The Holidays at the Cabins

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, the cabins are three and a half road miles from the first ski days at Titus Mountain, about ten road miles from the Malone stores, and an hour or so from the December festivals in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. This is our plan for the holidays: what runs when, how to cook a holiday dinner in a cabin kitchen, and how to spend Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

The holiday calendar in 2026

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. Christmas Day falls on a Friday, and so does New Year's Day, 2027, so each of the winter holidays opens a long weekend. At all three cabins check-in is after 4 p.m. and checkout is before 11 a.m. For Thanksgiving, arriving on Tuesday gives you a full day to shop and settle in, with time for a fresh turkey to wait in the refrigerator until Thursday.

These are the shortest days of the year. At the cabins the sun sets at about 4:20 p.m. from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, and twilight lasts about another half hour. December 21 has less than nine hours of daylight. Plan to reach the cabin before dark, shop in Malone on the way in, and keep the evenings for the hot tub and the stove.

Malone averages a high of 43°F in November and 30°F in December, with about 9 and 21 inches of snow. The winter page has December in detail, and the events calendar lists the dated events of both months. The two holidays make different trips. Thanksgiving week is late fall, with the deer season open and the ski season not yet certain. Christmas week is winter, and Titus lists it as a holiday period.

Thanksgiving week

Thanksgiving week sits between the seasons. As posted in early October, this is what the week holds in 2026:

• The first ski days, maybe. Titus was open by Thanksgiving weekend in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019, as early as November 15 in 2019; in the other winters from 2012 to 2024 it opened in December. Whiteface, about 62 road miles away, opened on November 15 last season.
• Santa's Workshop. The park reopens for holiday weekends from late November 2026, and its posted weekend season takes in the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving.
• The Turkey Trot. Adirondack Health's 17th annual Turkey Trot, a 5K walk and run on a flat loop around Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, starts at 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning from the Beach House. Lake Placid is about an hour and a quarter from the cabins and race-morning bib pickup ends at 8, so leave by about 6:30, or pick up the bib at the Beach House on Wednesday between 4 and 6 p.m. Bring three or more non-perishable food items: the proceeds go to a local food pantry and Adirondack Health's Fit for Life scholarship fund. Dogs stay home for this one.
• Deer season. The regular season is open all week, so wear bright colors for any walk in the woods (see the next section).
• Shopping. Finish it by Wednesday evening. Last year the big grocery chains closed early or all day on Thanksgiving; the shopping section below has the details.

Our Thanksgiving plan: drive up on Tuesday and shop on the way in; on Wednesday, a walk in orange and a first soak; on Thursday, the Turkey Trot or a slow morning, then a turkey breast in the oven by noon for dinner at four; on Friday, Titus if it is open, or a day at the cabin; on Saturday or Sunday, Santa's Workshop with older kids, or the shops on Main Street in Lake Placid.

Deer season and walking in the woods

Hunting season is part of a late-fall stay in the North Country, and a bright hat and vest take care of it. The cabins and Malone sit in Wildlife Management Unit 5C of New York's Northern Zone. There the regular deer season runs from October 24 to December 6 in 2026, and the bear season, open since September 19, closes the same day. The late bow and muzzleloader week that follows, December 7 to 13, is open only in other units of the zone, not in 5C. After December 6, the deer and bear seasons around the cabins stay closed until next September.

Hunters share most of the public land around the cabins. The state forests, Titusville Mountain among them with 7,566 acres in the towns of Bellmont and Malone, are open to public hunting except in intensive-use areas, and so is the Forest Preserve. The cabin properties are different: the house rules allow no hunting on them, so the Tiny Home's trail to the pond and its observation deck make a hunting-free walk. The Titusville Mountain guide has the state forest's trails.

• Wear blaze orange or blaze pink on any walk off the property while the seasons are open, mid-September to December 6 around the cabins. A hat and a vest are enough. DEC encourages everyone outdoors in fall and winter to wear a bright color, so keep them on all winter. Big-game hunters carrying firearms have had to wear orange or pink themselves since 2021.
• Dress the dog too. A bright vest or scarf, and a leash at all times. Dogs are welcome at the cabins with a pet fee; bringing your dog has the house rules and the walks.
• Watch for deer on the roads at dawn and dusk. In 2024, drivers in New York hit 5,854 deer in November, against 4,050 in October and 3,624 in December. If a deer steps out, brake firmly and do not swerve. The winter driving guide has the rest.

Titus Mountain and the first ski days

Titus is three and a half road miles from the cabins, five to seven minutes by the listings, with day and night skiing and Neon Night Tubing. Its 2026-27 opening day was not posted in early October. It usually opens between mid-November and the week before Christmas, depending on the snow, and closes in late March or early April.

