Good Nature: An Ecologist Reconsiders Burton Island State Park 

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• Standing at the water's edge at Burton Island State Park

Many years ago, my family, friends and I canoed from Kill Kare State Park in St. Albans to Burton Island. This was not our first choice. We had been planning to camp at Green River Reservoir State Park in Hyde Park, but the other family's car broke down on the eve of our trip. So they biked from Burlington, we drove their son and the canoe, and we all met up at Kill Kare, on St. Albans Point. There, we puzzled over how to get the gear, our toddlers and ourselves safely to the island in the minimum number of trips in one canoe.

Somehow, we managed.

We had a great time hiking, hanging out and exploring the vehicle-free island on short, leisurely walks. Our sons discovered a possible nest with egg fragments on the ground at our generous lean-to campsite. But honestly, my ecological brain did not quite get the appeal of the place. Pining for the backcountry feel amid the call of loons at Green River, all I saw were exceptionally flat fields and a young, boring forest.

However, I have friends and neighbors who swear by Burton Island, and my son has expressed interest — something to capitalize on with a 15-year-old! — so I decided it was time to take another look.

I asked my neighbor, who goes with her family every year, what she likes so much about Burton Island. She described a place where everything is just right and "human scale" — canoeing, paddleboarding, little hikes, swimming at the crowded beach or in a secluded spot on your own. "Every adventure is the perfect amount of activity," she said. "Nothing is challenging, but it isn't boring, either." When she manages to snag a hard-to-reserve waterfront site, it's like a "tropical vacation," she said, adding, "I walk around, and I feel like it's my own island." Also, it's a friendly place, she said. "You have space, but you're going to meet your neighbors."

Amenities include the Burton Island Bistro store and café, boat moorings, a marina complete with WiFi, and bathrooms with flush toilets and coin-operated showers. There's also a nature center staffed by an interpreter known as "Nature Nate." The park opens Memorial Day weekend and closes for the season in mid-September.

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• Dan Bolles
• The Island Runner ferry

You don't need your own boat to make the trip — we canoed for fun. Most people arrive on the Island Runner ferry, which leaves from Kill Kare. Reservations are recommended. Since there are no cars on the island, kids have the freedom to bike to the store on their own for a snack. "It's safe — you can go have fun and play in traffic without there being any traffic," said Ryan Baker Dunn, Vermont State Parks' northwest regional facilities and projects manager. "Kids can explore and be independent outdoors without much risk." That's one of his favorite things about the park. Plus, he said, it has the best sunsets.

I'm also reconsidering my ecological assessment. Burton Island's young forests offer an opportunity to think about the cycle most of the state's forests have been through. The island hasn't always been a vacation spot, its website says, and it hasn't always been named Burton Island. It's called Isle of White on 18th-century maps and Potter's Island on 1874 Lake Champlain navigation charts. St. Albans resident Jesse Welden, who worked for Ethan and Ira Allen, is said to have cleared and farmed on the island. C.C. Burton used it for pasture in the 1840s, and Sidney Burton owned it through the early 1900s and leased it to tenant farmers. The land has nurtured cows, pigs, sheep, chicken, beans and peas. Sidney Burton built a hunting and fishing camp there in 1902; subsequent owners continued to lease the island to farmers and to summer there. The state bought the island in 1962 and opened the park in 1964.

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• Inspecting rusted farm equipment

Vestiges of the island's agricultural past remain. Visitors may spot old fence lines, rusting agricultural equipment and a barn foundation.

A road once connected the island to the mainland, Dunn said, allowing farmers to load their wagons and take their animals to market. It's still visible today during late fall, when the water is lowest. State officials considered building up the road to construct a causeway, but they decided that an island with no cars would make a better park. The state bought Kill Kare, a former boys' camp, in 1967, to provide easier access to the island. Now a day-use park itself, Kill Kare provides parking, a boat ramp, a ferry dock and a breakwater to support Burton Island. Ferry service started in the 1980s.

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• Making s'mores over a campfire

Not surprisingly, Burton Island is a very popular camping destination. Campsite reservations can be made 11 months in advance starting at 9 a.m. on the 15th of the month (or the first business day after the 15th.)

We don't plan that far in advance at our house, so we'll be clicking "Create Availability Notification" on the website and hoping to make it out there before the end of the summer. Or we might just settle for a day trip instead. Maybe we'll see you there!