Alburgh is a lakeside village bordering New York and Canada
Alburgh is a quaint town on the banks of Lake Champlain and is the most northwesterly village in Vermont. Residents also have easy access to New York, just five miles across the lake, while the Canadian border is less than three miles north. Locals have plenty of outdoor activities to try, from fishing and kayaking on the lake to riding snowmobiles through a network of off-road trails around town. “If you’re looking in Alburgh, you’re looking for something slower paced; it’s not a suburban area. The seclusion is a big draw as well,” says Michael Savage, a longtime local of Alburgh and broker with RE/MAX North Professionals.
Fishing and boating around town, and snowmobile trails in the winter
Kelly Bay State Fishing Access is north of town, and anglers can catch bass or use the boat launch for kayaks. For deeper areas to cast lines, halfway across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge is another small fishing area with a parking lot. Alburgh Recreational Rail Trail runs over three miles across town and is great for nature walks, bike rides or birdwatching. The trail cuts through Mud Creek Wildlife Management Area, a large nature preserve of forested swamps and marshlands with designated hunting areas. The Alburg Sno Springers Club helps plow and maintain several off-road snowmobile trails so locals can safely take joyrides in the snowy winter months.
Lakefront homes on spacious lots
Single-family homes in town range from $180,000 to $550,000, varying by square footage, age and lot size. Buyers can find village cottages and ramblers at the low end of the range, while larger Cape Cods with lake frontage tend to cost more. Many houses sit along narrow, rural village streets, while some sit on larger plots of land under Vermont sugar maple trees. “If someone wanted to buy and renovate, Alburgh is a great place to do that, with the ease of dealing with the municipality,” says Brian Armstrong, a lifelong Vermont resident, operating principal and owner at KW Vermont. “It’s very easy to do renovations and add-ons to properties since the town has no local zoning plan; there are state regulations, though.”
Folks can head to New York for groceries or restaurants
VT Bake House is one of the village’s longstanding businesses, serving pastries, pizza and a menu of sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. “Depending on what end of the lake you’re on, you can typically get to a restaurant in under 40 minutes by boat.” Folks can also drive or boat to the village of Rouses Point in New York, just across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, to try a few local restaurants. Casa Capitano is an upscale Italian eatery with a patio overlooking Lake Champlain. Supermarkets like Price Chopper are a few miles west in New York; for groceries on the Vermont side, the nearest Hannaford is 12 miles east.
Alburgh Community Education Center and nearby school choice options
The town’s only school is the Alburgh Community Education Center, which teaches kindergarten through eighth grade and has a D-plus rating from Niche. Vermont has a school choice program that allows students to attend any public high school in the state. Once there is more demand for a school than availability, a lottery system decides who gets to enroll. Missisquoi Valley Union Middle/High School is a few miles east in neighboring Swanton, and it gets a C-rating.
An hour from Burlington or Montreal
Commuters can take Interstate 89 just 50 miles south to the bustling city of Burlington for work or leisure. Locals seeking a Canadian road trip can head north 50 miles on Autoroute 15 North to reach Montreal in an hour. Rouses Point hosts an Amtrak station so residents can catch Adirondack Route trains to Montreal, Albany or New York City. Plattsburgh International Airport offers domestic flights and is a 36-mile drive from home.
Written By
Maxwell Olarinde