For a holiday booking, one record matters more than the rest: in each of the last 14 winters, Titus was running by Christmas Day. The latest start in that stretch came in the short 2015-16 winter, when it opened on Christmas Day itself. If skiing is the point of the trip, Christmas week is the safer choice, and a Thanksgiving ski day is a bonus in the years the snow comes early.

The mountain's hours page still shows the calendar of an earlier winter, with no year on it: closed on Christmas Day, and a Christmas-week holiday period from December 26 to January 3. Look for this winter's version on the same page, and check the daily conditions report before you drive over. The Titus guide has the lifts, trails, tickets and night hours, and Ski Titus, Then Soak is our plan for a ski day that ends in the hot tub.

Santa's Workshop on the holiday weekends

Santa's Workshop, the Christmas village at North Pole on the road up Whiteface, has welcomed visitors since 1949. It stayed closed through the summer and fall of 2026 for upgrades and reopens for holiday weekends from late November 2026, with Village of Lights evenings in December. The park says every date and hour can change without notice, so check its hours page the week you go.

It is about 55 road miles from the cabins, about an hour and a half. Holiday stays at the cabins are for families with children 10 and up, so plan it as an outing with older kids who still love the lights. The Santa's Workshop guide has the history, the rides, tickets and the drive.

Lake Placid in December

Lake Placid, about 52 road miles south and about an hour and a quarter away, holds its holiday weekend in mid-December. The Holiday Village Stroll runs from Friday, December 11, to Sunday, December 13, 2026. In early October the 2026 schedule was still being developed, and the organizers posted last year's as an example of what to expect. In 2025 it looked like this:

• Friday. A skating party at the 1932 rink in the Olympic Center, with free skate rentals, and a free holiday movie in the Olympic Center's Lussi Ballroom.
• Saturday. A Jingle Bell Run from the Mirror Lake Beach House at 8:30 a.m., Santa arriving by fire truck at Mid's Park at 11, a free showing of "It's a Wonderful Life" at the Palace Theatre, and the tree lighting at Mid's Park at 5 p.m.
• Sunday. Santa Ski at Whiteface, a free "Polar Express" at the Palace, a free session on the Olympic Speed Skating Oval, a Christmas concert at the Adirondack Community Church, and the Chris Kringle Caravan, Santa's 4 p.m. ride through town with the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department.
• All weekend. A scavenger hunt for holiday symbols in the Main Street shop windows.

Santa Sunday at Whiteface is the one to plan around if you ski. In 2025, anyone who arrived in a complete Santa or Mrs. Claus outfit, with the red suit, hat, beard or wig, and belt, got a free lift ticket, and the Santas gathered at 11 a.m. for a group photo and a mass run down Excelsior from Little Whiteface. It fell on Sunday, December 14, the Sunday of that year's stroll. The 2026 date was not posted in early October, so check Whiteface's events page.

Outside the festival weekend, the outdoor Olympic Oval on Main Street keeps public skating hours in winter, and the Olympic sites guide covers the museum, the ski jumps and Mt Van Hoevenberg. The sun sets at about 4:20, so start home by about 3 for a daylight drive, or stay for the tree lights and take the drive slowly.

Saranac Lake in December

Saranac Lake, about 43 road miles south and about an hour away, keeps its holiday calendar at the two ends of the month.

• Light Up Saranac Lake. On Friday, December 5, 2025, the volunteer fire department, the village and the Women's Civic Chamber put on a lighted fire-truck parade from Broadway to Main Street at 6 p.m. Santa then lit the community tree on Berkeley Green at 6:30, with a bonfire, cookies, hot cocoa and a sing-along, and met children at the library from 7 to 9. The evening was free. The 2026 date was not posted in early October.
• Sparkle Village. The same weekend, the 40th Sparkle Village craft show and sale filled the Harrietstown Town Hall on Main Street with local jewelry, pottery, woodwork, fiber arts, skin care and candles, for a $3 admission, with children 12 and under free.
• North Country New Year. The village's New Year's Eve festival is on Thursday, December 31, 2026; the New Year's Eve section below has the details.

Berkeley Green is also where the Saranac Lake 6er bell hangs, and the Winter Carnival, which begins on February 5, 2027, is the village's next big event. The Saranac Lake guide covers the rest of the village.

Shopping before the holidays

Malone, about ten road miles north and about 20 minutes away, has the supermarkets, a liquor store and two pharmacies. Price Chopper and Aldi are open every day of the week:

• Price Chopper, 53 Finney Boulevard: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a bakery, a deli counter, catering and beer.
• Aldi, 3324 State Route 11: 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bring a quarter for the cart.
• Walmart Supercenter, 3222 State Route 11, which also has a pharmacy.

Wine and liquor come from The Jug Store at 44 Finney Boulevard, and Kinney Drugs at 485 East Main Street is the other pharmacy in town. The groceries and supplies page has every store, the regular closing times and a first-night shopping list.

