Freshmen Trip to Lake Placid

By Mairin Hoffman ’25

On the last Sunday of January, the Freshmen and the Prefects made their way up to Lake Placid, New York. The Lake Placid trip has been a school tradition for 26 years and was recently halted because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The trip started up again this year, and faculty and students could not be happier. 

The whole first-year class, some faculty, and the Prefects gathered onto the fancy coach bus to Lake Placid. The bus ride was long and brutal, but thankfully we stopped at rest stops to get snacks. After the 4-hour bus ride, we arrived in the snowy Lake Placid. The mountains around us were breathtaking. We also got to see the Olympic Ski Jump used in the 1980 Olympics. 

When we arrived at the Crowne Plaza, we had free time until dinner. We could explore the hotel, go into town, or go skating. I decided to wander around the hotel before dinner. We walked to Mr. Mike’s pizza and had a fantastic pizza dinner there. One of the highlights of dinner was getting to talk with some of the Prefects; it was great talking to them and hearing their Lake Placid stories. After dinner, my friends and I went to Stewarts’ gas station. We got some last-minute treats, and I finally tried Dunkaroos for the first time.

 The rest of the night, we had free time. I hung out with some of my friends in the hotel and bonded with some people until very late at night. I went to bed at one in the morning, which was not great considering we had to wake up extremely early for breakfast the following day. 

The breakfast at the hotel was delicious and just what I needed for the day ahead of us. After breakfast, we went off to WhiteFace mountain. When we arrived, I was surprised to see our very own Mr. McMann waiting for us. Unfortunately, after the warm welcome, I never saw him again. 

The activity I chose to do was snowshoeing. Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned. There were many falls, but at the end of the day, I bonded with the people in my group, which is all that matters to me.

Shortly after finishing snowshoeing, I got some food to eat and sat in the lodge until it was time to go. For dinner the second night, we went to Dack Shack and had a wonderful dinner. Some highlights were a rock, paper, scissors contest between the faculty and students. 

After dinner, I went skating on the Olympic Oval, which was one of the highlights of this trip. The Olympic Oval was used in the 1932 and 1980 Olympics, so it was cool to skate on a prominent historical landmark. On our last day, We had free time until 11:30. I went shopping and got one of the most amazing bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel I have ever eaten. 

The Freshmen and Prefects were very lucky to go on this trip, and I will never forget this experience in Lake Placid!