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Whiteface Mountain
9 reviews for Whiteface Mountain
9 reviews in English
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Review from Rikki M.
Summer:
During the summer you can ride the gondola up the mountain and view the area from an observation deck. Each ride up the gondola is 18 dollars or you can purchase a pass for 29 dollars and see all the Olympic Sites Lake Placid has to offer. The ride lasts about 10 minutes each way and is simply beautiful.
The summit of Little Whiteface is about 10 degrees cooler so dress appropriately.
You can also go to the snack shop in the summer, hike up the mountain, or rent a bike to go mountain biking. I always have a great time here and I have been here more than a handful of times. A must have for all visitors in the area.
Winter:
The usual. You can go skiing, snowboarding, and even rent equipment here. They have different specials everyday of the week here so check their site which is updated quite often. They even have mountain cams where you can see live conditions on the slopes.
If you are a visitor or a tourist you can ride the gondola up in the winter. Warning: It is pretty cold in the winter and there is no shoveled path to the observation deck so be prepared.
There is no snow tubing here. They do offer tubing in Saranac Lake (with a magic carpet) or at the Olympic Jumping Complex where you have to walk your tube up the hill after every run. -
Review from Jerry C.
Somers, NY
2/23/2012 1 photo
Hard to rate this one without taking the weather and conditions into consideration so let's remove them from the rating, as much as I can at least.
First I have to say i went on a Saturday.
Bus from parking came very quick. There was a tiny ticket line so I was helped in under 2 mins.
Ticket was $79.00 all day for an adult till about 4:00.
The Gondola line was less then 5 mins long, shorter then anywhere I have ever been on a Saturday.
Conditions were icy, i read it has been the 4th warmest winter on record in NY so far so I don't blame them too much. Some runs were better than others. Base is mostly man made. -
Review from Michael S.
Fleetwood, PA
2/28/2011
I have skied here about a half dozen times - most recently on President's Day weekend 2011. I love the location and the staff. The mountain is big with modern lifts with trails for every skier. The views from the summit are amazing.
I have found the best time to ski Whiteface is on weekdays in the morning. The conditions are best in the first 4 hours of operation and the crowds are small. In the early afternoon, icy conditions from the ski off appear and you understand why the mountain earned the nickname "Iceface". I prefer not to ski on ice.
On my most recent visit, a wind advisory shut down the top part of the mountain in the AM. The crowds were horrible - the lift lines resembled long theme park ride lines. The lines were better in the PM with the opening of all the lifts. Guest services did issue a $25 voucher if you wanted to ski the next day, but you had to ask for it and it was not advertised.
Our little guy stayed in the Bears Den nursery. This is the first time we used this service. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the staff and the safe environment. A beeper was issued to the parents in the event of an emergency. I originally thought the $85.00/day rate was high but it turned out to be a decent value. -
Review from Ami M.
Turlock, CA
9/12/2009
I would recommend going here during their Oktoberfest which will be held Oct. 3-4 this year. Pay the extra fee for the Gondola ride; you won't regret it. There is usually a long, long line for it so time it when you can wait. The ride up the mountain with the view of autumn colors in all its glory is fantastic. Once your gondola arrives to the top, get off and spend how much you like taking in the splendor of nature's beauty.
Other highlights of the festival include bona fide Bavarian music and dancing; free rides and activities for children of all ages (pony rides, hay mazes, inflatables, Eurobungy, to name a few); vendors; food and lots of beer, of course! -
Review from Mike P.
2/23/2010
Spent a week here with a group of 10. Our group ranged with 2 beginner to people who have skied/snowboarded for years at a variety of resorts. Everyone had an amazing time. The mountain is huge, our goal was to hit every trail they had, we didnt because some of the trails were closed but it gives us a reason to come back. If you can sign up for what i remeber as first tracks. We did that on the last day of our trip and it was worth every second of it. The conditions are awesome but the trails arnt for the faint of heart. Black diamonds are really black diamonds. During our stay an inexperianced skier died on one of them because he went into a tree(not from our group). Its sad but know your limits.
If you can definatly check out the summit. Amazing view on a clear day, although i would recomend something covering your normally exposed skin. Its was so cold one day that they weren't allowing anyone on the summit lift they had any part of there face exposed. Probably because the hairs in your nose froze as you breathed in up the lift. -
Review from Andrea G.
Virginia Beach, VA
12/3/2008
Let's just do this the easy way.
Positives about Whiteface:
-FANTASTIC trails--variety of terrain
-plenty of expert trails
-excellent lodge facilities
-small lift lines
-cheap tickets
-mostly real snow
-Gondola
-near Lake Placid, NY,which is a wonderful place
-uncrowded
-great for individuals, or families
-GREAT activities when it's not winter. I've hiked Whiteface in August.
Neutrals:
-Owned by the State of New York, which is good and bad
Negatives about Whiteface:
-I've checked the temperatures in Siberia, and sometimes it's COLDER here
-icy
-slow lifts
-no base-area accomodations
I suggest taking a long weekend--like MLK weekend, and come up here. Ski two days and spend one day in town to skate, shop, etc. -
Review from Phill G.
Saranac Lake, NY
3/17/2009
Well, it's a mountain of extremes.
The trails are wonderful, really terrific. And the fact that the have terrific events years round is great (love Octoberfest and the Gondola to the to of the mountain and hiking in the Summer). Really good lodge facilities, if not right at the base of the mountain. It's also nice that there are other activities nearby (Village of Lake Placid, area restaurants, High Falls Gorge).
On the down side, you're going to PAY for the snow. In more ways than one. First, it is super cold here. I mean, serious cold. And that generally also means ice here and there. Also, it is pretty expensive.
There are no hotels or lodges on site. Most of the immediate local lodging choices are more Euro family style, motels, or rustic. We like that kind of thing, so that's good for us. If you want a Hilton-style hotel, you'll have to drive 20 minutes to Lake Placid. (Contrary to popular belief, Whiteface is not in Lake Placid - it's in Wilmington.) In bad weather, the drive back to Lake Placid can be treacherous. -
Review from K M.
Denville, NJ
Updated - 10/15/2008 9 photos
If you don't like the snow, visit Whiteface during their Oktoberfest! This year it was held on October 4-5. Admission price for adults was $14, juniors and seniors $7. And $8 for a gondola ride up the mountain for scenic views of the beautiful fall foliage. It's great fun for the whole family... there was funnel cake, french fries, Bavarian food, music and beer! You can even go shopping and buy some alpaca yarn or an adirondack chair made out of recycled skis! It was weird seeing this place without snow but it was just as beautiful!
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/2/2008 First to Review
I was ten years old when I took my first skiing lesson... twelve years later I was back on the… Read more »
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Review from bob f.
Jay, NY
3/24/2010
I first skied Whiteface when I was 10 on a Christmas trip with my parents. Since then I've skied all over the world, including the rest of NY, most of Vermont, out West and even on Mt. Hermon in the Golan Heights and I've never had a mountain imprint itself so forcefully on my memory, to the point that five years ago I built a house 10 miles away and moved here permanently, leaving NYC behind. This mountain never lets you down. Whenever you think you've got it licked it ups the ante and inspires you to go to another level. The fact that it sits in the midst of a wild forest in the Adirondack Park adds to its appeal. There is not, and never will be, a quaint theme park ski village at the bottom with condos marching up the slopes. It is pristine, and will stay that way due to the "Forever Wild" clause in the NY State Constitution that protects the entire park from unchecked development. What else can I say? Lots, except that I'm getting tired. Oh yeah, one more thing. Jeff, the chef at the midstation restaurant, serves really good chow and you get to scarf it down while looking at the most amazing view.
