Lake Champlain Ferry
 

Another question for our Vermont trip. After we tour Vermont, we plan on going to Montreal and Quebec City - but we don't want to drive there - want to take the train in to Montreal. From what I can determine, we can take the Lake Champlain Ferry from Burlington to Port Kent, New York and take the train from there to Montreal.

My question: is there parking at the dock in Burlington, where we can leave our car for about six days? It doesn't say anything about parking on the Lake Champlain Ferry website.

Next question: when we arrive in Port Kent, how far is the dock to the Amtrak station?

Anybody out there gone this route?

Thanks once again for all your help

I don't recall seeing parking at either side when we took the ferry, as we took our car across, but there may be some. Perhaps more likely to find parking at the train station.

You can take the ferry if you want but you will have to drive all the way to Rouses Point to the 30 space Amtrak lot next to the platform (no station building). The fare from RSP to MTL is $18/pp if you buy in advance. Got your passports?

There is definitely a parking lot for the ferry; what I am unsure of is how long you can park there. Is there not a telephone number you can call to inquire? If there is no long-term parking, perhaps you can park for a free or minimal fee at a downtown hotel, and taxi to and from the dock and to and from the Amtrak station.

Ok - now I'm confused by Tom's reply that we will have to drive to the rouses point Amtrak station. According to the Amtrak website, we can get on the train at Port Kent, New York (planning on going in August). We were planning on leaving our car in Burlington, taking the ferry from Burlington to Port Kent, N.Y. and then the train to Montreal.

Am I reading this wrong? Can we not do that?

Thanks.

Per Cattail's suggestion - I called the ferry company. Duh!!! I guess for some reason I thought there wouldn't be anyone there until the season started. Anyway - for anyone who might also be thinking about doing this - we can leave our car at the ferry boat dock. It's an uncovered lot. She said they do have security and just let them know how long the car will be there. On the other end - in Port Kent, the Amtrak station is just a short walk up the hill from where the ferry boat arrives.

Thanks again for the help

You definitely can catch the train at Port Kent.
There is paid parking in Burlington at a number of downtown garages. The one near the Hilton offers overnight parking.
Also, there is a lot at the waterfront, but I do not know
if it is gated or not.
Port Kent is a seasonal stop only, train stops when ferry is running about 2:45 pm. There is only a small bus shelter there a short walk up from Ferry Dock.

You can get on in Port Kent or Plattsburg but neither have any long term parking spots. Rouses Point has 30 designated free long term spots. Consider where you want to go when you return on the train.

Tom - I finally see what you're saying. Took a while!! Looking at MapQuest and Amtrak, it would probably make more sense to just drive to Rouses Point, leave our car there and take the train. Much better than taking the ferry boat to Port Kent - which takes just as much time as driving to Rouses Point from Burlington.

Thanks so much for pointing that out to me. That's what I love about this forum.

Unless you want the ferry experience, it's pretty easy to tak a bus to Montreal from Burlington airport. Cheap, too.

I suppose you have a reason to not want to drive your car to Montreal? Just fyi, driving in Quebec is very easy and safe. Even driving downtown Montreal isn't that bad providing you avoid rush hour.