Lake Placid During IMLP

[EDS]

How difficult is it for family to navigate Lake Placid and nearby area during IMLP?

If family members wanted to go on a hike, could they drive to the trailhead (say Adirondack Loj Road and a hike up Mt Marcy) or would the fact that they would need to drive on part of the bike course make it too congested and ill advised?

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and would avoid it like the plague during that weekend. DJG21 could probably tell you more, as I know his wife has done it and he has been up there to support her.

BBD

[Buzz Killington]

Holy cow that’s a bad idea. Unless you’re competing stay away from Lake Placid area that weekend. If you have your heart set on the Adks that weekend maybe stay in Keene Valley or Elizabethtown and hike out of the Keene Valley area. Don’t go anywhere near the Ironman course.

[CNY rider]

Agree with above; see below.
You can do lots of great hiking in Keene Valley and that’s the closest I would get to LP that weekend.
Remember that the Adirondacks encompass a huge area and you can avoid that corridor all together as well.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by EDS

How difficult is it for family to navigate Lake Placid and nearby area during IMLP?

If family members wanted to go on a hike, could they drive to the trailhead (say Adirondack Loj Road and a hike up Mt Marcy) or would the fact that they would need to drive on part of the bike course make it too congested and ill advised?

It should be doable. My wife grew up in Essex County, on Lake Champlain, about 40 minutes from Lake Placid. She is on her 5th IMLP this year. I end up being her Sherpa. She stays in town at a hotel with teammates/Friends so she doesn’t have to deal with me and our dogs distracting her the night beforehand. I stay with her family on the Lake and we drive over so we can catch her at various points during the bike and run, and be there for the finish. I have to drive the course in reverse between Jay and Keene, and then up and over 73 to Placid. It can be slow at times, and there will be traffic delays, but it’s not out of the question.

If your family wants to climb Marcy, they might want to leave Placid very early, well before athletes get out of the water and onto their bikes. I don’t know what parking at the trailheads will look like.

[Broccoli Cog]

LP is an annual RV camping destination for my wife and I. The first thing that I do when making reservations is to find out when IMLP is so I can purposely avoid that week. You mentioned wanting to hike from the ADK Loj which of course is off of RT 73. I wouldn't advise planning to hike from there because it's on the course. If the week of Ironman is your only option you still enjoy the area. My family and I have done it more than once. You just have to be prepared for the crowd and look for trailheads that aren't on 86 or 73. If you do go during IM it is really a cool experience to watch the competitors finish in the Olympic oval.

[Alistair]

We went to LP ~15 years ago during IMLP weekend on purpose -wife was volunteering. It was crowded, but not that bad. We had a cabin ~5 miles out of town. The day of the race was a madhouse, but the rest of the week was pretty normal. Hiking trails and roads were all passable.

And second the comment on seeing the finish. Lots of good energy at the oval.

Edit - just to be clear, I didn't try to drive on the bike course on the day of the race. I think the roads were passable, at least in one direction (don't recall what they did for traffic management). But, from the far side of town into town was fine. My wife was able to get to/from her volunteer assignment. And I was able to get downtown to see some finishers, stroll around, and eventually meet her for dinner.

[EDS]

Thank you all.