Island-hopping on
Lake Champlain Forget boating, bring your bike! BY SHEILA ASCROFT
Being by the water makes me feel good. Biking by the water makes me feel even better. If you yearn for wa- tery vistas too, there are great routes for you in the Champlain Islands. Lake Champlain is a big, freshwa-
ter lake separating the Adirondacks of New York from Vermont’s Green Mountains. It’s a magnet not just for boats, but also bikes. “The Islands” extend like a ragged finger southward through the cen- tre of the lake. Hiving off from the Alburg, Vt. peninsula, which extends south out of Quebec, are the islands of North Hero, South Hero and Isle La Motte, plus smaller ones. They offer great biking along quiet back roads following the rocky shoreline, vistas of water melding into sky, boats with fishers trolling or casting, sailboats, quaint towns, historic sites and sev- eral state parks for camping. The only catch in cycling beside a
big lake is the wind. Depending on its direction and strength, the ride can be fast and fun, or a demanding, head-down grind. Or better yet, you might get a rare calm day. The route is pretty much flat and the gently roll- ing hills don’t require a granny gear. You can ride around the islands by bridge, causeway and ferry, but first you have to get there. It’s a three- to four-hour drive to Plattsburgh, N.Y. from Ottawa-Gatin- eau, depending on road construc- tion and the wait at the U.S. border, but there are bike loops aplenty to choose from when you get there. I’d planned to use Plattsburgh as my base, but ended up camping at
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Cumberland Bay State Park about eight kilometres north of that city on Vermont Route 9. It’s another eight kilometres from there to the ferry which links Plattsburg to Grand Isle, Vt., which puts you in the middle of the lake. Think of a figure-eight with South Hero Island as the centre. At that point, you can ride a north loop or south loop, or both. I opted for the north loop of about
100 kilometres. It was mid-June, before the high tourist season. My plan was to camp a second night at Cumberland Bay State Park and then ride the south loop the next day (it rained and I bailed early, but see below for details.)
NORTH ISLAND LOOP Even though it was overcast and humid, I felt the frisson that accom- panies a fresh start on a new route. I cycled from the state park along a well-paved bike path paralleling the road to the ferry, where the trip took about 12 minutes and cost $4.75 U.S. one way (fares etc., are listed at:
www.ferries.com). Off the ferry at Gordon Landing, I
took the West Shore Road (flagged by small green-and-white Champlain Bikeway signs) rather than Route 314 into Grand Isle village. Before I knew it, I’d met a friendly local who offered to take my picture by the lake. Her equally amiable greyhound joined in. The road was as close to the water as you could get without getting wet. Water, trees, little islands, shore- birds, cabins, cottages, expensive year-round homes were the norm
as I pedalled around curves and over little hills. The road linked out to the main island road, Vermont’s Highway 2, which has a paved shoulder all the way and is in good condition. I crossed my first (and probably only) drawbridge onto North Hero Island. North Hero, the village, was found-
ed in 1788 by American Revolution- ary War “heroes” who served in Ethan and Ira Allen’s famed Green Mountain Boys. The soldiers also were given the whole of South Hero Island. After a stop at the Hero’s Welcome
General Store in North Hero, and at a bakery, I headed north, crossing a small no-name causeway where North Hero Island becomes skinny before burgeoning into another landmass. I could see more islands to the east – Hen Island, Dameas Island, Butler Island, and Knight and Woods islands, which are state parks. In the distance were Ethan Allen’s Green Mountains, looking purple under grey skies. Coming off the North Hero bridge
to South Alburg, which is a finger of land that drops south from Quebec into the middle of Lake Champlain, I turned west on Route 129 to West Shore Road so I could tour Isle La Motte (a 16-kilometre loop). There’s little shoulder on these country roads, but unless it peak summer, it’s not too busy. Another island in the chain, Isle La Motte is the site of Samuel de
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