—STATE OF VERMONT—
Burton Island State Park
Guide to the Interpretive Nature Trail and Hiking Trail
written and illustrated by Stephen Antil
Park Naturalist
Burton Island
nature center marina office nature walk hiking trail interpretive trail Island Road Landfill Dump
This Trail guide is for the hiking trail and interpretive trail which start past the white cabins and behind the nature center
The interpretive nature trail will take 30 minutes to walk. The numbers in this pamphlet correspond to the numbered sign posts on the trail. It is advisable that you wear shoes when walking the trails. The scenic hiking trail can be hiked in one to one and a half hours and will take you to the southeast tip of the island and back.
You can help the naturalist maintain good hiking conditions on these trails by carrying out what you carry in.
Many of Vermont’s wildflowers are protected. Therefore, it is suggested that all wild flowers be left in their natural environment for the next person to enjoy.
The land surrounding Burton Island and the area of Northern Lake Champlain was once the hunting grounds of the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians. It was here that these people hunted and fished for their survival. Hunting and trapping for wolves, deer, mink and elk, and fishing for salmon, trout and bass, the Iroquois and Algonquin found an abundance of game.
(Indian agriculture)
As white men increased, agriculture began to dominate this area. In the late 1700’s, Burton Island was cleared and tilled by Jesse Weldon, a settler and agent for the Allen family—Ethan, Ira and Levi.
In 1840, C.C. Burton owned the island and hired a family to live here and manage his farm.
Ida Lashaway acquired the land in 1928. During this time, the Lashaway family continued to till the land and raise livestock.
In 1944, farming operations were discontinued. From that time until the present, we have had the opportunity to see what role mother nature can play in returning the land to a natural state. The signs of farming are still here, but for the last three decades natural forces have been left relatively unchallenged.