The boat launch with the deepest channel. The trail to the gorge. The farm stand that takes Venmo. The icon you've heard of and the one you haven't.
Burlington's South End waterfront park — two beaches (Blanchard Beach and the Cove), the world's first fully accessible treehouse, and enough grass and shoreline that it doesn't feel like the city five minutes north. Parking runs two dollars an hour May through October; a Burlington Parks season pass or Green Mountain Passport waives it. Good fishing off the southwest corner for smallmouth and the occasional lake trout.
A hundred acres of hemlock and pine trail in South Burlington ending on a rocky shoreline with a straight shot across the water to the Adirondacks and Shelburne Bay. 2.5 miles of trail, a public beach, and noticeably fewer people than Oakledge on the same Saturday. Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Parking is limited — arrive before ten on a summer weekend.
The 14.4-mile rail trail out of Burlington's Waterfront Park, running north into the marble-and-granite Colchester Causeway laid over open water. The gap in the middle — locals call it the Cut — gets bridged by the Local Motion bike ferry, running Friday through Sunday from late May and daily once summer's in full swing. E-bikes have doubled ridership in the past few years, which means longer ferry waits on a July Saturday. Go early.
The most-visited day-use park in Vermont — a 2,000-foot natural sand beach on the causeway between Milton and South Hero, with a stone bathhouse the CCC built in 1935 still standing. Shallow, warm water compared to the open lake, which is why families choose it over the Islands' rockier beaches. Kayak rentals and a food concession on site. No camping; day use only, and it fills.
A 54-acre day-use park three miles south of North Hero village — sandy beach, daily boat rentals, and four pickleball courts that get more use than you'd expect on an island park. The wooden Knight Tavern reconstruction nods to John Knight's 1785 inter-island ferry service, making this one of the older crossing points on the lake. Open-air pavilion available to rent for a group.
The most-visited campground in the Vermont state park system — 115 tent and RV sites, 36 lean-tos, four cabins, on 226 acres of South Hero Island shoreline. Kayaks and bikes rent from the park office; rangers run night hikes and campfire programs through the season. Open mid-May through mid-October. Book a summer weekend site months out — this one turns over fast.
Burlington's north-end beach and campground, a short bike ride up the Waterfront path from downtown — the option when Oakledge is full on a July weekend. Campsite reservations run through the city's Firefly booking system rather than a state-park portal, worth knowing before assuming it's first-come.
584 acres on Colchester's Malletts Bay shoreline — 4,700 feet of rocky and sandy waterfront and ridge trails that climb to views over the bay, the Green Mountains, and the Islands in one turn. No boat launch and no camping here; it's a hiking-and-swimming park, not a put-in. Parking caps at forty cars, so a packed lot means circling or trying elsewhere. Open the second Saturday in May through mid-October.
One of the longest beaches on Lake Champlain, backed by sand dunes that double as a natural barrier protecting the wetlands behind them — a different shoreline entirely from the rocky Islands beaches thirty minutes south. Boat and paddleboard rentals on site, a wheelchair-accessible beach entry, and noticeably fewer people than Sand Bar on the same Saturday. Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day only.
South Hero's working orchard since 1967 — fifty-plus apple varieties across fifty acres, a farm stand stocked with Vermont specialty foods, and cider donuts that come out of the fryer warm most mornings. The Hackett family has farmed this soil for three generations; the Champlain climate gives the fruit a flavor mainland orchards don't quite match. It's also a marked stop on the Local Motion bike ferry route — pull off the trail and buy a half-dozen for the ride back.
Vermont's oldest commercial apple orchard — planted in 1870, still run by the seventh generation of the Allen family. Twenty-five acres of apples, cherries, and berries, plus a bakery counter selling maple creemees and fruit pies that don't last past the weekend. Willy the donkey and Romeo the sheep work the fence line for the kids while the adults load up on cider. Open late May through Christmas Eve — the pace slows noticeably after the October rush.
Saturdays at 345 Pine Street, Mother's Day weekend through the end of October — Vermont produce, cheese, and prepared food in the South End, a short walk from Zero Gravity and Switchback if you want to make a whole morning of it. Runs 9 to 2. Get there before eleven for first pick of the bread stalls.
The hub of the Burlington waterfront — 185 slips and 73 moorings, transient dockage from May 15 through October 15, and the departure point for the Spirit of Ethan Allen and Whistling Man Schooner. Free Wi-Fi on the docks courtesy of Burlington Telecom. Reserve a slip through Dockwa or call ahead; walk-up transient space goes fast on a summer weekend.
