Walking on Water: The Island Line Trail in Burlington, VT

My wife and I did a day-trip over the Memorial Day weekend to visit one of New England's most unique rail-trails, i.e. the Island Line Trail which is located in Burlington, VT.  The trail covers a distance of about 12.5 miles.  However we only walked the segment of trail that begins at the Airport Park trailhead and then leads you out onto Lake Champlain via a causeway.   From there, you get spectacular views of the Lake, as well as New York's Adirondack Mountains, and Vermont's Green Mountains.

The trail's official start point is at the Oakledge Park trailhead on Flynn Street in south Burlington and then runs northward skirting the shoreline of Lake Champlain.  It continues onto the causeway and then ends abruptly out on the Lake where a seasonal bike ferry connects with South Hero, VT.   However, due to storm damage caused by spring flooding in 2011, the trail now ends on the south side of an old trestle which spans a preexisting gap in the causeway.  (Repairs to the causeway are scheduled to begin in the Summer of 2012.  Click HERE for details.)

This causeway was built in 1900 by the Rutland Railroad.  The 3-mile rail corridor across the Lake was built using huge chunks of marble that were transported to the site from various locations in Vermont.  By design, there were two gaps in the causeway.   Spanning one of the gaps is a fixed iron trestle (where the trail currently ends).  And at the other gap, there once was a swing bridge that could be opened to allow boats to pass.

The incentive behind this extraordinary effort was to connect the Great Lakes with the great New England seacoast.  It was at a time in history when shipping ruled, and the railroads served the ships.  By building this rail link northward to Alburgh, VT, it enabled a relatively easy rail crossing over to Rouses Point, NY which had a rail system that serviced the Great Lakes.

The Rutland Railroad operated trains over the causeway from 1901-1961. The Railway was officially abandoned in 1963. Despite the flood damage in 2011, the marble causeway still remains mostly intact, as does the fixed iron trestle that bridges the lesser of the two gaps.

Shown below are two maps.  The first map shows Airport Park where we began, and it also shows the point where the trail currently ends at the fixed iron trestle.  (We stopped here, but we saw others who continued beyond this point, despite signage indicating that the trail was officially closed due to storm damage.)  The second map shows the route of the entire Island Line Trail.

The next photo isn't the best quality, but it shows a Rutland Railroad train crossing the causeway, way back when!

And finally, here are a few snapshots that were taken during our trek along the causeway (above each snapshot is the caption associated with the photo).

A Beautiful Day for Being Outdoors:

The Approach Route to the Causeway:

The Causeway:

Large Chunks of Marble Visible All Along the Trail:

Westward View toward New York's Adirondack Mountains:

Eastward View toward Vermont's Green Mountains:

Zoomed Photo Showing Camel's Hump Mountain Looming in the Background:

Scene Where Trail Currently Ends at the Iron Trestle:

On our way home, we stopped at a Vermont roadside viewpoint which provides a nice vista of the New Hampshire mountains.  Isn't New England simply grand!  It doesn't matter where you go, the scenery is awesome!

To sum it up, our 2 hour drive over to Burlington, VT was worthwhile in so many respects.  The countryside along the route is beautiful, and the trek along the causeway was both unique and picturesque.  We enjoyed this adventure so much that we plan to make a return visit to explore the remainder of the Island Line Trail.  But when we do that, we'll be taking our bikes so that we can cover more ground!
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P.S.  As mentioned in my reply to Owen (shown below), there is some talk about closing segments of the Island Line Trail for repairs during the Summer of 2012.  So, before going there, it might be a good idea to check the trail status by calling 802 861-2700, and/or checking the website at the following link:
http://www.islandlinetrail.org/