Tag Archives: islands

Cole Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cole Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cole Island - Lake Champlain Islands

 

Cole Island is part of the Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC). At less than 1 acre in size, it is one of Lake Champlain’s smallest islands. Cole Island is located in the Town of Westport, NY – about 5 miles south of the Westport Boat Launch. Cole Island is used for picnicking and other day use activities, but is too small to sustain overnight use.

 

Cole Island west view

View from Cole Island looking west toward Vermont’s Green Mountains

History:

 

Legend has it that Father Isaac Jogues was brought to this island by his Mohawk captors and tortured. Isaac Jogues was a French Jesuit priest who was captured by the Iroquois in 1642 while travelling from from Trois-Rivières to Quebec City. Jogues was tortured and held captive for almost ten months before being released.

He returned to the Mohawks four years later to continue his mission, but was put to death near Auriesville, NY in 1646.

Cole Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Cole Island

Other notes:

Because it’s tucked into a well-sheltered harbor, the island offers protection from the strong south winds, making it a popular anchorage for recreational boaters.  The island does receive a considerable amount of day use from the nearby Camp Dudley summer camp.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island is a 8.4 acre privately owned island in Lake Champlain. It is the southernmost of three islands to the east of South Hero, Vermont. Cedar Island lies about two miles north of the Sand Bar Bridge, and is accessible only by boat.

There is a house on the island, but it’s not your average cabin in the woods. Cedar Island hosts a five-bedroom, two-bath main house, with a stone patio, tennis court and hot tub. There’s also a guest cabin, boathouse, four beaches and a hammock strung between two of the cedar trees that give the island its name.

 

The island boasts three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views – with sunrise over the Green Mountains and sunset over the Adirondacks, and recently sold for over $1,000,000.00.

Cedar Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Island

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

Schuyler Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Schuyler Island

Schuyler Island

Schuyler Island, also known as Schuyler’s Island or Whitney Island, is part of the Town of Chesterfield in Essex County, New York. It’s located between Port Kent, New York and Willsboro Bay, across the lake from Burlington, Vermont.

Schuyler Island is a 161-acre uninhabited island, managed as part of Adirondack Park, with several unimproved campsites available. It is part of the Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC) – owned and operated by New York State.

 

Schuyler Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Schuyler Island

History:
 

On October 11, 1776 after the Battle of Valcour during the American Revolutionary War, the battered fleet of American General Benedict Arnold used Schuyler Island to regroup and attempt repairs. Two small ships of the fleet were beyond repair and were scuttled near the island at that time.

 

Schuyler Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Schuyler Island pebble beach

The island passed through a series of private owners until the  mid 20th century, occasionally being used for farming. During this time the island became alternately known as “Whitney Island” in reference to the Whitney family, who owned the island from 1891 to 1950. In 1967 the island was sold to New York State,

 

Other Notes:

Schuyler Island

Although the shoreline around Schuyler Island is ringed by a forest of white pine, hemlock, and birch, the center of the island is an open meadow, with patches of marshy wetland and large stands of ferns.

Beware that the island also has poison ivy.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

 

Diamond Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Diamond Island

Diamond Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Diamond Island is a very small island located in the middle of Lake Champlain between Split Rock in New York and Grosse Pointe in Ferrisburgh, It is just north of Fort Cassin Point in Vergennes , VT.

Diamond Island Meteorological Station

 

The Vermont Monitoring Cooperative maintains one of its three Lake Champlain meteorological stations on Diamond Island.

