A car-free island
While Chittenden County’s lakefront bustles, Franklin County’s Lake Champlain shore stays quiet — sheltered bays, pebble beaches and a scatter of island state parks. The jewel is Burton Island, 253 acres off the tip of St. Albans Point in the lake’s Inland Sea, reachable only by boat.
No cars are allowed. Miles of shoreline trails, a small marina, a nature center and rustic campsites make it a rare place to walk a lakeshore in near silence.
Getting there
The trip is half the fun.
Kill Kare State Park — park at the mainland trailhead on Hathaway Point Road in St. Albans Bay.
The Island Runner ferry — a 10-minute passenger crossing, daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
On the island — a park store, marina bistro, kayak rentals and flush restrooms.
Walking the shoreline
From the marina, the Southern Tip Trail winds beneath northern white cedar, shagbark hickory and red oak to Picnic Point, where wooden tables look out on sailboats crossing the Inland Sea.
The path hugs a shale shoreline that drops into clear water; an eastern loop returns through sunny fields once farmed for pasture. Pack water shoes to wade the quiet pebble beaches on the western shore.
Missisquoi delta paddling
Back on the mainland, drive north to Swanton, where the Missisquoi River fans into a vast delta marsh inside the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge.
The Black Creek Canoe Trail glides beneath towering silver maples — one of New England’s best places to spot great blue herons, bald eagles, ospreys and river otters. Rent a boat in Swanton or bring your own.
Sunsets & lakeside parks
Because the county faces west across the lake toward New York, its beaches deliver Vermont’s finest sunsets.
St. Albans Bay State Park — a sandy swimming beach with sunset views over the water.
Hathaway Point — open ledges that catch the last light off the Adirondacks.
Lake Carmi State Park — camp and paddle Vermont’s fourth-largest natural lake, inland at Franklin.
Good to know
How do you get to Burton Island?+
By the Island Runner passenger ferry from Kill Kare State Park, a 10-minute ride running daily from late May through early September, or by private boat.
Are cars allowed on the island?+
No — Burton Island is car-free. You explore on foot, and campsites and boat slips are a short walk from the dock.
Where can I paddle nearby?+
The Black Creek Canoe Trail through the Missisquoi refuge in Swanton, and the shallow bays of Lake Carmi State Park in Franklin.