Login | April 29, 2024
Lake Champlain vacation
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: March 18, 2024
Have you begun to fantasize about your 2024 summer vacations?
Well, with spring a few months away, I’m going to offer you a nice vacation destination to consider when you find yourself falling into another summer vacation musing.
This is a place we field tested two summers ago and an area that provided us with such a memorable time that I’m sure we’ll revisit it.
The place is Cumberland Bay State Park located in Upstate New York on the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain.
And if you’re into hiking, biking and/or just lounging on a beautiful beach then this Adirondack destination fits the bill.
Now Cumberland Bay State Park requires a good week’s worth of vacation time to visit, one, because it’s a nine-hour drive from the Cleveland area, and two, because there’s just too much to try to squeeze into a long weekend trip.
So let’s start with the drive, and the quickest way to reach New York’s Champlain region is to take I-90 east all the way to Albany, then follow I-87 north into the heart of the Adirondack Mountains all the way up to Plattsburgh.
Once in Plattsburgh you’ll want to drive a couple miles east to the park. Cumberland Bay State Park (https://parks.ny.gov/parks/34/details.aspx) is an absolutely stellar park situated in a picture perfect location.
There you can set yourself up in a wonderfully well-kept tent/RV campsite…or you can rent a pretty cool cabin or cottage.
But I warn you, if you’re into the rentals you’d better secure a dwelling early because they can be near impossible to snag once we get into the heat of the summer.
Next up are the recreational opportunities.
Beach
So I’m a mountains kind of guy as opposed to a beaches kind of guy, yet I have to admit that this beach is a real gem, it’s super long and plenty wide, its sands are amazingly well maintained by the park and it contains a nice little sea wall with a long concrete boardwalk.
Not only that but adjacent to the beach is a beautiful strip of picnicking greenway where you can kick back and feast your eyes on Vermont’s Green Mountains which lie several miles off Champlain’s eastern shores. We made it a point each day to do our cycling/hiking early in the day so we could lounge on the beach during the hot and sultry August afternoons.
Cycling
My recommendation here begins at the ferry docks (https://ferries.com/vt-ny-ferry-routes/grand-isle-vt-to-plattsburgh-ny/directions-and-parking/) which lie just a couple miles east of the park.
You’ll take a short 15-minute ferry trip to Grand Island Vt. where you’ll have access to the famous Champlain Island Bikeways.
The Champlain Islands, straddling the middle of Lake Champlain between the outskirts of Montreal to the north and Burlington to the south, are immensely popular on account of their charming rural landscapes, small towns, waterside farms, orchards, vineyards, beaches, bistros and supper lite vehicular traffic.
During one of our outings we explored just about every little rural backroad nook and cranny on Grand Island, and let me tell you this skinny little island archipelago isn’t without elevation gains.
Nope, these islands contain just as many hills and curves as there are flats. But don’t let that scare you because the solitude and the picturesque maritime backdrops make the Champlain Islands a truly unique and welcoming place to cycle.
Hiking
Casual day hikes can be found in and around the park.
One such trail, the Long Point Trail, is a four-mile loop in the park that’s easy for all skill levels. Other casual trails can be found just south of Plattsburgh - the Treadmill Mills & Saranac River trails.
If you crave some altitude gain in your hiking, well, just an hour away is the eastern flanks of the Adirondack Mountains.
The Silver Mountain trail is a good hiking appetizer because it’s not too long yet it will get up in the air for some great views.
Another airy hike is the nearby Catamount Mountain trail, whose summit vista is well worth the 3.6 miles of challenging ascent and descent. And these are just two of the numerous Adirondack Mountain trails in the area.
Yup, from beaches to islands to mountains, New York’s Lake Champlain region has the ingredients for a stellar summer vacation.