Recreate
The Lake Champlain region offers groups a laid-back destination featuring wide-open spaces, history, attractions, outdoor recreation opportunities, and one of the largest interconnected freshwater lakes in North America. Fish at Lake Champlain, which has been named one of the “Top 10 Best Bass Fishing Lakes” for several years by Bassmaster. View hundreds of bird species on the Lake Champlain Birding Trail, which unifies and connects 88 birding sites along the lake’s shoreline and uplands of Vermont and New York. Take the Belfry tower hike, one of the easiest fire tower hikes in the Adirondacks. This tower, once used by forest rangers to spot deadly wildfires, offers visitors a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding wilderness. Take a journey through rock formations carved over billions of years at AuSable Chasm, where visitors can hike, float, and climb amidst the Adirondack Forest.
Remember
Visit the quaint Essex Main Street, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here, groups can take a walking tour of one of the most intact collections of pre-Civil War architecture in America. Essex is also full of well-preserved 19th-century brick and stone homes, churches, inns, and shops. Stop by the Depot Theatre, doubling as the Amtrak train depot during the winter months. Each summer, Broadway-affiliated and professional actors take part in plays and musicals at this restored train station. Learn of the history of the region and its strong ties to the Revolutionary War of 1812 at Fort Ticonderoga in New York.
Dine
For dinner, visit Deer’s Head Inn, the oldest tavern in the Adirondacks. First opened in 1808 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, it served as a hospital for the troops injured in the War of 1812 and as an illicit liquor cache during Prohibition.
Learn More
Lake Champlain Region
lakechamplainregion.com
Main Image: AuSable Chasm; Credit: Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism
