Getting a taste for snowshoeing in Lake Placid

When I headed out to go snowshoeing in Lake Placid a few weeks ago, I was a bit ambivalent. It had been years since I’d strapped on snowshoes, and I’d probably only gone snowshoeing half a dozen times  in my life. I wasn’t  sure I would enjoy it, especially since the temperature that morning was hovering around -25C with a windchill somewhat below that. But all in the name of research for you, dear readers.

Bundled up in multiple layers, I arrived at the Cascade Cross Country Center just outside town and was quickly set up with snowshoes and—a novelty for me—poles. I was all set to put on my snowshoes in the nice warm lodge, but Margaret at the front desk advised me I’d be wiser to do so after going down the wooden stairs to ground level. Good advice; I’d likely have pitched headfirst into the snow below otherwise.

But as I sat on a picnic table bench adjusting my bindings with gloveless hands, I once again wondered about the wisdom of this expedition. Not only was it bitterly cold, but I’d also been one of the only customers at the lodge. Even the hardy locals, it seemed, had decided this was a day to stay indoors.

To my relief, adjusting the bindings was a quick matter. I stood up and, walking a bit like C3P0, headed toward a trail called Main Street, which was marked as “easy” on my laminated map.

Fortunately, the map didn’t lie. The trail was pretty flat and easily navigated by even a novice like me.

All the trails were very well marked and, due to the weather, almost deserted. I hoped that would mean I’d see some wildlife, but all I saw were lots of tantalizing trails. Aside from rabbit trails (I think), I couldn’t recognize any of them, sadly.

After about half an hour, I reached the point on the trail where I’d planned to turn back toward the lodge. But the exercise had warmed me up and I was having a great time. The fresh snow on the tree branches was so beautiful that I was taking scads of photos.

So I pulled out the map and tackled a more distant trail. In the end, I stayed out about two hours, and I was so glad I’d come. And after all that exercise, I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about tucking into a big bowl of chili back at the lodge—which cost me the princely sum of $4.

I enjoyed the day so much, in fact, that I just bought my own pair of snowshoes last week.

So now I’m looking for places near Ottawa to hit the trails. I have two ideas so far: I’d like to try the guided animal tracking hikes in Gatineau Park and go snowshoeing among the deer at Parc Omega near Montebello. But I’m eager for other suggestions, too! Do you have a favourite snowshoeing trail within two hours of Ottawa? Please let me know in the comments!

I participated in this hike as a guest of the Cascade Cross Country Center and the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, which neither reviewed nor approved this post.

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If you go

The adult trail fee at Cascade Cross Country Center is $12 a day; you can rent snowshoes and poles for an extra $15. The centre is just south of Lake Placid and 243km southeast of Ottawa.

For more travel information, see the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.