The 2026 holiday hours were not posted in early October. Last year Walmart and Aldi closed on Thanksgiving Day and on Christmas Day, Walmart kept 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Aldi 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and most Price Choppers closed at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving and many at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Those were chain-wide hours, and single stores can differ, so check the Malone store pages the week before you drive up.

Shop for Thanksgiving by Wednesday evening and for Christmas by the 23rd, and keep Christmas Eve for the last few things. Since 2022, New York has let liquor and wine stores open on Christmas Day at each store's choice, so buy the wine with the groceries.

A holiday dinner in a cabin kitchen

Every cabin has a full kitchen, and the listings spell out what is in it: a stove and an oven, a refrigerator with a freezer, a microwave, a toaster, a coffee maker and a kettle, pots and pans with oil, salt and pepper, plates, bowls, cups and cutlery, wine glasses and a dining table. The Modern Pine and The Aviator add a dishwasher, and The Aviator lists a baking sheet. Each cabin also has a grill outside, a gas grill at the Tiny Home.

That is a kitchen set up for everyday cooking, and for a big meal guests bring a few things from home. One guest on a second stay at the Pine wrote, "We brought an extra baking sheet and mixing bowls this year." Another found "wonderful (and VERY sharp) knives and great pots and pans" and had "thought ahead to bring all our spices and oils." Our packing list for a holiday dinner:

• a roasting pan with a rack, or a disposable foil roasting pan set on a baking sheet;
• an instant-read meat thermometer;
• mixing bowls, a baking dish for the stuffing and a pie plate;
• a baking sheet, unless you are staying at The Aviator;
• your spices, butter, flour and stock for the gravy;
• foil, plastic wrap and containers for the leftovers.

Turkey for four

Each cabin sleeps four, which keeps the turkey simple. The USDA plans on a pound of turkey per person, so a 4 to 8 pound turkey breast feeds four with leftovers, and an 8 to 12 pound whole bird feeds four with plenty more. Roast at 325°F on a rack in a shallow pan: an unstuffed breast that size takes about 1½ to 3¼ hours, and the whole bird about 2¾ to 3 hours. It is done at 165°F, measured in the thickest part of the breast and, on a whole bird, in the innermost thigh and wing. Let it stand 20 minutes before carving, and bake the stuffing in its own dish, which the USDA recommends for more even cooking.

Thawing on the trip

A frozen turkey thaws in the refrigerator at about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds: one to three days for a bird up to 12 pounds, three to four days for one of 12 to 16. If you arrive on Tuesday for a Thursday dinner, the easy answer is a fresh breast or bird bought in Malone, since the USDA advises buying a fresh turkey only a day or two before you cook it. A frozen breast can also ride up in a cooler and finish thawing in the cabin refrigerator. In a pinch, a turkey in leak-proof wrapping thaws in cold water at about 30 minutes a pound, with the water changed every half hour, and goes into the oven as soon as it has thawed.

Timing the meal

One oven sets the order. The turkey goes in first; the stuffing, sweet potatoes and rolls bake while it rests; potatoes, gravy and green vegetables go on the stove top; and the microwave reheats. For dinner at four, a breast goes in by about noon. The grill outside can take a second dish on a calm day. For a lighter load, buy the pies and a side or two from the Price Chopper bakery and deli, or order from its catering ahead of time.

Leftovers

Get the leftovers into the refrigerator within two hours, in shallow containers, and finish them within three to four days. Turkey keeps in the freezer for two to six months, if there is any to take home. For turkey questions before the holiday, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-888-674-6854, answers on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, and its recorded advice runs around the clock.

Christmas at the cabins

Two reviews from December stays sum up Christmas here. "This little cabin with a hot tub was perfect for us on our Christmas holiday trip," one guest wrote of the Pine. Another, at the Tiny Home, called the stay "a lovely quiet and isolated Christmas getaway" and wrote that "it was magical to watch the snow fall from the large windows in the living area."

• Shop by the 23rd. Walmart and Aldi closed on Christmas Day in 2025 and closed early on Christmas Eve, as many Price Choppers did.
• Keep Christmas Day close to home. The calendar on Titus's hours page has it closed on Christmas Day, and the Wild Center in Tupper Lake closes on December 25 and January 1. A walk, a long soak and a slow dinner suit the day.
• Light the stove. The Modern Pine and The Aviator each have a Jøtul GF 160 DV gas stove with glass on three sides; the Jøtul stoves explains how they work. The Pine's hot tub is listed as open 24 hours, all year. The Tiny Home has no stove; its gathering place is the big stone fire pit.
• Walk after the seasons close. By Christmas the Northern Zone's deer and bear seasons are over. Keep a bright hat on anyway, since DEC asks for bright colors all winter.
• Ride from the door. When the snowmobile trails open, the C7 corridor is about a three-minute ride from the Pine. Snowmobile season from the cabin door explains how to check which trails are open.

