Vermont’s Lake Champlain Home to Champ the Lake Monster

Long ago, when Bernie Sanders was still the Mayor of Burlington, Vermont and not yet a national political figure, I lived, worked and played in the Queen City.

Bernie was an interesting character. He was the only small-city mayor I'd known with a foreign policy. He and his wife Jane honeymooned in the Soviet Union. As mayor, Bernie would schedule press conferences to discuss the political situation in Nicaragua.

Bernie was far from the only interesting character I'd learn about while exploring the Champlain Valley of Vermont.

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Burlington is a beautiful city in the heart of the valley. It sits on the edge of Lake Champlain, surrounded by the Green Mountains of Vermont to the east and the Adirondacks of New York to the west.

According to folklore, a lake monster dubbed "Champ" lurks deep beneath the surface of Lake Champlain. Champ sightings date back more than a century. Some believe Champ to be a distant cousin of the more widely known Loch Ness Monster.

I admit, I've never seen Champ, but I've spoken to folks who claimed to, some multiple times. I was doing a call-in radio program when an older woman called to tell me that as a small child, she and her father were in a row boat on Lake Champlain when Champ broke the surface nearby.

There are more than 300 Champ sightings on record dating back centuries. Explorer Samuel de Champlain claimed to see a sea serpent with large coils and scales in the lake in 1609, according to an entry in his diary.

LakeChamplainRegion.com has a webpage dedicated to Champ including a list of all the known Champ sightings and some photos and sketches of Champ.

Lake Champlain is a great family destination during the summer, fall and winter. Who knows, maybe you'll get to see Champ if you go.