Swanton: Nature, Trails and History

Swanton combines trails for hikers and cyclists with wildlife watching, access to Lake Champlain and insights into transportation history. You can give your trip a different focus: outdoor activity, the refuge’s landscape or historic sites in town.

Hiking and Biking Trails in Swanton

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT) has a starting point on Robin Hood Drive in Swanton and crosses the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail (MVRT). This gives Swanton access to many miles of scenic hiking and biking trails. If you enjoy spending your days on a bike or on foot, this offers a different focus for your trip than concentrating on history or wildlife watching.

The Swanton Fit & Healthy Recreation Path is also part of the trail options. It connects to the LVRT and is intended for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles. These details distinguish the available uses without specifying a particular route or duration: the Recreation Path is designed for non-motorized travel, while the LVRT and its intersection with the MVRT provide access to a larger network of scenic trails.

Experience the Water and Nature

Swanton Beach has a public boat launch providing access to Lake Champlain. It also has a picnic area and a slate beach. The waterfront amenities therefore include both a specific access point for boating and a place to picnic, as well as the beach’s distinctive surface. If you want to include Lake Champlain in your trip, you can consider this part of Swanton as a particular point of interest when choosing where to stay.

Another natural area is the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers 6,729 acres and consists mostly of wetlands that provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Five trails totaling 7.5 miles offer opportunities to observe wildlife in a range of upland and wetland habitats. The five trails open to the public provide access to the refuge’s habitats; there are also two boat launches for exploring the Missisquoi River and Lake Champlain. This offers different options for planning your day: wildlife watching along the trails or exploring from the water.

Discover Swanton’s Transportation History on Foot

The Ronald F. Kilburn Transportation Museum is housed in a preserved railroad depot and presents Swanton’s transportation history. The museum also includes a historic railroad car known as a caboose. The depot and the car illustrate the subject in different ways: the museum is housed in the preserved station building, while the caboose itself is a historic rail vehicle.

The Heritage Walking Tour offers another way to explore Swanton’s past, with a self-guided walk through the town’s history. Its 30 stops include historic buildings, churches, cemeteries and landmarks. You can shape the walk around your own interests in these different types of historic places. For trip planning, the self-guided town tour and the museum are distinct cultural options.

When looking for a vacation rental in Swanton, you can start by considering which of these interests you want to shape your trip: biking and hiking trails, wildlife watching, time on the water or local history. The destinations on this page also include Montgomery and St. Albans.

See the broader travel overview: Franklin County.