Speculator, NY bills itself as an “All Season Vacationland.” This slogan appears on two identical signs on Route 30 and Route 8, welcoming motorists to the hamlet (see figure 1). Despite what these signs advertise, the majority of tourists and non-permanent residents only come in the summertime. Most are drawn to the summer pleasures of swimming, fishing, and watersports on Lake Pleasant. However, Speculator has a smaller but robust winter tourist season, centered mainly around alpine skiing. Speculator’s Oak Mountain Ski Center draws tourists between December and February. Oak Mountain has only 22 trails and 1 quad chairlift (Oak Mountain Ski Center). Despite being a modest ski hill, Oak Mountain keeps Speculator’s tourist economy humming through the winter months and proves that it truly is an “All Season Vacationland.” Oak Mountain is a microcosm of the larger Adirondack alpine ski industry. Going back to the Gilded Age Great Camps, the Adirondacks are mostly a summertime tourist destination. Alpine skiing, and the lodging, restaurants, and outfitting required to support skiers, maintains a vibrant winter tourist season. Although the Adirondacks draw most tourists to the region in the summertime, winter alpine skiing is another essential part of the region’s tourist economy, demonstrating the Adirondacks’ versatility.
Although there are many smaller ski hills in the Adirondacks like Oak Mountain, larger ski mountains dominate the region and compete with the best ski resorts in the Northeast. Gore and Whiteface are the two largest ski resorts in the Adirondacks. Gore Mountain has 4 peaks and 121 trails. Since Gore covers a large geographical area, it has long ski trials. The longest is 4 miles long (VisitAdirondacks.com). Gore was a popular ski mountain when the “Snow Train” brought skiers up from New York City and Albany in the early 1900s (Kelly). Although Gore is a large and well-established mountain, Whiteface is the premier ski resort in the Adirondacks. Whiteface is dubbed “The Olympic Mountain” because of its height—at 3,430 feet, it has the highest drop of any ski mountain east of the Rockies (VisitAdirondacks.com). Whiteface is also an extensive ski resort: it has 12 lifts to service its 90 trails. Because of its proximity to Lake Placid, Whiteface hosted the alpine ski events of the 1980 Olympics (Kelly). Gore and Whiteface both have snow making infrastructure, ensuring the quality of the runs and extending the length of the season from late November to March (Kelly, VisitAdirondacks.com). Gore and Whiteface are also both state-run ski resorts. Oak Mountain is privately owned (Kelly).
It is clear that ski resorts in the Adirondacks are a significant draw for winter tourists. The wide variety of ski mountains and hills provide opportunities for winter recreation to skiers of all ages and abilities. The steep drops of Whiteface and the glade skiing of Gore challenge the summer visitor to the Adirondacks to consider what the region is like in the winter—it truly is an “All Season Vacationland.”
Works Cited
Kelly, Caitlin. “A Wild Experience: New York’s Adirondacks.” Men’s Journal, A360 Media LLC, 29 Nov. 2018, www.mensjournal.com/adventure/wild-experience-new-yorks-adirondacks/.
Oak Mountain Ski Hill. “Https://Www.oakmountainski.com/.” Oak Mountain, Oak Mountain Ski Hill, 2021, www.oakmountainski.com/.VisitAdirondacks.com. “Epic NY Skiing & Ski Resorts | Official Adirondack Region Website.” Visitadirondacks.com, Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, 2018, visitadirondacks.com/recreation/downhill-skiing-snowboarding.
For someone who considers myself an Adirondack frequent, I have actually never been during the summertime. The draw of winter sports has always been the main attraction for my family and I. Many folks do not realize the winter wonderland that occurs each winter in some of the larger lake towns such as Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. From skiing at Whiteface, to pickup hockey games on Mirror Lake, winters in the Adirondacks really do have a lot going for them.