Vermont's Island Mile: Causeways, Orchards, and the Oldest Reef on Earth

The Champlain Islands are Vermont's gentlest surprise: a 30-mile (48 km) chain of farm-and-cottage islands strung down the middle of Lake Champlain, linked by US Route 2 on low causeways that skim the water with the Green Mountains floating on one horizon and the Adirondacks on the other. The drive begins theatrically, crossing the Sand Bar causeway where the lake spreads shallow and turquoise on summer days, then settles into island time: apple orchards and cideries on South Hero, Vermont's oldest log cabin on Grand Isle, the beloved Hero's Welcome general store on North Hero, and state-park beaches with genuinely warm summer swimming. The optional spur to Isle La Motte is the quiet masterpiece: St. Anne's Shrine marks the site of Vermont's first European settlement (1666), and at the island's southern tip you can walk on the Chazy Fossil Reef, the oldest known coral reef on the planet, 480 million years old and once the floor of a tropical sea. Few drives anywhere pack this much calm, history, and geology into a half day.

Key Stops

Sand Bar State Park and causeway. The gateway: a sandy swimming beach on the mainland side, then the causeway itself, barely above the lake, with water both sides and the islands ahead. In a west wind, waves spray the guardrail; in calm, it is glass.

South Hero orchards and vineyards. Allenholm Farm (Vermont's oldest commercial apple orchard, with cider donuts and a petting paddock) and Snow Farm Vineyard, the state's first winery, with summer-evening lawn concerts among the vines.

South Hero's stone castles. Scattered roadside miniatures: fanciful tiny castles built from lake stone by gardener Harry Barber in the early 1900s: a beloved local treasure hunt (several are visible from public roads; respect the private lawns).

Grand Isle and the Hyde Log Cabin. Built in 1783 and among the oldest surviving log cabins in the United States, furnished as the pioneer Hydes knew it (seasonal opening). The 24-hour Grand Isle to Plattsburgh ferry runs year-round from the island's west shore.

Knight Point State Park (North Hero). The islands' prettiest swimming cove, a calm crescent facing the drawbridge between the Heroes: the lake's warmest water by August, and a natural picnic halt.

North Hero village and Hero's Welcome. The islands' living room: a general store, bakery, and dock where kayaks outnumber cars: sandwiches for the beach, maple creemees for the road, and the island newspaper by the register.

North Hero State Park. The quiet northern tip: loop roads through silver maple floodplain forest, lake access, and in early summer, nesting turtles crossing at walking pace: drive accordingly.

Isle La Motte and St. Anne's Shrine (via Route 129). The side trip that makes the day: the shrine's open-air chapel and waterside pines mark Fort Sainte Anne (1666), Vermont's first European settlement, with a swimming beach and summer masses; a gilded Samuel de Champlain statue watches the lake he entered in 1609.

The Chazy Fossil Reef (Fisk Quarry and Goodsell Ridge, Isle La Motte). Walk on the world's oldest known coral reef: 480-million-year-old fossils (gastropods, cephalopods, stromatoporoids) exposed in old quarry floors and meadow ledges, with interpretive trails at both preserves. Free, open dawn to dusk, and quietly mind-bending.

Alburgh Dunes State Park. One of Vermont's longest natural sand beaches, backed by rare dune habitat: the lake-country finale before the peninsula narrows toward Canada.

Alburgh. The end of the island chain on its odd geographic footnote: a US town reachable by land only through Canada or over bridges: with the Rouses Point bridge to New York and the Quebec border both minutes away.

Driving Tips

Drive it slowly by design. Route 2 is the islands' main street: 40 to 50 mph between villages, tractors in haying season, and cyclists always: the pace is the point.

Go morning for the light, evening for the sunsets. Morning sun favors the Green Mountains side; from Knight Point or any west shore, the Adirondack sunsets are the islands' nightly show.

Make Isle La Motte non-optional. The Route 129 spur costs 40 minutes round trip plus stops and contains the drive's two most remarkable sites: skip something else instead.

Time fall for late September to early October. Island foliage over blue water peaks earlier than Vermont's valleys, and the farm stands are in full harvest: the drive's best fortnight.

Swim where the parks are. Sand Bar, Knight Point, and Alburgh Dunes all charge modest state-park day fees and repay them: August lake temperatures here surprise everyone.

Bring a cooler and cash. Farm stands, cideries, and the islands' famous sweet corn run on honor boxes and small bills from July through October.

Carry your passport only if continuing north. The drive ends minutes from the Quebec border; the islands themselves need nothing but sunscreen.

For more information visit: Vermont Department of Tourism (Official Site)