Group & Family Retreats
We welcome your group to our Adirondack Great Camp Style Lake Clear Lodge & Retreat. We specialize in Adirondack Discovery experiences. Here your group venue is more than a room – it is an Adirondack Great Lodge immersion.
A Four-Season Destination of Group Activities
The Lake Clear Lodge is located in New York State's only Wilderness Canoe Region on 25-acres with private beach, nature trails, and Adirondack activities.
Spring, Summer, & Fall Activities
Paddle, bike or hike from beginner trails to the backwoods in NYS only wilderness canoe region.
Ticket to the longest operating Great Lodge in the Adirondack Park, 25 acres of nature trails, incredible mountain-lake sunset beach, and iconic 1886 main lodge with hand-hewn beams, Speakeasy, and Lake View Great Camp Center.
Lakeview artisan lodgings await with one of the world’s most spectacular mountain lake sunsets.
Beach Beer Tastings, Lake-front Nature-based Cooking demos, and Campfire Adirondack storytelling
Adirondack nature-based culinary foods with outdoor and wellness experiences from yoga to guided naturalist walks and forest bathing.
Winter Activities
Cross Country ski or snowshoe our nature trails or don a snowmobile on the local trails, build a snowman, or simply relax in one of our artisan lodgings with crackling fireplaces and bubbling Jacuzzis.
Tour & History. You’ll need a password to get into when the 1886 Lodge was a Speakeasy. Beware, we may be raided by a 1920’s Copper!
Adirondack Great Lodge Food experience: The Park was an illustrious way point between the Canadian rum runners and New York City. Sample Adirondack Speakeasy Prohibition foods with history interpretations.
Lantern-lit Bootleggers Sleigh Ride. To the lake and through the woods!
History of Prohibition Beer Workshop & Tasting: Did you know the modern craft beer revolution began in the 1920s?
Sample 3 Day Itinerary
Now you explore in a microcosm the best of the Adirondacks. Travel through nature and history filled with great fun, hands-on experiences, food in an iconic Adirondack Great Lodge with artisan lodgings built by 5 generations of family, a living museum 1886 main lodge and 25 acres of woods and water. From the heart of NYS only Wilderness Canoe Region, you can now explore the historic village of Tupper Lake, the artisan community of Saranac Lake the Olympic region of Lake Placid.
Travel Nature’s Path of Adirondack History
The blazing Adirondack fall colors, the smell of fall and the reminder of the Old World, what better place to be in than Hohmeyer’s Lake Clear Lodge rejuvenated by a first generation Old World family?
Arrival Day
- Welcome: to the Adirondack Park’s longest continually operating Adirondack Great Lodge!
- Relax in your artisan lodging: built in the Adirondack Great Camp style by generations of family, each with their own story to tell.
- History & Myths of Octoberfest Beer: Sample the history of Octoberfest beers. That’s only the beginning: as you taste, owner and beer lover Ernest Hohmeyer will be your Old World Beer Guide.
- Adirondack Alps Pub Dinner: Did anyone say “schnitzel”?
- Informal Fireside Chat on Adirondack History: “How 50 years Made the Legacy of the Adirondack Park."
Day 2
- Adirondack Alps Breakfast
- "Living History: You’ll be Traveling in it Today!" Get a first-hand overview of the unique places that make our Adirondack History special.
- Adirondack Guide Day Tour: Depending on the season, highlights may include NYS oldest fish hatchery, Coolidge Summer White House, and the Six Nation Indian Museum. Visit the Trudeau Labs of the famous Cure Cottage era, and finish off with fun on the Adirondack Carousel whose animals are all hand carved by local artisans.
- Return to the Lodge: free time to explore our 25-acre estate, including one of the world’s most incredible mountain-lake sunsets.
- History of Adirondack Food Tasting Dinner: Savor the tastes of the 5 eras of Adirondack Food from the Native American and Pioneer periods to the Cure Cottage and Grand Hotel era. Finish off with today’s farm-to-fork table and a sneak taste into tomorrow’s Superfood’s.
Day 3
- Adirondack Alps Breakfast
- “Traditional Foods” Cooking Demo: You guessed it by now – it’s interactive – fun for families with kids as well as groups as you roll in the dough! Learn traditional food practices you can do at home.
- Immerse yourself in a host of informal adventures: These can include the Tucker Farm’s Corn Maze – can you find all the clues? Paddle New York State’s only wilderness canoe region.
- Travel to the heart of the Adirondack Park: on a national scenic-byway, “The Adirondack Trail” to the Adirondack Experience. This 121-acre indoor-and-outdoor experience is an “interactive journey that brings the spirit of the region and its people to life.” Hey, there is even a special display there about our Lodge!
