 2013

Experiencing Tradition In The Pocono Mountains At Skytop Lodge

Last month, on our trip to the Pocono Mountains, we stayed at the Skytop Lodge, a family-friendly resort, about a four-hour drive from the Annapolis area. One of the first things that stood out for me about Skytop was that it was an all-inclusive resort. Made sense. With all the activities that the Lodge offers, in addition to meals and afternoon tea, who wants to itemize everything?

Before you frown your nose up at “all-inclusive”, take a breath. In this situation it works. Don’t think you’ll be driving off the resort to catch a burger or go exploring down the road.

Skytop Lodge_Pocono Mountains — The road in and out of the main entrance.

“Down the road” isn’t all that convenient in this non-commercialized mountain area, especially when it’s snowing. Unfortunately, I experienced this the hard way when I had to leave the resort to get some Tylenol for my youngest, something I try not to forget to pack when I’m traveling with the kids.

Skytop Lodge was built in 1929 and continues many of its family-focused traditions. There are no hats, sneakers, sweats, jeans, or tanks to be worn in the dining room for either lunch or dinner (LOVE this!). And definitely, no cell phones (a resort after my own heart). As for dinner, men have to wear a jacket; women and children are to be dressed appropriately as well.

It’s such a pleasure to visit a place that upholds traditions.

On Saturday evenings, Skytop offers live music and dancing followed by the Skytop traditional grand march for the whole family to enjoy. This is something that the resort has been doing for years.

Afternoon tea is served at 4pm, a perfect interlude between a cold day on the grounds and dinner. My boys enjoyed their hot chocolate while I elatedly sipped down my tea.

Glance around the dining room and you will see that all of the tables are reserved with each family’s name cards. This practice vaguely reminded me of my days in boarding school where we sat at dark brown wooden tables and chairs in our assigned seats.

Although assigned seating isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I have an appreciation for this kind of tradition.

We had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple who’ve been vacationing at the Lodge for 30 years. They told us that they started coming when their kids were around our boys’ ages.

Now empty-nesters, the couple stills love coming up to Skytop for winter getaways and a piece of that tradition. My mind briefly wandered forward to our lives 30 years in the future.

I interrupted the daydream, not wanting to rush these precious moments with our boys. As Goethe notes, “All we have is today.” And today is what I wanted to enjoy with them – those smiles of being on a winter getaway with mommy and daddy.

Speaking of our day, we had a list of activities to enjoy on our weekend stay.

Soon enough I learned that two days was too short to fit in all that Skytop Lodge has to offer. First on our list was to unpack and make our selves at home in our private Streamside Cottage, complete with a fireplace.

Cottage_Pocono Mountains — Our comfy cottage was a sight for cold eyes.

The whole time we were there, I don’t think the temperature outside went above 16 degrees. It was C-O-L-D! Luckily, the fireplace heated our cottage within minutes.

The age of the lodge shows, especially if you prefer more modern amenities in your accommodations – I didn’t mind it. Our cottage was very cozy and private. It had a king size bed and sleeper couch but since my kiddos can never get comfortable on sleeper couches (I don’t blame them), we all crashed in the bed together. Our boys could make as much noise as they wanted, jump around and bounce off the walls, and I didn’t feel like I was disturbing anyone.

Lodge Fireplace — Guests relaxing by the fireplace in the main building.

In public spaces, like the dining areas, the main hall, and the card room, “nostalgic” comes more to mind than “old.”

Skytop Lodge — An old-fashioned card room with pictures on the wall from the 50’s.

When you see the beauty of the grounds on which Skytop resides, you’re less inclined to spend much time inside the room. I’m no photographer but I was in picture-taking heaven.

From a frozen lake where tobogganers glided, to a semi-frozen stream or a wooden bridge or the snow-covered golf course, there was so much to see and appreciate on the premises before actually signing up for an activity. It’s all so picturesque. Even during the winter, Skytop Lodge offers organized guide-led nature hikes.

Our agenda started bright and early with breakfast at 8am and dog sledding at 11. After doing some exploring once we finished breakfast, we knew it was time to layer up for our adventure. We were all very excited to check out dog sledding for the first time.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any snow to try it out the traditional way (the dogs need at least 4-5 inches to pull the sleigh safely), so we enjoyed it the way owner Kim Darst trains her Iditarod-hopeful team when there’s not much snow on the ground…via 4X4. Yes, you heard right – 4X4. Here’s a view from the back of them pulling us:

http://youtu.be/ZYzan4a183o

It was pretty fun, and we were amazed at their strength and speed, although the little one was just about frozen.

