Winter Wonderland

Saratoga

Looking for the perfect winter getaway close to NYC? This is the trip to take.

Our journey started with a 3-4 hour drive up to Saratoga on Saturday morning. We arrived just in time to check in to our hotel and relax a bit before happy hour.

The Hyatt was the perfect place to stay; inexpensive and close enough to our main attractions, which included downtown Saratoga, Saratoga Springs Spa Park and West Mountain.

This hotel was clean and simple and even had a nice little bar area that was open late enough to get some pizza after our late night adventures on the mountain.

We started our evening by checking out one of the ice bars in town. If you are in Saratoga in the winter, you have to check out an ice bar! Everything was made out of ice, I mean EVERYTHING. There were impressive sculptures, games and even the seating was ice!

Next up: Happy hour at Tatu.

Wow this place was great! It had sort of a Brooklyn vibe with brick walls and chandeliers. Best part: they give you fresh popped popcorn at the bar while you wait! The shrimp tacos were absolutely delicious and they were even pretty healthy. I highly recommend the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” cocktail if you go around Valentine’s Day. The vibe was pretty cool too; tattoo designs and old school hip hop.

After some tacos and tequila, we were off to the mountain for night tubing and fireworks.

This was an awesome festival, I mean how often do you go to a mountain at night? We were sure to layer up and fill our pockets with hand warmers before this event though. What a cool experience, they had a bon fire, night tubing, and a killer firework show! What a great way to end night 1 of our winter vacation!

Who said paradise had to have palm trees?!

Day 2 was all about exploring the springs and the food again of course!

We started off at a unique little brunch spot: Farmers Hardware.

Picture historic charm meets new age brunch. The artwork was classic and antique but the style was new and hip. They had it all from the hot cocoa bar with all the fix-ins to the built up Bloody Mary! You can’t go wrong with anything you get here. I highly recommend the frittata with the sticky bacon and the hot cocoa bar. I’m not usually a big hot chocolate person but OMG this was the best I’ve ever had.

Next up, Uncommon Grounds for some good ole’ coffee to walk the town with. We explored the shops and the book store and then we were ready to go taste some springs.

After walking around town, we decided to continue our outdoor cardio with a walk through Saratoga Spa Park.

This park was absolutely breathtaking. I just love the evergreens covered in snow and the sound of the brooks and streams. I could have spent all day here. We made it through the park to taste all the springs and I must say I had no idea they would be so salty and carbonated. Most of them were actually pretty gross! We did enjoy the one in the parking lot though, right next to the classroom. We were sure to fill up some bottles to go because we learned about all the healing benefits of the minerals in the springs. We could not believe how many people were doing the same thing! People load up their cars with this water.

After a long day of exploring, we ended our day with a nice Italian dinner at Wheatfield’s.

If you are craving some good ole’ homemade pasta, you can’t go wrong here. This restaurant was the right amount of romantic and casual.

Read more about the best things to do in Saratoga, NY here.

Lake George

Day 3, we were back on the road and ready to explore new places! Today was all about walking on water…literally.

I could not believe how many people walk out onto the lake! This must be my sheltered Long Island brain because no one else seemed to think it was strange that in one area of the lake there were boats and water and then a few inches away, people were driving quads ON THE ICE.

Despite my fear, we had to check it out and I must say it was pretty amazing to walk across Lake George. This was my first Lake George experience and WOW was it beautiful. I just could not get enough of the mountain views.

We spent the morning walking around the town, getting egg sandwiches at Bella’s Deli and just taking in the views.

Although Lake George is pretty deserted in the winter time, it was worth a stop on our way up north. They have a winter carnival almost every weekend in the colder months so there’s always a reason to be outside and enjoying the beauty of the Adirondacks even if it is below zero.

Read more about the Lake George Winter Carnivals here.

Lake Placid

Day 3 continued with a little over an hour of driving from Lake George to Lake Placid.

This drive made me feel like we were entering a snow globe dream. We went from a light coating of snow to a scene right out of Frozen!

Arriving in Lake Placid instantly felt like vacation. The town was filled with people outside shopping, eating and enjoying the weather.

If you are going to visit Lake Placid, I highly recommend going in February. This February happened to be the 40th anniversary of the Winter Olympics so there was so much to see and do. They had live music outside, Olympic themed bar crawls, and famous Olympians all over town.

We arrived around 3pm on Monday just in time to check in and enjoy afternoon tea. This was definitely my kind of place! This hotel was charming, cozy, romantic and sophisticated. I would highly recommend The Mirror Lake Resort. Lucky for us, we found a great deal on Travel Zoo!

After getting settled, we were off to walk through town and explore! Naturally we took the lake path over the road path. This lake was filled with people skating, sledding, and playing ice hockey. They had even shoveled out walking paths to get from hotel to hotel. It felt just like a summer lake house getaway except A LOT colder. We took a walk just in time to watch the sun set over the mountains and the pink sky assured me I was in my happy place.

We continued our journey with a spontaneous bar crawl we learned about after making friends with some locals. Every brewery participating gave you a beer glass with a different colored Olympic ring on it. Although I am not normally a beer person, I did find a few local beers that I enjoyed. All the local bars have fires and heated spaces which makes you feel warm and cozy even outside!

After trying some local beers at Great Adirondack Brewing Company and The Cottage, we ended the night at Dancing Bears for some appetizers.

Day 4 was supposed to be a day of snowboarding but the weather was not in our favor with the lovely whiteout conditions we woke up to. Lucky for us, Lake Placid was still filled with activities.

We started our day with breakfast at Base Camp Café…

You NEED to go here and you NEED a maple latte.

Wow, whoever thought of putting maple syrup and granola on a latte was a genius! For a blizzard-like day, this sure was the place to be. The décor was woodsy and the window table was perfect to enjoy the views while staying warm.

Staying warm was not the priority today though. After some delicious avocado toast, we were off to meet Lulu and the rest of the dog sled team. Yes, I now need a husky and yes, I fell in love with the dogs. If you go to Lake Placid, experiencing the dog sledding is a must. I would highly recommend Lake Placid Dog Sleds.

Next stop, the Olympic Museum and the Oval for some skating.

After meeting some of the famous Olympians and listening to some music out on the rink, we were headed back to our hotel to warm up in the hot tub!

The indoor pool and hot tub was definitely one of my favorite amenities of this resort. It was luxurious and inviting with windows overlooking the snow and rustic décor. Hello Cabin Fever!

Our last night ended with a decadent assortment of small plates at Top of the Park and a game of Jenga at the bar in our hotel, Taste Bistro.

The scallop mac ‘n” cheese from Top of The Park was our favorite! This restaurant was classy and unique. We sat outside on the top floor with our own personal fire and blankets. The views were spectacular and the cocktails were top notch!

Until next time, Lake Placid!