Climb into a five-person bobsled manned by professional drivers and brakemen and shoot down the World Cup track at upstate New York’s Lake Placid Olympic Sports Center. Twisting, icy and fast, the steel-reinforced concrete half pipe delivers a short but stomach-lurching thrill—and is well worth an afternoon off the slopes of nearby Whiteface. After all, the run is the same serpentine spillway that the U.S. bobsled, skeleton and luge teams use for training and competition. The course begins at the halfway point of the World Cup run, and features 11 banked turns and numerous straight aways in speeds up to 55 mph. The course is open throughout the winter, and the track is kept slick and fast. On busy winter weekends, you’ll want to make reservations. And keep in mind that children who don’t measure up to the four-foot height minimum will have to try again next year.
Lake Placid, NY | 518.523.4436 | orda.org
