JoyceL

I'm planning a drive to Montreal from Burlington, Vermont. Can anyone tell me which of these 3 routes would provide the nicest scenery?

1) I-89 North

2) take the ferry to Port Kent, and then Rt. 9 to I-87 North into Canada

3) Rt. 2 through the Champlain Islands to I-87 North

I have also posted this question on the Fodors USA Board.

ron

All three routes travel through what is known as the St. Lawrence Lowlands, relatively flat and not very scenic. The most scenic option would be route 2 through the islands, because of the water views. My preference would be to take I-89, get the trip over with as quickly as possible, and start enjoying Montreal earlier.

Vttraveler

I think Ron is right--the drive through the Champlain islands is most scenic.

If you take the route up I-89 to Highgate Springs and into Quebec you will be on route 133 which goes through an agricultural area with several small towns and a lot of farm stands. When corn is in season the farmers have big kettles going to boil corn on the cob on the spot.

Vttraveler

I see you got a lot of replies on the US forum suggesting you take the ferry and go up through NY. When I said the Champlain Islands were the most scenic route I wasn't taking into account the ferry ride which is very beautiful. I do think that it will take longer. The Charlotte to essex ferry mentioned in one post is south of Burlington so you would be going in the wrong direction to take that. it is a shorter trip than burlington to Port Kent

tcreath

We just got back from our trip to Montreal this morning. We too flew into Burlington (much cheaper!). Going to Montreal we used 89. Not very scenic once you get past the Burlington area, as the drive is relatively flat. We drove through the Lake Champlain islands yesterday and, although more scenic than 89, this was a fairly uneventful drive as well with the exception of a few glimpses of the lake. We did not take the ferry though; we took the route to the bottom of the islands and drove across the bridge.

Tracy