Trekking Frozen Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont

It was a beautiful day to check out Lake Champlain. It was tough for me, walking on the uneven and slippery snow with my hurt leg, but it was worth it to get some of these beautiful views.

Its not every year that Lake Champlain freezes, because it is a massive lake. But this has been a cold winter, and the news broke recently that it was frozen all the way across. That means you could walk from Vermont across to New York. My friend, Ed, from Savannah, was here visiting so I thought this would be a good opportunity to go check out the lake. There is a big causeway, or dike, that creates an inner Mallets Bay from the outer lake. It takes about a half mile from the parking lot to make it out for views of the lake. The trail was covered in snow, as was the lake.

Looking out across the lake we could see a few vehicles. Zooming in with our cameras, we noticed that they were actually large pickup trucks, next to little pop-up tents. It was people ice fishing, way out on Lake Champlain. The sky was filled with wispy clouds and spots of blue, making a great background.

After trekking out for the views, we drove into downtown Burlington to go check out the famous Church Street scene. After a big walkthrough of the Outdoor Gear Exchange, we decided to see if we could score a table at this little hidden gem of a Chinese restaurant called 'Single Pebble.' They were able to seat us at the bar, and we decided to go big, so we both got the Chef's Sampler Menu. It was an amazing amount of food, and very fun being able to try all of the chef's favorites. I've been wanting to get into this spot ever since hearing about it.

If you ever get a chance to visit Burlington in the dead of winter, this could be a great choice for unique adventure and culinary delight. You won't be disappointed.
That is a truck out on the ice, parked next to a small temporary hut used for ice fishing. I'm not sure I would be ready to drive a car out onto the lake like this.

I've been told by a few 'foodies' that this little, hard to find spot in downtown Burlington is a must go. Single Pebble certainly did not disappoint.

More frozen lake scenes. This is looking back towards Mallets Bay from the causeway.

When you are in Burlington, Vermont, there are quite a few good restaurants to choose from, but this one should be high on your list. Top notch Chinese dishes, made with local ingredients, was an absolute delight. We chose the tasting menu, which is a sample of all the chef's favorites. It was a ton of food.

Ed and I, hiking out on the causeway trail to check out a frozen Lake Champlain.

You can see our shadows and the inner Bay covered in ice and snow.

The Chef's tasting menu at the Single Pebble. We sat at the bar, since there wasn't an available table, and somehow made it through.

Here are the first four courses and some good Switchback Ale to wash it down with.

The centerpiece of downtown Burlington is this pedestrian shopping area called Church Street. We checked out a few shops before settling down for a wonderful dinner at a small hidden spot called Single Pebbble.

The snow covered causeway that leads way out into Lake Champlain.

Beautiful light filtering through the forest at the edge of Lake Champlain.

Keep traveling and keep posting.
-Dai Mar