 

Diamond Island - meteorological stations

 

History:
There are two shipwrecks found in the vicinity of Diamond Island:
  • The Stone Boat lies in 12 to 23 feet of water immediately off the southeast side of Diamond Island (44° 14.10N 73° 20.04W). It is about 93′ x 14′ and was a canal boat used to carry quarried stone.    Read history
Diamond Island wreck- Lake Champlain Islands
  • The  Water Witch is located about 1000′ south of Diamond Island (44 13.93′ , 73 20.13′) at a depth of 90′. She was an 83′ x 18′ steamboat that had been converted to sail. Built in 1832, she sank on April 26 1866 while carrying iron ore. Read history
 

  • This is a sensitive dive site; registration is requested please!
  • Currents may be very strong at both of these sites!
Diamond Island Regatta 
 
Diamond Island regatta

The Royal Savage Yacht Club’s headline sailing event each season is the Diamond Island Regatta. It is a one race event held in the waters of Lake Champlain near the Point Bay Marina.

Sailed in August, the Diamond Island Regatta is part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series (LCCS) and counts towards both the Cannon Series and the Champlain Series. Boats from all over Lake Champlain compete in the regatta.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

Knight Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Knight Island

 

Knight Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Knight Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Knight Island – located in northern Lake Champlain) can only reached by boat. This 185-acre island is a mile long and nearly a half mile wide.

It is one of three neighboring islands in Lake Champlain’s “inland sea” just east of North Hero, Vermont that are part of the Vermont State Park system. The other two are Burton and Woods Island State Parks.

Knight Island State Park includes all but 10+ acres of private land on the island’s southern tip. When on Knight Island, please respect the rights of the park neighbor and keep off the southern end.

You must make your own arrangements to get to and from the island.

 

Knight Island - Lake Champlain Islands

 

About Knight Island State Park:

Historically the island was farmed, then was uninhabited for many years. It was a privately operated primitive campground through the 1980’s. The owner lived year-round on the island and began a timber management program to supplement the camping operation.

Knight Island was acquired by the State of Vermont in 1990. Under Vermont state ownership, remote area camping is being continued on seven sites dotted around the island. Land management activities are those which will keep the island unique and unspoiled.

Knight Island is a “remote area” campground. Remote area campsites, while beautiful, are not for everybody. There are composting outhouses and is no potable water supply. The island’s seven campsites, six of them with rustic log lean-to’s, are situated approximately equidistant around the 2 ½- mile shoreline, and are connected by a trail system. This gives you great privacy, but it also means you’re going to have to walk. From the State dock, it’s anywhere from 1/3 of mile to a mile to the campsites, and while your water taxi operator may be able to get you closer, you shouldn’t bring anything you’re not prepared to carry in and carry out.

Camping is by reservation only on designated sites. A permit may be obtained at the caretaker’s residence on the west shore, and is necessary before setting up. Reservations (2-night minimum unless traveling by paddle-craft) made within two weeks of your proposed stay are handled through Burton Island State Park. Maximum eight (8) persons per site; fourteen (14) night maximum stay.

Fires are permitted in designated fire rings.

Knight Island - Lake Champlain Islands

 

Getting to Knight Island State Park:

Knight Island is 2 miles east of North Hero village, and 5.5 miles northwest of Burton Island/Kill Kare State Parks. If you do not have a boat of your own, you will need to arrange water taxi service. Driftwood Tours, (802-373-0022) features a USCG-licensed captain and operates from Grand Isle County, Vermont. Rates vary by group size and pickup location.

If you have your own boat, be advised, there are no docks, so you’ll need to either beach it (it’s fairly rocky) or anchor off. Visitors should also be aware that weather conditions do occur which can make travel on Lake Champlain hazardous. Delays in getting to and from the Island are not uncommon.

Options for Knight Island parking include Knight Point State Park in North Hero (a three-mile crossing) or Kill Kare State Park in St. Albans (a five-mile crossing), where there is no parking fee for Knight Island campers.

If launching a power boat, Kill Kare is your best option. Knight Point is fine for kayaks and canoes. The closest access (2 miles) is from North Hero village, where you may arrange private parking ($) through Hero’s Welcome General Store: 802-372-4161. If traveling to Knight Island via water taxi, you should make your own parking and pickup arrangements through your water taxi operator.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands