Life comes full circle for new owner of Stepping Stones Resort, who grew up on the property
By Holly Riddle
Built in 1968, Stepping Stones Resort on Lake George has welcomed the same families year after year, decade after decade, for their summer vacations. For those who’ve visited sometime since 2021, though, they would have noticed new, but familiar, faces at the resort’s helm, as the second generation of this multigenerational business takes the lead.
The LaPlantes originally purchased the property in 1991, but the family was no stranger to hospitality. Veronica LaPlante’s parents were running Northward Ho! Resort in Bolton Landing at the time (which has since been taken over by her brother, Don Roessler). The entire extended family worked there over the years.
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When it came to Veronica and her husband, Chuck, taking over the Stepping Stones property, the timing was everything. “We were at the point in our lives where we were talking about having a family,” she said. “We love the Adirondacks and thought it would be a great place to raise that family — so we jumped in and decided to try Stepping Stones.”
Chuck quickly became the business’s face and the couple had ample help from Veronica’s parents and siblings. It’s a tradition of family support that can now be seen as the two bolster the next generation of Stepping Stones owners, daughter Erika LaPlante and her husband, Kyle Burden. The two purchased the property four years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A true homecoming
Veronica credits the resort’s longevity on a reliance on one another, as well as an immense amount of pride in the property, which has spurred ongoing renovations and updates.
“We live [on the property],” said Erika. “When someone calls, they’re going to get Kyle and me. When someone shows up into the office, it’s going to be [us]. A lot of our guests have been coming [to the resort] for as long as I’ve been alive. They saw me as a kid getting off the school bus at the hotel. And now it’s come full circle with us running the place.”
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Te property’s business is about 85% repeat customers during the summer.
Erika and Kyle didn’t always anticipate spending their careers in hospitality. She had a prior career as an accountant, while he served in the military. However, just like Erika’s parents, they, too, soon felt the allure of the Adirondacks.
EXPLORE MORE: Check out more stories about family-owned businesses that span multiple generations
“We were living in Maryland. We started constantly discussing moving back here and buying the business,” Erika said, adding that, having grown up on the property, she knew what a wonderful experience it would be to raise a family in Lake George.
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Life comes full circle
Kyle likewise grew up in Lake George and spent his high school and college years working for tourism-focused local businesses throughout the region. “A lot of my role models when I was younger were business owners in the area,” he said, “so it was definitely something that I could see myself doing… When the opportunity came, and I consider myself an opportunist, we took it.”
Looking to the future, he said, “We plan on being here for the long run… There’s a lot of pride behind [the resort]. Maybe, if our kids are interested in something like this, we’ll hand it off to them.”
“Lake George is changing so much and we see so many family businesses that we grew up with that aren’t there anymore,” added Erika. “We would hate for that to happen here. To keep the family business going would be really special, because there aren’t that many left.”
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