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Burton Island State
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 Burton Island
State Park
Box 123
St. Albans Bay,Vermont 05481
Park Phone: 802-524-6353
Burton Island is a 253-acre island off the southwestern tip of St. Albans
Point in Lake Champlain's "inland sea." An 1874 Lake Champlain navigation chart
refers to it as Potter's Island, though C. C. Burton owned a farm on the
mainland in the 1840s and the island was used for pasture. A descendant, Sydney
Burton owned the island through the early 1900s and leased it to tenant farmers
who typically kept livestock such as cows, pigs, and chickens on the land while
raising staple crops like beans and peas. Today, walking the island trails,
you'll find old fence lines and stone piles, rusted farm implements, and the
foundation of an old barn - all remnants of the island's agricultural past.
The Burtons sold the island to Randall Dimon, who built the cottage on the
island's eastern point. The Dimon's continued to summer in the cottage for years
after selling the island to the state of Vermont in 1960. Original state plans
envisioned a causeway from the mainland to bring cars to an island campground.
Fortunately, the unique appeal of island isolation was appreciated before
construction began. The state instead built a small marina to accommodate the
boats of campers who, in the years before there was ferry service, had to get
themselves to the island. As recreational boating became popular, the small
marina became a popular stopover for people cruising the lake. The type of park
user had changed, and boats had become larger. The marina was expanded with
services added to meet these user needs. The campground has remained popular
amongst clienteles who enjoy the seclusion of an island experience away from
cars and traffic.
There were some early logistical problems posed by the lack of a nearby mainland
access point. Burton Island was a long boat ride from the state dock at the head
of St. Albans Bay. With that in mind, Kill Kare, a former boys camp on the tip
of St. Albans Point, was purchased by the state in 1967 and became Kill Kare
State Park. Support facilities at Kill Kare include parking space, a boat ramp,
and a breakwater to protect the dock for the state ferry, which carries
non-boating visitors to the island. The big three-story building at Kill Kare
was a summer resort hotel, built in the 1870s and renovated in 1982. It now
includes modern rest room and changing facilities for day visitors to Kill Kare.
Reproductions of historic photographs on display in the public lobby show what
the area looked like 150 years ago.
There are 17 tent sites and 26 lean-to sites plus 15 boat moorings and a
100-slip marina with dockside electricity, fuel service, and a marine
holding-tank pumpout facility. This, with ferry service to the island (no
vehicles) from Kill Kare, makes Burton Island one of the most unique parks in
Vermont. Rest rooms have running water and hot showers ($). There are 3 miles of
shoreline, hiking trails, a nature center/museum, park store and food service,
rowboat and canoe rentals, and places to swim and picnic. |
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