Sorry for the long post - this was an article I wrote a while ago but the information is still good ...
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As you plan your Great Loop trip, there are several major choices you will be making. Should I take the Trent-Severn or go through Lake Erie? Is it better to go down the lower Mississippi or take the Tenn Tom Waterway. When you’re traveling north on the Hudson river and have just gone through the Federal Lock at Troy, NY you will need to decide whether you should turn west and take the Erie Canal to Oswego or Buffalo or should you keep going north up the Champlain Barge Canal, through Lake Champlain, and up the Richelieu River to the St Lawrence and Montreal. If you have the time and can make the height restriction, we hope you will choose to come up and cruise the beautiful waters of Lake Champlain.
The most significant issue for us all, of course, is the height restriction. All the bridges over the Champlain Barge canal from Lock 1 north of Troy to Lock 12 at Whitehall, NY are fixed. The old timers say you need to clear 15.5 feet but if you can get down to 17.0 feet and call ahead, the lock masters will “work with you” to release some water in the critical areas and you will make it OK.
The 11 locks are large and generally well maintained. There is a vertical pipe or cable recessed at intervals in the lock walls in all the locks except lock 8 where you will need to use the hanging lines. It’s easiest to throw a short line around them from amid ship and fend off the bow and stern as you ascend or descend. The first eight locks will be ascending and the last three will be descending. Interestingly, there is no lock number 10. Though it is theoretically possible to transit the system in a day, you will probably want to plan a stop somewhere in the middle. We would definitely recommend a stop in Whitehall (the birthplace of the US Navy) , either at the town docks or at the Lock 12 Marina, so you can have a meal at the Finch and Chubb Restaurant which arguably is the best food on the Lake.
Continuing north from Whitehall, the navigation buoys switch sides and you will want to keep the red navaids on your port side. The lake is more like a river until you get up to the bridge at Crown Point, though there is no noticeable current. Once under the bridge, you will enter the broad part of the lake. We would suggest that this is some of the best cruising waters in the country. At 435 square miles, Lake Champlain is the sixth largest lake in the United States. There are numerous excellent anchorages and superb marinas. The water is extremely clean and deep (392 feet off Split Rock Point) and there are many ports of call to visit. There are several marked historic wrecks for scuba diving, rural areas, wildlife preserves, about 80 islands, and excellent fishing. There are numerous sites rich in historic significance like Fort Ticonderoga and the waters where Benedict Arnold valiantly fought off the British during the Revolutionary War in 1775. A replica of the gunboat Philadelphia is located at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Basin Harbor where you can pick up a mooring and visit.
The cruising guide will give you advice on the best anchorages with good holding and protection from the wind. Some of our favorites are Cole Bay, Partridge Harbor, Porter Bay, Kingsland Bay, Converse Bay, Willsboro Bay, Sled Runner Point in Shelburne Bay, Mallets Bay, Valcour Island (several good anchorages here), Deep Bay, and Pelots Bay. Some of these, especially in the north, get fairly crowded as the summer season progresses.
For those of you who enjoy the comfort of a marina, there are many along the way. Some of our favorite marinas with restaurant facilities nearby are Whitehall, Westport, Essex, Vergennes, Willsboro Bay, Burlington, Plattsburg, Treadwell Bay, and Mooney Bay. The cruising guide has a listing of the many other excellent marinas on the lake. Virtually all provide pumpout services. The discharge of sewage is strictly forbidden and rigorously enforced.
A must stop destination is Burlington Harbor. You can get a mooring behind the breakwater or a slip at the Burlington Boathouse. The downtown Burlington area and the award winning Church Street Marketplace are only a few blocks from the waterfront. There are many restaurants and shops. The entire waterfront area was constructed on “filled lands”, which were once open lake and filled in by the railroad years ago. The area is still protected by the Vermont Legislature which strives to make sure the waterfront will always be open and accessible to the public. The ECHO lake science center is a treat for young and old alike and there are several festivals which take place during the summer.
Sites to visit nearby by rental car are the historic Shelburne Museum, the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, and of course, the Ben & Jerryb’s ice cream factory in Waterbury, VT
Burlington also hosts the US Coast Guard Station. The Coast Guard covers the entire length of the lake assisted by state police units from both Vermont and New York.
Two recommended side trips while transiting the lake are traveling up the Otter Creek to the free municipal docks in Vergennes and staying at the inner basin at the Burton Island State park in the inland sea.
Continuing northward, you will be clearing Canadian customs just over the border about a half mile north of the Rouses point Bridge on the west side. The waterway narrows and becomes the Richelieu River at this point. We generally plan a stop at St Jean just before entering the nine locks of the Chambly Canal. The locks here are much smaller and operated entirely by hand. The lock attendants are always friendly and helpful. They will throw you a fore and aft line. You can expect to be traveling the lock with other boats. The speed limit is strictly enforced. You only communicate via VHF with the lock master at Lock 9 in St Jean and at Lock 1 in Chambly. There is no need for communication between since they know precisely when you are coming. There are numerous swing bridges in between which will open without calling but you must watch the lights for permission to transit. The St Ours Lock, located about 25 miles north of Chambly, is a large lock with a floating dock inside so transit is very simple. The Richelieu River continues another ten miles and empties into the St Lawrence River at Sorrel.
If you have the time, we would encourage taking a side trip north eastward up the St Lawrence to visit the incredible places of interest in Quebec City. You will be traveling with the current going north and bucking a fairly strong adverse current returning to Sorel. The tide at Quebec City is almost 18 feet but the marina is located behind a wall and you must transit a lock to get inside.
The trip westward to Montreal is a comfortable day with the exception of the last short segment where the current can be as strong as six knots against you just before you enter the port. We thoroughly enjoy staying at the marina at the Vieux Port where you can easily walk to anywhere in the old city or take a subway downtown.
The best cruising guide we have found for this portion of the loop is the “Cruising Guide to Lake Champlain” written by Alan and Susan McKibben. It covers the entire trip from New York City to Montreal and Quebec City and includes detailed recommendations on anchorages and marinas as well as interesting facts and important cruising information.
We sincerely hope you will make the choice to come up and visit Lake Champlain on your loop trip one of these summers. We can promise you that you will be pleased that you did.
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Peter and Linda Brownell have cruised the area from Toms River NJ to Montreal, Quebec City, and the 1,0000 Islands aboard their 47 foot Marine Trader CPMY “Destiny”. They recently purchased their C-Dory Tomcat 255 (also "Destiny") and are having fun touring the waters of Vermont and Canada. They are currently berthed at the Point Bay Marina in Charlotte, Vermont. Peter holds a 100 ton masters license and has been cruising under both power and sail for many years.
