News Photos — Chris Gaige The Lake Placid Toboggan Chute is seen off of Parkside Drive on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

LAKE PLACID — One of the area’s most iconic attractions is ready to ride as the Olympic Region celebrates President’s Week, which is historically one of the busiest tourism times of the year.

The Lake Placid Toboggan Chute, which is operated by the North Elba Park District, makes for a thrilling stop while visiting Lake Placid. The chute is normally open a few days per week.

During President’s Week, however, the chute is expected to offer extended hours, open every day this week, although North Elba Park District Manager Jeremy Freeman said the hours may need to be modified on account of lake conditions.

The problem, he said, was actually excessive amounts of snow on the lake that have contributed to a slushy middle layer between the snow above and the lake ice below. This slush makes it difficult for Park District staff members to maintain the landing area, with slush tending to seep back in from other parts of the lake after the area has been cleaned up below the chute.

“With the slush, it’s really hard to move that off,” he said. “The ice is not thick enough to have a pickup truck with a plow blade on, which is something we’ve had in years past out on the ice. We just can’t risk that now.”

A North Elba Park District Employee snow blows the ice on Mirror Lake to create a wide runway beneath the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

He said the slush on top of the lake ice originated with the region’s last thaw at the end of December, with subsequent snow accumulations since then falling and piling up, acting as an insulator before the slush layer could fully refreeze.

“It never works itself out as long as you have all of that snow on top,” he said. “There’s just no way to re-freeze it.”

Freeman said this requires additional time and resources to stay on top of, and may impact some of the extended hours during President’s Week. He said they will continue to monitor the conditions, and update their hours accordingly.

“We will have extended hours,” he said. “It’s just (a matter of) how much we can do with the snow that we have.”

The latest operation information can be found on the Park District’s website at tinyurl.com/t7zv353y, as well as the town of North Elba’s Facebook page available at tinyurl.com/3brvfv8w.

News Photo — Oliver Reil A family slides down the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute on to Mirror Lake on Feb. 19, 2024.

The tentative holiday hours this week at press time Tuesday afternoon are from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14; noon to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16; noon to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17 through Thursday, Feb. 20; and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21 — before returning to its regular hours, which are 7 to 9 p.m. on Fridays; noon to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Although predicting the weather for the Adirondacks for an entire week is a fickle — and often futile — practice, the weather forecast as of press time Wednesday, Feb. 12 calls for wintry conditions to continue.

A storm system is expected to impact the Olympic Region on Sunday, Feb. 16. It is too early to say as of press time what type of precipitation it will bring to the area — with trends throughout Wednesday, Feb. 12 pointing to an increasing likelihood of sleet, freezing rain and even some rain. Regardless of what precipitation falls, after that storm moves out by Monday, cold Arctic air is expected to entrench itself over the region for the rest of President’s Week.

Ice safety is paramount for the chute’s operation. It only opens once the ice on Mirror Lake has grown to a sturdy depth of 12 inches. In addition to the lake ice, winter weather is also needed to maintain the ice on the ramp.

This has led to a wide fluctuation in seasonal openings over the years. Some colder years have allowed the chute to open as early as December, while other unseasonably warm years have seen much smaller windows of operation — sometimes just a handful of days — often punctuated by intermittent thaws.

Much to the delight of toboggan riders, this year has played out like a classic Adirondack winter, with reliably cold weather and steady ice growth allowing the toboggan chute to open on Saturday, Jan. 25 and remain in operation since then. This is earlier than normal, according to the Park District’s website, which states that the typical opening time is the first full weekend in February.

“It’s actually been a pretty good season so far,” Freeman said. “We’ve been open longer than we were last year. The conditions are OK at the moment, but it’s getting a little tricky.”

The toboggan chute was rebuilt in 2017, replacing an old chute that was converted into a toboggan chute from a Lake Placid Club ski jump in 1965. The new chute stands at 30 feet tall. Sleds can build up enough momentum to slide as far as 1,000 feet across the ice on Mirror Lake beneath the chute.

The chute costs $20 for adults and $10 for students. Payment is by credit card only. One purchase offers the rider as many rides down the chute as they want during the session. On busy days, lines can grow to between 15 and 20 minutes, as only one sled is allowed down the chute at a time for safety reasons. The sleds can support between two and four riders at a time.

Given the speed and acceleration of the ride, people should be in good health to ride, according to the Park District’s website.

“We also extend a caution suggesting that you must be in good health, and free from heart conditions, motion sickness, back or neck problems, or any other physical limitations,” it states. “It is also suggested that expectant mothers refrain from riding.”

Wearing the right gear is also important.

Due to friction when sliding down the Toboggan Slide, some types of Nylon Ski pants may wear through,” the website states. “We recommend durable pants, such as jeans. We are not responsible for damaged pants.”

With winter appearing to hold steady for President’s Week, the extended hours offer the prime opportunity to add this exhilarating attraction to a President’s Week visit to Lake Placid.