Lake Champlain
Lake · Burlington, Vermont
Five hundred and fourteen square miles of water running a hundred and seven miles north from Whitehall, New York to the Richelieu River in Quebec, four hundred feet deep at its deepest and sixty-four on average. Vermont holds the majority of the developed shoreline and the visitor facilities, and Burlington on the eastern shore is the largest settlement on the whole lake. Samuel de Champlain reached it in 1609 and left both his name and the first written account of something long in the water with silver-grey scales - the beginning of a lake monster the region has been affectionately arguing about ever since.
1 College Street, Burlington, Vermont, 05401, United States
The lake and the Burlington waterfront are open at all times and FREE. ⚠ THE FERRIES ARE THE PRACTICAL THING TO PLAN AROUND: the Lake Champlain Transportation Company runs GRAND ISLE TO CUMBERLAND HEAD, NEW YORK ALL YEAR ROUND, and CHARLOTTE TO ESSEX seasonally; a separate seasonal ferry serves Fort Ticonderoga. Check current sailing times before relying on a crossing. Vermont state park beaches on the lake charge a day-use vehicle fee and their lifeguards are summer season at posted hours only. ⚠ CYANOBACTERIA ADVISORIES ARE POSTED BY THE VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in warm still spells and should be checked before swimming, especially with a dog. Boat launches along the Vermont shore are generally free or low-cost; marinas and hire are seasonal and concentrated in Burlington and the Champlain Islands.