Planning a Lake Champlain trip

[Starscream]

Now that Bearhunt is firmly frozen into four feet of snow, with no chance of moving until the end of April, the planning phase for next year has begun. Last year we took a memorable trip to lake Champlain, our first visit, and we plan to go back for more. I was hoping some forum members could chime in with some suggestions for kid-friendly destinations. That means Beaches, Castles, Museums, easy Hiking/Parks, lakeside Restaurants, Lakeside Hotels, Marinas, towns for walking and shopping?

Last year we launched at Westport NY. They have a nice marina and a public boat launch about 5 minutes away. We launched and left the truck in the parking lot for four days, all for free. We reserved a slip at Westport Marina for the nights. On the first day we headed out across the lake targeting the maritime museum in Vergennes, Vermont. On the charts we found a nice looking anchorage called Basin Harbor, so we headed across the lake to scope it out. Turns out that Basin Harbor is part of the Basin Harbor Country Club, and looks kind of like a Caribbean resort located in the Vermont back-country. Basin Harbor is really in the middle of nowhere, so the last thing we were expecting as we rounded the point and entered the harbor was to have to suddenly dodge paddle boats, paddle boards, windsurfers, inflatable trampolines and all kinds of watersports. We threaded our way into the throng of playing people to a beautiful dock, where red-shirted Country Club employees took our lines and greeted us. $100 later and we had unlimited access to the beach and water-toys and other facilities. There was a copa-cabana style beach bar playing caribbean music, animators, a sandy beach, and a ton of water toys. There was a golf-course down the road, a croquet course, and a very nice and surprisingly affordable restaurant called the Red Mill. There was a small grass airstrip in behind the restaurant. It was totally unexpected, and totally didn't fit in with Lake Champlain, but the boys had such a blast that we certainly will be back for more.

While we were at the restaurant, we read the rules for the visitors to the country club. One of the rules was "no laundry" hanging on your lifelines and, of course, we had left tons of towels and bathing suits and stuff on the lifelines, plus the sails were just strapped to the boom and not covered. So we were "that boat" from the other side of the tracks. We must have stood out like a sore thumb amidst the multi-million dollar yachts with paid crew. Of course we were the only sailboat there, and our L.O.A. was probably about the same as one of the motor-yacht's beam.

That visit to the Basin Harbor club was really surreal. When we left the harbor and the music and playing people disappeared from sight, we were back on Lake Champlain in the middle of nowhere. We looked at each other and had to ask "did that really just happen?".

We spent a day on the beach in Westport, and on another day we jumped back in the truck and drove to Plattsburgh for a movie and an intended visit to some of the museums there. All the museums were closed, so we missed out on those. The Westport town beach was sandy, but the water was weedy and got deep very quickly, but the kids had another fantastic day building sand castles and swimming through the weeds. We had dinner at the Westport Marina restaurant which was not expensive but a bit pricy for the quality of food we got. The turkey in my Cobb Salad was chopped up cold-cuts, for example, but my wife's plate was good. The kid's meals were really not well thought out. But the staff was really friendly, the service was good, and we will certainly be back there too.

For next year we are thinking about the Willsboro Bay Marina, which also seems to have a public launch just a few minutes away. From Willsboro bay, there looks to be a public beach a few miles north at Port Douglas, and from there Burlington is just across the lake. Basin Harbor would be a bit of a long run for the kids, but looks to be within our range limit (which is about an hour by motor or two hours by sail). Has anyone been to these places?

Where are the good beaches and places to see on Lake Champlain?

[K9Kampers]

On the Burlington side of the lake, at the northern end of Burlington Bay is North Beach Park, a public beach either roped swimming area. Between North Beach and Lone Rock Point is an excellent and popular anchorage for day boaters and overnighters. The long stretch of sand beach south of the swim area is popular with boaters too, many of whom anchor bow out. Lifeguards don't like it when day boaters swim or row across the swim lines. Anything outside of the swim area is fair game.

Down at the Burlington waterfront is the Burlington Boathouse that offers docking by the hour and overnight. It is actually a two story floating barge that has a restaurant & bar, showers and sells ice.

Next door is the ECHO, Leahy Center, a kid orientated lake ecology museum.

[kmclemore]

We have a house up on the tip of Point Au Fer, just south of Rouses Point, and there's a nice sheltered bay just south east of us if you'd like to moor for a visit - I expect Jana and I will be spending a lot of time up there this summer and we'd be pleased to meet you and show you around. South of us there's an attraction called Ausable Chasm and it's quite beautiful - a bit like a mini-grand canyon. There are also a number of nice beaches nearby on the north end of the lake, particularly on the Vermont side. Send me an email or PM using the buttons over on the right ===> and we'll share emails and phone info so we can meet up, if you like.

[Bobglas]

Peru launch ramp just South of Plattsburgh, plenty of parking. Motor over to close by Valcour Island. Great trails, Lighthouse (maybe a tour), decent beaches, Protected coves from any direction wind. We always make an overnight stop there and at Burlington Boathouse for showers, resupply, free bus to a great closed off street w/ shops and restaurants. If no real wind is predicted, anchor off Bouquet river mouth, sandy beach. Quaker Smith point has 2 anchorages (N or S wind) w/ I think the best sunset views on Champlain. Heading North from Valcour pass under the Bascule bridge (1/2 hr openings) into the Inland Sea sail over to Burton Island State Park, berths, showers, small stores, great breakfasts, hiking. There's so much, I love Champlain. Do 90% of my sailing there May to September. Good ramp also by Ticonderoga, cool fort, motor N to Crown point, another fort, Cool new bridge, lighthouse and sculpture by Rodin, kind of narrow down there thus the motoring. Close to Port Henry (nifty diner) Excellent ramp and parking. Willsboro- excellent ramp/parking - marina w/ nice restaurant - good storm hole. All I can think of now. Pm or e-mail maybe we can rendezvous if you like, I've never run into another Mac.

[Starscream]

Thanks for all the info guys. I will PM you as plans develop.

Here's a photo from Basin harbor...it's worth a visit if you haven't been there, just because it's so out of place on Lake Champlain.



You can see Bearhunt in the background, next to a 50' superyacht. Two of my sons are in the rowboat, don't know where son#3 was.

[Catigale]

I haven't been to that Marina Starscream but upstate NY people tend to be pretty relaxed about the country club rules - down in Scarsdale its different. I dropped a mast in my slip and the harbormaster mentioned the prohibition to me a few days later. He confessed he had never seen anyone drop a 26 foot boat mast solo on the water and it was worth the watch!

Hope to see you in NY sometime. Don't forget you can cruise down the Champlain Canal and reach Albany after which we can run you back up to your car/trailer!