Lake Champlain: Secluded New England Shore
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Vermont got shortchanged when it comes to a seacoast; it’s an East Coast state without a coast, the only New England state not bordered by the Atlantic. More than making up for this missing maritime opportunity, however, is a huge body of water on Vermont’s western front: Lake Champlain.
The largest body of freshwater in the U.S. outside the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain extends 110 miles southward from the Canadian border to South Bay, Vt. Champlain varies in width from one-quarter of a mile to 12 miles wide. It is nearly 400 feet deep in some places, and large vessels travel from Montreal to New York City by way of the lake, which is linked by canal to the Hudson River.
The 440-square-mile lake is configured like a skinny letter Y: its western arm extends past Grand Island and other northern islands; its eastern arm, the so-called “Inland Sea,” ends in the swamplands of Missiquoi Bay inside the Canadian border: The long southern stem of the Y reaches all the way to the Lake Champlain Barge Canal, which, in turn, connects the lake with the Hudson River and New York City.
Some out-of-the-ordinary fish lurk in the lake’s depths: sheepshead, bowfin, ring, long-nose gar and the lake sturgeon. Champlain is also said to be home to a Loch Ness monster-like creature nicknamed “Champ,” although existence of the seldom-seen serpent has yet to be confirmed.
By Vermont standards, the mountain-surrounded Champlain Valley has a relatively moderate climate, with less snow and warmer temperatures than the state’s higher regions. Fertile farmland and cow-dotted green pastures form a handsome, pastoral backdrop for the misty blue lake. Even the presence of Burlington, Vermont’s largest city (39,000 people), detracts little from the valley’s beauty.
Flanked by the Green Mountains on the east and the Adirondacks on the west, the Champlain Valley and its lovely lake are a summer recreation and holiday destination. Particularly attractive as a vacation spot is Grand Island County at the lake’s north end, where islands and a peninsula host campgrounds and rustic resorts.
Lake Champlain’s major drawback as a vacation spot or walking destination is a big one: lack of public access to the lake shore. Few public parks, beaches or trails allow passage to, or along, the lake.
The lake’s private property emphasis has not yet translated into unchecked shoreline development; in fact, much of lake is backed by farmland and swamp. Nevertheless, the paucity of public land limits Champlain’s recreational possibilities, making the area lightly visited. Walkers who seek out the lake’s special parks and historic sites will be well rewarded for their efforts and likely find a measure of solitude on their rambles on this shore.
Ethan Allen homestead
From Bennington, Vt., to Burlington, the name Ethan Allen is found everywhere in Vermont. The real estate speculator turned rebel has achieved legendary status in the Green Mountain State.
In May 1775, before the Revolutionary War began in earnest, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys seized Ft. Ticonderoga from the British. Captured supplies were shipped to Gen. George Washington’s troops to aid the Colonists’ struggle to drive the redcoats from Boston.
After the war, Allen retired to a farm on Burlington’s outskirts, where he lived for two years until his death in 1789. In a lush meadow on a bend of the Winooski River, the homestead occupies a choice piece of real estate.
Ethan Allen’s homestead is now a park administered by the Winooski Valley Park District, complete with reconstructed farmhouse, historic gardens and nature trails. Visitor center exhibits try to sort out the exploits of this militiaman, suspected traitor, patriot and prisoner of war.
Hikers can explore Allen’s original acreage and wetlands along the Winooski River by way of some easy trails. North of Allen’s homestead, the Winooski River makes a hairpin turn; inside this tight bend is the two-mile long Peninsula Loop Trail, which explores the pastoral riverbank. The trail visits a beach and a wooded point. A homestead hike can be extended by joining 0.9-mile Homestead Loop or 0.7-mile River Loop.
Wetlands Nature Trail (interpretive pamphlet available at the visitors center) explores the Winooski River marshlands. South of the Allen homestead, a boardwalk crosses a second adjacent wetland area. Bird-watchers will sight lots of migratory ducks and Canada geese during spring and autumn.
Access: From Burlington, follow Vermont 127 (North Champion Street) on its serpentine route through lights and junctions. Take the North Avenue Beaches exit, then follow the Ethan Allen Homestead access road to the visitor center parking lot.
Missiquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Dark waters that ooze, not flow, and brackish lagoons coated with yellow pollen. And yet these mucky meadows and muddy banks that rarely inspire the human eye, attract other mammals such as beaver and whitetail deer, as well as thousands of migratory birds.
The 6,338-acre refuge protects a great delta where the Missiquoi River empties into the lake.
Missiquoi is said to be a native Abnaki work meaning “much waterfowl.” True enough. Feathered migrants up and down the Atlantic Flyway include thousands of late summer-arriving ducks and geese. Among the more commonly sighted waterfowl that feed and breed in the refuge are goldeneyes, common mergansers, wood ducks and Canada geese.
Missiquoi’s managers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have made special efforts on behalf of the American woodcock, a robin-size, camouflage-colored bird with a unique 3-inch bill, excellent for digging earthworms. The fussy woodcock requires a woodland environment that’s periodically disturbed so that new vegetation sprouts; abandoned farms and post-forest fire forests fit the bill.
Die-hard New Englanders, the birds delay going south for the winter until late autumn and then, when they take wing, often travel no farther south than New Jersey. As if homesick, they begin the journey home in late January/early February.
Due to increased urbanization, the woodcock’s habitat has been shrinking and its population has plummeted alarmingly over the past two decades. Fortunately for the woodcock, the Missiquoi refuge has successfully shaped a habitat to the bird’s liking.
Missiquoi is not a single, simple swamp but a rich complex of wetlands, open water, pitch pine woodland, grassy marshes and a wide variety of ferns, including sensitive, royal, cinnamon and interrupted. With all this water, the best way to view Missiquoi is by paddling a canoe along the Missiquoi River or Dead Creek.
Land exploration is limited to a pair of trails penetrating wooded points bordered by Maquam and Black creeks. Maquam Creek Trail and Black Creek Trail are self-guided nature paths keyed to an interpretive brochure available from a dispenser at the trail head.
After traversing a wide meadow and crossing railroad tracks, bear right on Maquam Creek Trail, following it past a beaver lodge to the trail’s end at Lookout Point. Look out for a host of waterfowl. From the point, double back to a connector trail that joins a pathway that, in turn, meanders with Black Creek back to the trail head.
Access: From Interstate 89, about 10 miles north of St. Albans and only six miles south of the Canadian border, take Exit 21 and head west on Vermont 78. The highway jogs through the town of Swanton and, 3.5 miles from the interstate, reaches the headquarters for Missiquoi National Wildlife Refuge on the south side of the road. You’ll find ample parking near the signed trail head.
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Maquam Creek, Black Creek Trails
WHERE: Ethan Allen Homestead, Missiquoi National Wildlife Refuge.
DISTANCE: From Headquarters to Lookout Point is 2.8 miles round trip.
TERRAIN: Swampy north side of Lake Champlain.
HIGHLIGHTS: Much birdlife, including the unusual woodcock.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Easy.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, 60 Main Street, Suite 100, Burlington, VT 05401, tel. (802) 863-3489. Vermont Dept. of Travel & Tourism,(800)VERMONT.
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