Vermont / Field Guide 03 of 13

Burlington, Vermont

44.48° N, 73.21° W · 5 published field notes · 3 categories
Vermont farmland and lake with autumn foliage and mountains at sunset
Research Notes

The Champlain Field Notes.

Six spots along the lake and the Winooski — a 360-acre working farm inside city limits, eagle roosts at dawn, and the fall foliage route nobody drives.

Burlington's obvious Burlington is Church Street and the waterfront bike path. Its real Burlington is the Intervale — 360 acres of working agricultural land five minutes from downtown that most visitors never hear about — and the Winooski River delta where bald eagles fish at dawn all autumn. Go to Stowe and pay to sit in foliage traffic, or drive fifteen minutes to a sugar bush that still operates commercially and photograph the same maples with nobody on your shoulder.

This guide brings together Off Trail Guide's published research notes for Burlington. Access, weather, closures, and crowd levels can change; confirm current conditions with the responsible land manager before you travel.

The Vibe

Working Vermont, not the Stowe brochure. Dairy farms at the edge of downtown, a lake that goes inland-ocean in summer, and fall color you can walk into from your bike.

Lakefront farmsFall foliageWorking agricultureRaptor watchingGreen Mountain trails
Published field notes · 5

What you came for.

  1. 01
    Intervale Center — Bald Eagle Riverside Trail near Burlington, Vermont
    Moderate Overlook

    Intervale Center

    The Winooski River bend behind the Intervale holds open water through most winters, which concentrates bald eagles from December through February.

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  2. 02
    Intervale Center — Farms and River Trails near Burlington, Vermont
    Easy Variable Birding blind

    Intervale Center

    While visitors crowd the waterfront, locals walk among active farm fields at sunrise, spot herons and bald eagles from the hidden riverside trail behind the compost facility, and pick up ugly produce seconds at the farmstand for a fraction of retail.

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  3. 03
    Lake Champlain's Secret North Shore Swimming Hole near Burlington, Vermont
    Easy Swimming & water

    Lake Champlain's Secret North Shore Swimming Hole

    A locally known spot away from the tourist circuit.

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  4. 04
    North Beach at Leddy Park near Burlington, Vermont
    Easy Swimming & water

    North Beach at Leddy Park

    A locally known spot away from the tourist circuit.

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  5. 05
    Rock Point Beach — Fossil Shoreline near Burlington, Vermont
    Easy Roadside Swimming & water

    Rock Point Beach

    While visitors crowd North Beach and Leddy Park, this unmarked access point sits at the end of a residential road with parking for maybe three cars.

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