When we left, another family was on their way in to enjoy the activity. It doesn’t come cheap though. For a family of 4, the experience is around $200. The family that came in after us was two adults and three kids.

After warming up inside with some food and some heat, my oldest and I reported to the Adventure Center to brush up on our snowboarding with a lesson. Skytop has its own mountain, which was a big plus. Although Camelback Mountain Resort is only 20 minutes away from Skytop, with its 50 year history, snowmaking horsepower, and rep as the biggest snow tubing park in the country, we just couldn’t pull ourselves away from Skytop just yet.

Most of the people we saw on the mountain were skiing but we love our snowboarding. There was also a hill adjacent to the ski area for sledding. When it was time to go up the mountain, I understood why I think I saw so many skiiers. Instead of a chairlift, Skytop has one of those ski tow systems, easy enough for skiers but not so much for snowboarders. Let’s just say, my son and I had issues getting the hang of it! This was another one of those “nostalgic” characteristics of Skytop.

After a few hours on the mountain, we were zonked. I had all intentions of going tobogganing – Skytop is one of the few places were you’ll find this activity – but my little one just couldn’t bear the cold and he got sick so we had to cut our getaway short (although I did check out the Skyview Spa before we left).

The resort also offers ice skating, a treetop adventure course – complete with a zip line, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing.

Winter at Skytop Lodge, or any other resort in the Pocono Mountains, is all about the outdoors and having fun with the family.

My stay at Skytop Lodge and activities in the Pocono Mountains were courtesy of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

Mar 02 2013

Winter In The Pocono Mountains: Fun Things To Do With The Family

Although Spring is officially three weeks away, the weather is still in the 20’s and 30’s in the Pocono Mountains, and there’s still time to enjoy some quality winter travel with the family. With a beautiful mountain region like the Poconos, you won’t be short on fun winter family activities. If you’re a fan of skiing, snowboarding or snowtubing, that’s easy – there are seven major ski areas to choose from.

A month ago, the fam and I traveled up to the Pocono Mountains for a quick weekend getaway. We’ve gradually been creating a tradition, checking out mountain resorts that we can drive to for a few days of winter family fun. Although this is our fourth year traveling to the mountains with the kids, we’re still testing out snow activities with autism. Each year, it’s an adventure.

Growing up in New York, what I’ve known of the Pocono Mountains is very different from its image today. As a little girl, I remember the commercials of the heart-shaped beds, the humongous wine glass bathtubs, and the soothing music with the message that the Poconos was for lovers. It kinda had this cheezy image but if you had a significant other and you were old enough, it was the place to go for a romantic getaway. And everyone referred to it as, the Poconos.

Today, a lot of that has changed. The area was always family-friendly but the problem is that many of us didn’t know it because we only knew what was marketed on T.V. In fact, one of the four counties that makes up the 2400 square mile Pocono Mountains region, was seen as a popular vacation destination dating back to 1820. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau has been working hard to revamp the old image of the area. The area is still romantic, but it’s so much more than a honeymooners paradise.

There are so many fun things for families to do in the Pocono Mountains in the winter time, I think if more people knew, they wouldn’t limit themselves to just Spring or Summer vacations. The seven ski areas are:

Alpine Mountain
Big Boulder
Blue Mountain Ski Area
Camelback Mountain Resort
Jack Frost
Shawnee Mountain
Ski Big Bear

Here’s all the fun winter activities in the area:

Skiing and Snowboarding
Snow tubing
Ice Skating
Cross-County Skiing
Horse-drawn sleigh rides* (not offered at any of the ski areas)
Ice Fishing
Snowshoeing
Dog sledding (Skytop Lodge)
Snowmobiling
Luging (Blue Mountain Ski Area)

At select places, like Skytop Lodge, you can also go zip lining. All of the ski areas have family-friendly facilities and rails for beginners and experts. The trails in the Pocono Mountains are 35% Beginner/Novice, 32% Intermediate, and 33% Expert. And even when there’s no natural snow events to add to the trails, the ski areas have snow-making down to a science. They should – they’ve been doing it for 60 years.

The Pocono Mountains is indeed a romantic place to visit. Besides your significant other, there are so many other things about it to fall in love with.

About the Pocono Mountains

With 2,400 square miles encompassing Pennsylvania’s Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne counties, the Pocono Mountains region is home to rolling mountain terrain, breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls, thriving woodlands and 170 miles of winding rivers. Winter offer guests the opportunity to ski, snowboard, snow tube and even snowshoe their way through snowy wonderlands encompassing over 185 ski trails, while summers also cater to the active traveler allowing exploration of 261 miles of hiking and biking trails, over 30 gold courses, whitewater rafting, boating, fishing and open access to nine state and two national parks.