- Or, relive the exhilarating Olympic History of Lake Placid: that hosted the 3rd Olympic Games in 1932 and again in 1980. Visit the Olympic Museum, ride the gondolas on Whiteface Mountain, rise to the top of the towering ski jumps, and if you feel adventurous ride in a bobsled!
- Adirondack Great Camp Dinner
- Old World Fireside Chat: Hear the stories of a European immigrant family arriving in the Adirondacks on a -40-degree day four days before Christmas!
Departure Day
- Adirondack Alps Breakfast
- Cooking demo with Chef Cathy Hohmeyer: “Common Roots: 3 Foods from the Past for Tomorrow.” There are many ancient traditional foods we may have forgotten that you can do at home to give your menu an exciting new twist.
- Browse the Old World Kitchen Store: take home historic ingredients for your menu tomorrow.
Group Accommodations
From shared lodgings to your own private chalet, we have a variety of group lodging options.
Great Woods Group Experience Packages
The Lake Clear Lodge & Retreat offers three Group Experience packages - all which may be personalized. We have performed simple gatherings to beautiful Adirondack Great Camp Style experiences that have utilized our entire 25-acre property.
Tier 1: Rustic Simplicity Package
Host group activities and food start from approximately $100 - $120 per guest. Hand-crafted lodgings typically range from $85-175PP. Seasonal and group packages are available. All rates do not include tax, gratuity and incidentals such as bar, etc. Typical Rustic Simplicity day events start from approximately $75 - $100 per guest not include incidentals.
Experiences
- Social & Great Camp Dinner
- One Venue
- Guests Make Own Lodging Reservations
- No minimums
Food
- Streamlined Menu
- Buffet-style within Lodge Culinary Philosophy
- Craft Beer & Wine Bar
Typical Investments
- Social & Great Camp Dinner
- Other group activities such as workshops, other meals, bar and lodgings are paid by individual participants
Tier 2: Classic Package
Minimum number of guests required. In our 3-day Classic Destination packages, group host investments start from approximately $130 - $165 per guest. Group lodging rates that require minimum participation are available. Classic Package day events start from approximately $100 - $125 per guest not including incidentals.
Experiences
- 25 Acres of private beach, secluded lake lawn, interpretive nature trails, and cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails
- Two facilities
- Arrival night welcome social with appetizers and informal pub dinner
- One formal Great Camp Dinner
- One formal or informal group activity from the Lodge Immersion Center
Food
- The buffet menu is more expansive with a blend of 100 Mile focused foods. Dinner fare includes a seasonal salad and choice of Adirondack "100 Mile" foods focused with an Old World essence. Delectable desserts are also included
Typical Investments
- Group experiences invested by the sponsor generally include a social with a limited time craft beer and wine bar and our Great Camp dinner (minimum of 25 guests for group rate)
- Informal welcome/rehearsal pub dinner, farewell breakfast/brunch for immediate wedding family (minimum of 12)
- Other group activities such as workshops, other meals, bar, etc. are paid by general guests (minimum of 12 for group rate)
- To be eligible for the group lodging rate, all of our lodgings must be taken with a minimum occupancy of 40 guests with a minimum 2 night stay
Tier 3: Great Camp Destination Retreat Package
**Best price. Minimum number of guests required. In this 3-day all inclusive experience investments that include food, lodging, facilities, and special activities start from approximately $200 - $275 per guest. Typical Great Camp day events start from approximately $125 - $150 per guest not including incidentals.
Experiences
- The Lodge is your exclusive Adirondack Great Camp Retreat
- Up to 3 venues available
- Informal welcome social and dinner
- Formal Group gathering with Great Camp Dinner, craft beer and wine
- Farewell Breakfast
Food
- Take-in a savory taste of the history of Adirondack cuisine. Throughout the weekend, sample foods from Adirondack Native Americans, the Old World pioneers, the Cure Cottage days and the Grand Hotel era which are the roots of our unique History of AdirondackFood Tasting experience
- Taste these diverse eras in different spaces from our pristine beach lunches to Fireside Speakeasy appetizers to Lakeview Retreat Center dinners. We partner with you to personalize this experience
Typical Investments
- Sponsor investments in all group activities including welcome reception and dinner, workshops, formal group gathering with Great Camp dinner, craft beer and wine, farewell breakfast, and all incidentals. Minimum 30 participants for all activities
- To be eligible for the group lodging rate, all of our lodgings must be taken with a minimum occupancy of 40 guests for 2 nights. To gain the special Friends & Family rate, the lodging payment must be paid by a single party