Family-run rental outfit based right at the Community Boathouse — bowriders and a wake-equipped Chaparral 21 Surf, waterskis and a wakeboard included. The easiest way onto the open lake without owning a boat or knowing anyone who does. Book ahead for a July weekend; call rather than relying on a same-day walk-up.
A nonprofit sailing center on Lake Street since 1994, in a three-story building that opened in 2018 right on the bike path. Sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, and windsurfers rent by the hour; youth camps run all summer. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 to 4 — closed weekends, which catches people off guard when they show up Saturday expecting a rental counter.
Burlington's public trailer launch just south of the Community Boathouse, off Pine Street — the put-in for anyone not slipping a boat downtown for the week. Less scene than the Boathouse docks, and more parking than you'd expect for a South End launch.
South Hero's gateway marina on Route 2 — pontoons, kayaks, canoes, and rowboats by the half-day or full day, plus a fuel dock and a small store for the ice and tackle you forgot. Season runs May 15 to October 15, Boathouse open 9 to 6 daily. The default rental fleet for anyone staying on the Islands without a boat of their own.
A 66-slip private harbor taking boats up to 70 feet, plus a rental fleet of Key West motorboats and pontoons by the two-hour, half-day, or full day. Resort guests get unlimited kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and pedal boats; the public can still rent a motorboat for waterskiing or a slow cruise. Hail on channel 16 if you're arriving by water.
Charlotte's full-service marina on Thompsons Point Road — 200 seasonal slips and 105 moorings between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks, well south of the Burlington crowd. Mostly a slip-and-storage operation rather than an hourly rental counter, so this is the call for a season-long mooring rather than a single afternoon on the water.
Lake Champlain's largest cruise ship — a 363-passenger triple-decker running scenic, lunch, brunch, and themed dinner cruises daily out of the Community Boathouse. The sunset cruise is the one to book; the boat turns so everyone gets the light at some point. Reserve ahead in summer, especially for a Friday dinner cruise.
Two wooden-rigged sloops, Friend Ship and Wild Rose, running two-hour sailing cruises out of the Boathouse since 1996. Bring your own food and drink — that's part of the pitch. Late May through early October only. The sunset sail is worth timing your evening around; the wind usually cooperates.
The aquarium and science center anchoring the south end of the Boathouse pier — hands-on lake ecology exhibits, a look at Champ (the lake's own lore), and enough tanks to fill a rainy afternoon with kids. Open daily, 10 to 5. Pair it with lunch at Splash next door and call it a half-day.
Thirty-nine buildings spread across forty-five acres — an assembled collection of Americana that includes a full steamboat, the Ticonderoga, hauled overland from the lake. Open daily, 10 to 5, May 9 through October 25. The Circus Building closes September 28, 2026 for a preservation project and stays shut the rest of the season — check before planning a visit around it specifically.
A 1,400-acre working farm and National Historic Landmark on the shore of Shelburne Bay — Vanderbilt-era farm buildings, a cheese-making operation open to visitors, and walking trails through the fields down to the water. The Inn's dining room sits on the same property. Go for the farm tour in the morning and stay for lunch; the two halves of the visit work better together than either alone.
Burlington's four-block pedestrian mall — more than a hundred shops and restaurants between brick storefronts, with street performers and cart vendors working the crowd most summer evenings. It's the default downtown stop for anyone staying near the waterfront, and where Leunig's, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and a run of local retailers all sit within a five-minute walk of each other.
Vermont's chocolate maker, with a retail shop on Church Street selling the truffles and chocolate-covered cherries that show up in gift shops across the state. Worth a stop for the samples alone. Buy more than you plan to — it travels well and nobody at home minds getting it as a souvenir.
Free admission, always — a working maritime history museum on the Basin Harbor grounds covering everything from Prohibition-era rum-running to shipwreck archaeology. Rowing and sailing programs run through the summer, and the boat-building shop takes on students by the class. The rotating exhibits change enough to be worth a second visit if you're back the following season.
A Catholic pilgrimage site on Isle La Motte, on the site of Vermont's first European settlement — a lakeside grotto, retreat cabins, and a quiet that has nothing to do with tourism traffic. Open May through October for the pilgrimage season. Worth the drive north of the other Islands stops even without a religious reason; the lake frontage here is close to empty most weekdays.