Lake Champlain & Burlington, VT

by Susan R. Pollack

PHOTOS COURTESY OF (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): HELLO BURLINGTON; BEN&JERRY’S BURLINGTON FACEBOOK; HELLO VERMONT WEBSITE; FORT TICONDEROGA FACEBOOK; HELLO BURLINGTON You might see celebrity senator Bernie Sanders tooling around Burlington in his Subaru. The former eight-term mayor is often spotted in Vermont’s largest city when he’s not in Washington D.C.

Or, maybe you’ll glimpse a member of the band Phish hanging out in City Hall Park, not far from where the legendary rockers got their start at the University of Vermont in 1983.

You’ll surely see folks of all ages slurping Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream at the Church Street storefront or on the factory tour in nearby Waterbury.

And keep your eyes peeled while cruising Lake Champlain, Burlington’s stunning focal point: if you’re lucky, you may catch sight of Champ, the mythic sea monster that has fi gured in local lake lore – and the occasional fuzzy photo – for centuries. Pundits have dubbed it America’s version of Scotland’s Loch Ness monster.

All that, and much more, is on tap for the hundreds of boat buffs attending the Antique & Classic Boat Society’s 45th Annual Meeting and 20th International Boat Show, Sept. 5-10, in Burlington, a progressive coastal city of about 43,000 with a hip, college-town vibe. It’s located in northern Vermont, less than two hours from Montreal in Quebec, Canada.

With beautiful sunsets and waterfront views, Burlington revolves around Lake Champlain, an historic, 120-mile waterway that spans two states (Vermont and New York) and the U.S./Canadian border. It has been called “The Great Warpath,” having served as the setting for most of the major confl icts that defi ned early North American history, according to Gene Porter, the event’s co-chair.

To show off the waterway, the ACBS Lake Champlain chapter is hosting multi-day vintage boat pre-cruises to Burlington from both Montreal and New York. Boaters will cruise in the north through the Chambly Canal, which connects the Richelieu and St. Lawrence rivers to Lake Champlain, and, in the south, the Champlain Canal, which connects with the Hudson River. For details and rates, check

“Lake Champlain is a natural treasure, an amazing and majestic part of the world tucked between Vermont’s Green Mountains and the Adirondacks in New York,” says Jeff Lawson, marketing vice president for the Lake Champlain Chamber. “Burlington sits at the widest part of the lake and faces west, which not only makes for incredible sunsets but makes us really connected to the lake.”

For a brief period in 1998, Lake Champlain experienced national notoriety as the “Sixth Great Lake” when government legislation made it eligible for Federal research funds. When the move proved controversial, Congress rescinded the designation after just 18 days, though the lake retained its funding eligibility.

Ranked 13th largest in area of U.S. freshwater lakes, Lake Champlain is substantially smaller than any of the Great Lakes. But it does top Lake Erie in both average and maximum depths (64 feet and 400 feet, respectively), according to the Lake Champlain Committee, a nonprofi t citizens group.

Lake Champlain boasts a storied battle history, including the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the fi rst American victory of the Revolutionary War. Its hero, Ethan Allen, and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Benedict Arnold (before he turned traitor), captured the fort from the British, securing the strategic passageway north to Canada and acquiring valuable weapons for the Continental Army. The freshly restored fort is in New York, across the lake from Burlington.

In the north end of Burlington, in a 294-acre park on the Winooski River, the Ethan Allen Homestead, circa 1787, offers a look at 18th-century life and the Green Mountain Boys, some of whom were Allen’s cousins.

“Over 200 years forts and fl eets were built and lost, and what happened on this lake determined the history of our nation,” proclaims registration material for the Antique & Classic Boat Society’s 2022 International Boat Show. It’s taking place Sept. 9-10 at the new Burlington Harbor Marina (the meeting host) and Burlington Community Boathouse. The adjacent Waterfront Park will showcase local artists and crafters, vintage boating supplies, a collection of historic racing sailboats and Vermont delicacies.

Today, Lake Champlain is a lively playground for pleasure-boaters — paddle, sail or motor — and water sports such as paddle-boarding, kitesurfing, tubing, water-skiing, wakeboarding and windsurfing. Activities, including boat and gear rentals, may be arranged from the Burlington waterfront. The boat show marinas, as well as Perkins Pier and the Ferry Dock Marina, offer rental boat slips and moorings.

Visitors also may join fi shing charters — Lake Champlain is a top spot for smallmouth bass — or scenic tours and sunset cruises aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen, named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero and a founder of Vermont. Nearby on the waterfront, ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, is a hands-on science and nature museum and site of the event’s welcome reception. One of the exhibits examines the mystery surrounding the lake’s elusive sea monster, Champ — sightings are taken seriously in these parts.

Don’t miss Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, which focuses on underwater archeology, including a video of Benedict Arnold’s sunken gunboat, Spitfi re, as it lies today, 250 years later, on the lake bottom. Also appealing, on the western shore of Lake Champlain, is Essex, N.Y.., a preserved village of Greek Revival and Federal architecture that’s on the National Register of Historic Places.

When not cruising Lake Champlain, visitors may walk, run or ride bikes alongside it, enjoying scenic water views and cool breezes. The Island Line Trail runs 14 miles along the coast from Burlington, then crosses the lake to the Champlain Islands via the narrow Colchester Causeway.

Extending out into Lake Champlain, the causeway is a former railroad bed turned 4-mile gravel path (bike or walking) with great views of the water and the Green Mountains. Local Motion, a nonprofi t cycling organization, operates the Island Line Bike Ferry that transports cyclists and pedestrians across “the Cut,” a 200-foot gap in the causeway that allows boats to pass through.

Beloved by locals, Burlington Greenway Bike Path, the trail’s southern leg, is an easy 8-mile paved path that runs along the shore of Lake Champlain with hidden beaches, rocky ledges for sunbathing and hiking trails along the way.

Elsewhere in Burlington, Church Street Marketplace, a fourblock, brick-paved pedestrian mall, is downtown central with 75 shops, cafes, bars, craft breweries, bakeries and art galleries. Check out Common Deer, showcasing American- and Vermont-made goods from 500 makers — everything from candles, soaps and towels to jewelry, puzzles and purses.

The famous Vermont Teddy Bear got its start from a cart on Church Street in 1981. Today, you can visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne, about 20 minutes from downtown. It’s one mile from the renowned Shelburne Museum featuring an eclectic collection of American folk art, including vintage circus memorabilia, quilts, duck decoys, large wind-up toys and Impressionist paintings. The collections are housed in a village-like setting of 39 buildings, 25 of them historic New England structures. They include a lighthouse, jail, covered bridge and even Ticonderoga, a 220-foot sidewheel steamboat.

On the shore of Lake Champlain, Shelburne Farm is a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark. The porch of the 19th-century inn is a popular place for cocktails.

Nearby, Burlington’s Intervale, an agricultural community devoted to sustainable land use, is home to nine organic farms that supply fresh produce and fl owers to local markets, restaurants and consumers. A trail network for hiking, biking, paddling and bird-watching winds through the Intervale.

Whether you’re in the Burlington area as a boater or landlubber, Lake Champlain offers an abundance of attractions both on and off the water. ★

Spreading across 490 square miles and 14 miles across at its widest point, Lake Champlain is home to 71 islands. Vermont’s Inland Sea (also known as the Northeast Arm), the Lake Champlain Islands and the ancient Chazy Fossil Reef on Isle La Motte are also worthy excursions for boaters.

■ For Lake Champlain information, check out HELLOBURLINGTONVT.COM

■ Find boat show details at ACBS.ORG/2022-INTERNATIONAL-BOAT-SHOW