Burton Island State Park in Vermont, USA - map and visitor information

Research checked: 2026-11-01. Check linked official notices before travel.

Burton Island State Park is a car-free Lake Champlain island near St. Albans, Vermont. A regular-season visit begins by passenger ferry or private boat, followed by island trails and shoreline views. The regular campground reservation listing is closed through May 27, 2027, so transport and dates are essential parts of planning.

Explore an island without cars

The appeal is the shift from a mainland parking area to an island trail network. The Island Farm Nature Trail, West Shore Trail and Southern Tip Trail offer different directions for a walk. Old farm traces connect the open fields and woods with the island’s earlier use.

Know before you go

Fees, hours, and seasonal access

Plan the return crossing first

Confirm the operating-day ferry schedule and your return trip before leaving the mainland. The ferry carries people and bicycles, but no vehicles or boats. Pack only what you can transport safely from the landing. The park map helps with island paths and is explicitly not a navigation chart for private vessels.

Keep pets out of restricted areas

Pets cannot enter the designated swim area or marina. Elsewhere, keep them leashed and pick up their waste. Leave farm remains where they are, and use established trails while exploring the island.

Match the site to your transport

Tent sites and lean-tos are regular-season choices. Use the authorized reservation listing for the selected site’s dates and conditions. Reservations more than seven days ahead normally require two nights, with listed exceptions. A waterfront lean-to stay cannot exceed seven nights. Check the current fee schedule and arrange transport for your group and gear separately.

Use Kill Kare as the mainland departure point

The ferry access address is 2714 Hathaway Point Road, St. Albans, Vermont 05481, at Kill Kare State Park. This is the mainland access point, not a road entrance onto Burton Island. Limited parking prompts the park’s request for no more than two cars per group. Read the official island and ferry information before setting out.

A mainland park and another island

Kill Kare State Park is the nearby mainland park reached by Hathaway Point Road and the departure point for Burton’s seasonal passenger ferry. Woods Island State Park is a separate northern Lake Champlain island, reached only by your own arranged boat transport. Its regular campground listing is also closed through May 27, 2027. Neither island has a road connection to the mainland.

Choose an island walking route

Use the Island Farm Nature Trail for agricultural traces, or choose one of the shore and southern-tip routes on the official map and guide. Leave time for the walk back to the ferry landing. Day visitors and campers both need a workable transport plan.

Carry gear from the landing

Carts help campers move equipment from the landing to their sites, and paid gear delivery is another option. During the operating season, facilities include flush toilets, running water, token-operated showers and a small store and bistro. Confirm boarding and shore access needs with staff if your visit depends on accessible facilities.

About the island landscape

Rocky shore, marsh, woods and former farm fields give the island a varied setting within Lake Champlain’s Inland Sea. Its lack of a road crossing is central to the visit.

From farmland to an island park

The island was farmed through the 1950s. Fence lines, stone piles and the old barn foundation remain. Burton Island State Park opened in 1964, and a proposed causeway was abandoned to preserve its character without cars.

Fields, marsh and wooded shore

The mix of open fields, marshy areas, woods and rocky shoreline provides several habitat types. Watch from the trails and shore without expecting particular species on a short visit.

Contact

Call Burton Island State Park at 802-524-6353. The Vermont State Parks reservation number is 1-888-409-7579. Ask about permitted access and transport before planning a trip outside the regular operating season.