New Year's Eve nearby

New Year's Eve 2026 is a Thursday, and there are two good ways to spend it from the cabins.

North Country New Year in Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake's New Year's Eve festival fills the village on December 31, 2026, with live music and activities from 5 to 10 p.m. and fireworks at 10. A sticker is the pass to every venue: $20, $15 for seniors, and free for anyone under 18, picked up at the Harrietstown Town Hall and Welcome Center at 39 Main Street. The 2026 lineup was not out in early October. In 2025 the headliner was the Grammy-nominated Professor Louie and the Crowmatix, from Woodstock, at 8 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium. Petrova Elementary School had face painting, balloon animals, caricatures and a visit from the Adirondack Sky Center's planetarium, and there was a vintage game night at the Saranac Lake Laboratory Museum and skating at the Civic Center. Last year the stickers were sold online through December 30 and in person on December 31.

With the fireworks at 10 and about an hour's drive home, you are back at the cabin well before midnight. Pick your driver before you go.

At the cabin

The cabins suit a small New Year's. All three listings say no parties or events, and the Tiny Home and The Aviator keep quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. That leaves the version of the night we like best: dinner in, the stove lit or the fire pit going, and a quiet soak in the hot tub at midnight. On a clear night the stars are the show, and stargazing from the hot tub has what to look for. If the posted calendar holds, Titus is still in its holiday period on New Year's Day.

Families with older children

The cabins are for families with children 10 and up: The Modern Pine's and the Tiny Home's house rules say they are not suitable for children under 10, and all three listings carry Airbnb's flag for children and infants. With a main bedroom and a bunk room, each cabin suits two adults and two older children or teenagers. One family of four at The Aviator liked having the "kids bedroom on one side of the house and ours on the other side." For a family like that, the holidays offer:

• night skiing and Neon Night Tubing at Titus, three and a half road miles away;
• the Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot around Mirror Lake;
• the skating party, the free movies and Santa Sunday of the Holiday Village Stroll, if the 2026 program follows last year's;
• a Village of Lights evening at Santa's Workshop;
• North Country New Year, free for anyone under 18.

The family cabins page has who sleeps where and more ideas for a family trip.

A sample holiday week

This is the week we would book: the Saturday after Christmas to the Saturday after New Year's, December 26, 2026, to January 2, 2027. The dates come from 2026 postings and past calendars, so check each one the week before.

• Saturday, December 26. Drive up and shop in Malone on the way; Price Chopper normally stays open until 11 p.m. Check in after 4, about sunset, and start the stove and the hot tub.
• Sunday, December 27. Titus, if it is running: the calendar on its hours page starts the Christmas-week holiday period on December 26. Night skiing or tubing after dinner, if posted.
• Monday, December 28. Lake Placid: Main Street, the Olympic Center, and a skate on the oval if it is open. Start home by about 3.
• Tuesday, December 29. A slow day: a walk in bright colors, lunch in Malone (the where-to-eat page has the restaurants), and the New Year's Eve shopping.
• Wednesday, December 30. A second ski day at Titus, or Whiteface, about 62 road miles away; the Lake Placid and Whiteface day trip has the plan.
• Thursday, December 31. A morning on the snow or at the cabin. Then North Country New Year in Saranac Lake from 5, fireworks at 10 and back by about 11:15, or dinner in and midnight in the hot tub.
• Friday, January 1. New Year's Day. A late breakfast, an afternoon on the slopes if Titus is in its holiday period, and the big dinner of the week.
• Saturday, January 2. Checkout before 11 a.m. If you drive south by way of Tupper Lake, the Wild Center, about 57 road miles from the cabins, opens again for the weekend; buy its timed tickets ahead.

Booking the holidays

All three cabins sleep four, and each has a private hot tub, a fire pit, a grill and a full kitchen, so the choice for the holidays comes down to heat and outdoor space. The Modern Pine has the Jøtul gas stove, a large screened room on the deck and the hot tub open 24 hours. The Aviator has the same stove and a large open deck. The Modern Tiny Home has no stove; it has the big stone fire pit, a small screened corner of the deck and the trail to the pond. Compare them side by side, then book through the listings or the book direct page.

Driving down from Canada for the holidays? The Trout River crossing on NY 30 is closed to traffic entering the United States until about May 2028, so plan another crossing; the post on the closure has the routes.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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3. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/hours-of-operation
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27. fsis.usda.gov fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/poultry/l
28. fsis.usda.gov fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/usda-meat
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30. api.sunrise-sunset.org api.sunrise-sunset.org/json?lat=44.769&lng=-74.192&date=2026-12-21&for
31. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/53628054
32. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/41023086
33. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/1168252128174283244
34. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/htgsummarypullout.pdf
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