With its abundant water and flat-to-rolling terrain, Vermont's Islands & Farms is a great place to enjoy the outdoors.

The breadth of four-season experiences uniquely combines island hopping and nearby high mountain skiing; boating and climbing; and swimming in either lakes or mountain streams.

This is the place where you can delight in world-class sailing and windsurfing, power boating, kayaking, or canoeing. Paddle part or all 86 miles of the Missisquoi River, where it flows gently through Franklin County, as it rounds Jay Peak and circles back to Vermont and Lake Champlain.

Angle for trout in Franklin County's picturesque streams or catch your limit of salmon in the waters of Lake Champlain. You'll find New England's best year-round fishing holes for walleye, yellow and white perch, bass and pike.

Bike or hike our shoreline roads and the gently rolling, rural Franklin County trails. This is one of the few Vermont areas where you don't need 21 gears! Ride or trek from one old train station to another on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail—all 26.5 miles of this railroad bed are perfect for biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or just plain strolling.

The Land of Covered Bridges

Enjoy our concentration of covered bridges—six in the town of Montgomery alone! Take to the rugged trails of Hazen's Notch for a more challenging walk or some mountain biking.

In Franklin County, as in the Champlain Islands, you're surrounded by the vast views—waterscapes and wildflower meadows, farm fields and mountain highs, the fall foliage against our special backdrops of lake and verdant land. Wherever the scenery draws you, you'll delight in the detours. Rounds of golf at seven courses in spectacular settings. The inviting shops. The delicious dining.

Come in summer. Get closer to nature at the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge and so many other special wildlife viewing sites. Get closer to each other on hay rides. Get a bird's-eye view on an airplane ride from the Franklin County Airport. Maybe you'll even get a glimpse of Champ, our legendary lake monster.

Don't forget our winter wonders. Fields and paths become cross-country ski and snowshoe trails. Lakes and ponds become grand outdoor skating arenas. Climbing slopes at nearby Jay Peak and Smugglers' Notch transform to prime downhill destinations. Fishing goes indoors—to fishing shanties colorfully dotting the pure white ice.

Whatever your game or sport, bring your own gear or find all the outfitting you need here for rental. Boats and bicycles. Tents and tackle. Even riding horses and ice shanties.