Lake Champlain

A potentially harmful bacteria closed Burlington’s busiest beach to swimmers Thursday.

Swimmers in Vermont’s largest city were crestfallen Thursday after a natural, but possibly dangerous, substance was spotted near the shore of Lake Champlain — closing a busy beach for the day. Health and environmental experts are now urging people in Burlington and beyond to read up on cyanobacteria. “We’re definitely disappointed,” said Tessa Santarpia of Buffalo, New York, who...

Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, a busy time on the water, law enforcement agencies in Vermont discussed a new approach they have to handling suspected cases of drunk boating. Vermont State Police and partners like game wardens and Colchester Police are now using a seated version of those familiar roadside sobriety checks. The evolved version can be conducted…

Officials in Vermont are pushing for people to hand over the controls of boats if they’ve been drinking.

A search is continuing for a missing boater on Lake Champlain. A witness told Burlington police that a man trying to sail a small sailboat near the mouth of the Winooski River on Monday afternoon fell into the water and did not resurface. Police say the sailboat drifted to the north shore. Divers searched the area and a Coast Guard…

A small Vermont charity is bouncing back for the start of a busy summer after the coronavirus pandemic limited its ability to reach as many people as normal last year.   “We are going to be very busy this summer,” predicted Sylvia Oblak, the executive director of Healing Winds. The nonprofit uses donations to take cancer patients and their loved ones…

A small Vermont charity is bouncing back from the pandemic, expanding its reach by offering excursions to sick people at no cost.

A plan to create a new destination for scuba divers in Lake Champlain has been reversed after pushback from environmental groups and the public. The Lake Champlain Transportation Company and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation planned to sink the Adirondack, a historic, double-ended ferry. The concept, known as an “artificial reef,” was created in the Atlantic off the coast…

A plan to create a new destination for scuba divers in Lake Champlain is being met with pushback from a pair of environmental groups. The concept is known as an “artificial reef.” One was created in the Atlantic off the coast of Delaware and New Jersey by sinking an old Coast Guard vessel. Similarly, the Vermont version would see the…

An effort to intentionally sink an old ferry and turn it into a reef is getting some pushback.

A brave group of community members has smashed fundraising goals with weeks left in its effort to raise money for a nonprofit serving at-risk youth in Burlington and St. Albans, Vermont. The Red Hot Chilly Dippers are friends who are taking daily dips into icy Lake Champlain throughout March to raise money and awareness for Spectrum Youth and Family Services….

The “Red Hot Chilly Dippers” take daily swims into Lake Champlain to raise funds for Spectrum Youth and Family Services.

Vermont’s cold winter weather is no match for the pluck of one group, which is devoted to enjoying the outdoors in a brave way — no matter the water temperature. “It’s so brain-clearingly refreshing,” said Burlington artist Kath Montstream, who organizes the Red Hot Chilly Dippers. “We’re never alone, we always watch each other’s back, and it feels like...

Cold winter weather is no match for one group in Vermont.

The wreckage of a plane that vanished 50 years ago this winter with five people on board has never been found. The relatives of the missing business travelers hope 2021 brings them a step closer to healing.

Fifty years after a plane crashed into Lake Champlain, the families of the people presumed dead are hoping for a breakthrough in the search for their remains.

A pair of men escaped without serious injuries when their pickup truck fell through the ice of a Vermont bay over the weekend.

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating rises in both staycations and in physically distanced outdoor activities like boating, environmental advocates are renewing a call to protect lakes, ponds and other waterways in Vermont and the rest of New England from potential threats. Boaters, whether launching into Lake Champlain or pulling back to land, have long been mindful of “hitchhikers.” Those include…

Advocates for Lake Champlain hope an eye-catching new message reminds boaters to take steps to block invasive plants or animals from spreading between waterways.

A landmark on the most-visited part of Lake Champlain is finally getting a makeover.