Northern Vermont has the best of both worlds for visitors: quiet retreats with nature as a friend, contemporary or historical attractions for young and old, and city life with local products. With easy access to and from Canada, day trips to Montreal are a nice way to reconnect to the modern life while taking time out from the normal day-to-day routine. Come to northern Vermont to relax, revitalize, and explore-it’s sure to be a treat!
Whether you are looking for a quiet stay along a mountain stream
or a lake, an active outdoor vacation, or attractions and events to
visit, the diversity of the northern section of Vermont offers camping
that can meet your needs. Because about half of the campgrounds in
Vermont are in the northern section you have a wide variety of locations
and amenities to choose from.
Lakes and streams abound here and you can enjoy the beaches and
swimming holes, along with fishing and all kinds of boating.
Miles of hiking
and biking trails wind through the hills and the famous Long Trail
hits its highest point at Mount Mansfield. Each village and vista
makes its own contribution to Vermont’s charm, while cities
such as Burlington and Newport, as well as towns around ski resort
areas such
as Stowe, Jay Peak and Burke Mt. provide shopping, dining and entertainment
year round.
With our easy access to and from Canada, campers staying here
can make day trips to such destinations as Montreal and our
Canadian
friends
have only a short trip to enjoy this part of Vermont. Historic
sites, unique museums, covered bridges and other features of
our cultural
heritage can give you the feeling that you have stepped back
in time. Come camping in northern Vermont to relax, explore
and enjoy
activities—you
will be pleased at what you find here!
Northern
Vermont has some of our most rural places - and some of our most
charming and sophisticated small cities.
It is a region of interesting contrasts, from the broad, farmed
Champlain Valley to the forested hills and pristine lakes of the
Northeast Kingdom. Cities like Burlington, St. Albans, Newport and
St. Johnsbury are centers of commerce and entertainment, but the
predominant character of the region is rural.
There are delightful,
clean, clear lakes spread across northern Vermont, and the largest
of them is Lake Champlain, the sixth-largest
lake in the United States. Viewed from the waterfront in Burlington,
Vermont's largest city, a Lake Champlain sunset is an experience
to be remembered always - even Rudyard Kipling thought so! Camping
near Lake Champlain offers a wide variety of recreational possibilities.
Westward, the lake beckons from a dozen beaches and state parks,
while to the east there are scenic drives, historic villages, and
hiking trails that lead far into the mountains.
Burlington itself is a world-class collection of fine architecture,
and the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum has art shows throughout
the season. At the Burlington Boathouse, on the waterfront, you can
buy a hot dog, take a cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen II or rent
a sea kayak and paddle off into the sunset!
Just south of Burlington,
Shelburne Farms is an enormous estate now open to the public with
a wide array of agricultural and nature
activities throughout the year. Nearby, the Shelburne Museum presents
a vast collection of art and Americana. Either of these landmarks
is worth a day of exploring.
Just north of Burlington are the Lake Champlain islands, known collectively
as Grand Isle. The three major islands of North Hero, South Hero,
and Isle La Motte are one of Vermont's quiet secrets - a small lake-bound
world just minutes from the state's busiest city. The eastern shore
of Lake Champlain near Swanton and St. Albans also offers access
to the bays and marinas of the big lake.
East of the Green Mountains, Vermont's northern sector is known
as the Northeast Kingdom and though it is remote, rural, forested
and farmed, it is far from uncivilized. The region has perhaps the
highest per capita concentration of artists, musicians, and writers
of any part of Vermont. The programs in St. Johnsbury at the Catamount
Arts Center, the Fairbanks Museum, and the Athenaeum - a small, elegant
public library - offer a regular taste of the region's strong commitment
to the arts.
Northeastern Vermont is home to Vermont's "lakes country," where
dozens of lakes and ponds are nestled in a delightfully unspoiled
rural landscape of farmland, forests, clear streams and rolling mountains.
There are numerous small, attractive villages located throughout
the region, and campers have their choice of clean, clear waters
in which to fish, boat, and swim. Some of the region's lakes are
large and spectacular, others small and intimate. But they all offer
clean, clear waters and pleasant beaches for swimming.
Perhaps the most picturesque lake in the region is Lake Willoughby
in Westmore, with its southern end overshadowed by huge, towering
cliffs. But there are many other lakes of equal allure scattered
throughout the region, usually within a few minutes' drive of any
camping area. Newport's big, beautiful Lake Memphremagog, for example,
rivals Lake Champlain and has an attractive waterfront with its own
tour boat.
Last updated:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
