An interesting vacation for New Yorkers (NYC) using the two most scenic routes in the NE. This could also be used by those to the south - but they would a need a connection to the Adirondack. Take the Adirondack to Montreal and spend as many days there as you care to. I recommend taking VIA to Ottawa for a day or two, as it's a wonderful city, in my view more visually appealing and compact than sprawling Montreal. The station is several miles out from the town center (sort of a VIA Amshack ;-) From Montreal take a bus to Burlington, VT, to catch the Vermonter for the return trip.
If you're not aware of it, Burlington itself is well worth one or more days. I would also suggest renting a car for the day to explore the lovely Lake Champlain Islands, perhaps returning down the NY side with a ferry ride to Gordon Landing late in the day. There are also suitably interesting and scenic areas on the Vermont "mainland." BTW - you'll need to take a taxi to the Amtrak station in Essex Junction to catch the Vermonter. Although a much smaller city, I find Montpelier quite attractive and very walkable - perhaps the most friendly state capitol in the country and perfect for 24 hours of downtime between trains.
I've created two driving routes out of Burlington, one a bit longer than the other. I'm using generic starting points near the crossing of I-89 and US 2, which on the west slopes down the hill through the middle of town before reaching the lake. Most of the chain hotels are here - there's a couple close to the lake, but you could pay twice as much for lake-view rooms. You'll need to determine the best Greyhound stop and car rental agency for you.
This software is designed for recording and viewing bike rides, but I've used it to plan the routes for the many group tours I've led around here over the past three decades. You can use the basic version of the product for free, so you can create your own account, open one of my routes, and save it with a new name, then you can make modifications after doing the above steps. Or, you can create your own route from scratch! As a non-paying customer you're severely limited in what you can do, so I usually hide the side and bottom panels.
There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's not too bad and there are many in-product tutorials, and there's an Undo button if you inadvertently place a Control Point along the wrong route - which is very easy to do. Lastly, the routes (mine or yours) are downloadable to a GPS device. I imagine you would need a portable device since you're renting a car, but there may be some way to connect it. This is also a great tool for planning urban explorations - such as a walk around Montreal. No more standing at street corners with a map and looking confused.
Since these routes were developed from a cycling background, my general priorities are to avoid busy roads (except I-89 when warranted), select the most scenic roads available, and ride as close / next to the lake whenever possible. There are many other options in the area, but I can state with some certainty that these are the best routes for getting the best overview of the lake in one day. I first saw the Champlain Islands when my father drove down them on our way back from Expo in October 1967 - I had just gotten out of the army in Germany. Although there are many places that I can visit once and be satisfied, Lake Champlain has a sublime beauty that I never tire of returning to.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30698297 122 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30706232 164 miles
If you're not aware of it, Burlington itself is well worth one or more days. I would also suggest renting a car for the day to explore the lovely Lake Champlain Islands, perhaps returning down the NY side with a ferry ride to Gordon Landing late in the day. There are also suitably interesting and scenic areas on the Vermont "mainland." BTW - you'll need to take a taxi to the Amtrak station in Essex Junction to catch the Vermonter. Although a much smaller city, I find Montpelier quite attractive and very walkable - perhaps the most friendly state capitol in the country and perfect for 24 hours of downtime between trains.
I've created two driving routes out of Burlington, one a bit longer than the other. I'm using generic starting points near the crossing of I-89 and US 2, which on the west slopes down the hill through the middle of town before reaching the lake. Most of the chain hotels are here - there's a couple close to the lake, but you could pay twice as much for lake-view rooms. You'll need to determine the best Greyhound stop and car rental agency for you.
This software is designed for recording and viewing bike rides, but I've used it to plan the routes for the many group tours I've led around here over the past three decades. You can use the basic version of the product for free, so you can create your own account, open one of my routes, and save it with a new name, then you can make modifications after doing the above steps. Or, you can create your own route from scratch! As a non-paying customer you're severely limited in what you can do, so I usually hide the side and bottom panels.
There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's not too bad and there are many in-product tutorials, and there's an Undo button if you inadvertently place a Control Point along the wrong route - which is very easy to do. Lastly, the routes (mine or yours) are downloadable to a GPS device. I imagine you would need a portable device since you're renting a car, but there may be some way to connect it. This is also a great tool for planning urban explorations - such as a walk around Montreal. No more standing at street corners with a map and looking confused.
Since these routes were developed from a cycling background, my general priorities are to avoid busy roads (except I-89 when warranted), select the most scenic roads available, and ride as close / next to the lake whenever possible. There are many other options in the area, but I can state with some certainty that these are the best routes for getting the best overview of the lake in one day. I first saw the Champlain Islands when my father drove down them on our way back from Expo in October 1967 - I had just gotten out of the army in Germany. Although there are many places that I can visit once and be satisfied, Lake Champlain has a sublime beauty that I never tire of returning to.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30698297 122 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30706232 164 miles
