LAPLAND LAKE XC SKI AND VACATION CENTER
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING AND SNOWSHOEING
(518) 863-4974
139 Lapland Lake Road, Northville, NY 12134
Lapland Lake XC Ski & Vacation Center in Northville, New York features a touch of Finland in the Adirondacks from the food and the resident reindeer, to the Finnish woodburning sauna and children's games. Lapland Lake was the winner of the Best in the Mid Atlantic in the Best XC Ski Resort Poll for 2002 and 2003 (the only two years that the poll was conducted).
There are 50 km of trails, 38 km snowcat groomed for classic and skate skiing and 12 km of mapped snowshoe trails. The resort is located adjacent to the famed 133-mile Northville-Lake Placid Trail for limitless wilderness ski and snowshoe opportunities.
Private and group XC ski lessons taught by PSIA-certified instructors are available daily. Rental gear for children and adults is available from the resort's well-equipped rental shop including XC skis, snowshoe, ice skates, tubes, kicksleds and pulk sleds. The resort's retail shop carries an extensive supply of skis, boots, poles, and bindings along with XC ski accessories and Finish food and unique gift items.
Known for its courteous staff, this year-round family resort features a two-story warming lodge with a wax room, restrooms, changing room, and shower along with a snack bar, and 11 housekeeping cottages.
The cottages known as "tupas" have fully equipped kitchens, living room, up to 4 bedrooms, electric heat, woodstoves, and a bath with showers. Lodging guests may enjoy time in the resort's authentic Finnish wood-fired sauna and may request a full or half-hour massage in their tupa. Illuminated evening activities for lodging guests include skiing (2.6 km round trip to the lake), tubing on two junior tubing hills, and ice skating on the pond.
Lodging guests may opt to prepare their own meals or order breakfast and dinner for delivery to their tupa from the friendly Tuulen Tupa Grill staff. Lunch is served daily at the Grill and Saturday evening seated dinner service is very popular.
A family-friendly resort, Lapland Lake offers numerous weekend and holiday activities for children. Napa Kikku, a supervised Finnish ice sled ride is hugely popular. A sled is attached to a long pole and pushed in circles by a Lapland staff member. Hour-long children's lessons are taught twice daily, and the new 90-minute Reindeer Rally on snow fun and games program for kids aged 5-11 is a hit with every child that participates! A visit to Lapland Lake's resident reindeer is a highlight of every kid's day.
The reasonably priced Lapland Ladies Love to Ski program is taught by several of the resort's female PSIA-certified instructors. The program runs five hours and includes instruction, lunch with a clothing and equipment discussion, and an afternoon of social skiing with the instructors. Both classic and skate sessions are offered.
Snowshoe programs are popular as well at Lapland Lake. Daytime programs include the Introduction to Snowshoeing and Animal Tracking Tours. On or near the full moon snowshoe packages include dinner, dessert, guided snowshoe tour and s'mores by a lakeside campfired.
Soup-er Seniors Ski & Snowshoe Days are on non-holiday Thursdays beginning in January. Skiers and snowshoers that are aged 65 or older are invited to a free cup of homemade soup.The discounted facility use fee is $20 including weekends and holidays for seniors (this is unusually generous to extend such a program to weekends/holidays).
Directions from NYC (4 hours) and Albany (only 60 miles from Albany): NY State Thruway I-90 to Exit 27 Amsterdam. Route 30 north for 27 miles (3.2 miles north of Northville). Left on Benson Road (County Road 6) for 5.2 miles to Storer Road, right for 3/4 miles and bear right. CCSAA member.