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I'm in disbelief that I've never visited the southern region of Lake Champlain, but I'm so thankful that I chose to spend 10 nights camping at the DAR State Park in West Addison, Vermont. While I did experience some weather challenges -- 3 nights in the 40s, 3 days of showers, 3 days of 90+ temps -- I adapted because it was so amazingly beautiful here. The entire area was new to me as I biked toward Button Bay and Adirondack Park; spent a day in Vergennes that has a cool bike shop; toured Crown Point, NY; then made a stop in Montpelier enroute to my next destination. Being on the Lake between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains -- oh my, I took nearly 200 photos so no further words are needed. Next stop, the White Mountains of New Hampshire before I cross into Quebec province for the summer.
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The Slate Valley that is, a 24-mile area of New York and Vermont. I’m spending a week in the small town of Granville, founded in 1780, and known as the “Colored Slate Capital” for the rare varieties mined from its more than 400 quarries during the 1800s. Today, much of Granville’s history may be seen by simply walking about, but the long story is told at the Slate Valley Museum. The town has a sweet little Main Street with the Mettawee River passing through, and surrounding rolling hills and forests. I enjoyed relaxing riverside with a good book on lazy days, meandering the D&H Rail Trail on foot from my backyard on occasion, and cycling the challenging hills of Vermont as much as possible. A delightful Airbnb studio brought me to this spot, but I had no idea how close I’d be to familiar territory. I was able to walk into Vermont from Main Street, bike to Pawlet where I turned 65 last year, and visit other places of interest like Lake Saint Catherine near Poultney. It was a comfortable week with quite a few chats -- I've decided that Northeasterners are experts at small talk and I quite enjoy it. Next stop, about an hour up the road to camp along Lake Champlain. Watkins Glen, New York was known to me for the 1973 rock festival that was once the "largest audience at a pop festival" with about 600,000 fans of the Dead, The Band, The Allman Brothers and more. While I was too young to go(!), the name "Watkins Glen" has been ingrained in my mind ever since. I had no idea there were car races there, and thankfully this didn't happen during the past week.
My impression now is of a fairly non-descript little town of friendly folks on beautiful Seneca Lake, that is also gifted with the Glen Creek Gorge. I'm so happy to have had my first Finger Lake experience here, and even enjoyed the drive along the west side through wine country to connect with friend Barbara at the northern point. State Park camping is lovely when the weekender 36-hour time is up, and I hiked the Gorge trail twice at different times of the day as the light changes the magnificent rock and waterfall scenes. While the Catherine Valley Trail was disappointing (I don't want to bike on grass without a view), it did take me a few miles out to discover the lovely Montour Falls. Just once, I also got my climbing legs on pointing north along the lake and was rewarded with the views. It was an active, yet not too busy week of the outdoor life, moving on two feet and two wheels, reconnecting with a long-time friend, and discovering the beauty of the Finger Lakes region. Next stop, Granville, just a sneeze to the Vermont border. |
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November 2025
AuthorCyclist, writer, teacher, avid reader, bike/ped advocate, nomad, pie lover Categories |
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