Lake Champlain..........straddling the Vermont/New York border...... one beautiful locale named after the French Explorer of the same name.........In his own words, Champlain describes his 1613 exploration of the Lake and the copius amounts of Elk, Deer, Moose, Bear and fish found in here

Champlain's own account of his exploration on the lake* In honor of the 400th anniversary of Champlain's voyages and explorations in the New World, America's Historic  Lakes is featuring Volume II of Champlain's 1613 Voyages. Volume II highlights the explorer's journey of discovery from Cape Breton to Cape Cod, along the St. Lawrence, up what is now known as the Richelieu River and along the lake that bears his name- Lake Champlain... "...I set out accordingly from the fall of the Iroquois River on the 2d of July. All the Savages set to  carrying their canoes, arms, and baggage overland, some half a league, in order to pass by the  violence and strength of the fall, which was speedily accomplished. They then put them all in the water again, two men in each with the baggage; and they caused one of the men in each canoe to go by land some three leagues, the extent of the fall, which is not, however, so violent here as at the mouth, except in some places, where rocks obstruct the river, which is not broader than three hundred  or four hundred paces. After we had passed the fall, which was attended with difficulty, all the savages, who had  gone by land over a good path and level country, although there are a great many trees, re-embarked in their canoes.  My men went also by land; but I went in a canoe. The savages made a review of all their followers, finding that  there were twenty-four canoes, with sixty men. After the review was completed, we continued our course to an island, three leagues long, filled with the finest pines  I had ever seen. Here they went hunting, and captured some wild animals. Proceeding about three leagues farther on,  we made a halt, in order to rest the coming night... We set out the next day, continuing our course in the river as far as the entrance to the lake. There are many pretty  islands here, low, and containing very fine woods and meadows, with abundance of fowl and such animals of the chase as stags, fallow-deer, fawns, roe-bucks, bears, and others, which go from the main land to these islands. We captured a large number of these animals. There are also many beavers, not only in this river, but also in  numerous other little ones that flow into it.  These regions, although they are pleasant, are not inhabited by any savages, on account of their wars; but they  withdraw as far as possible from rivers into the interior, in order not to be suddenly surprised. The next day we  entered the lake, which is of great extent, say eighty or a hundred leagues long, where I saw four fine islands , ten, twelve, and fifteen leagues long, which were formerly inhabited by the savages, like the River of the Iroquois;  but they have been abandoned since the wars of the savages with one another prevail. There are also many rivers falling into the lake, bordered by many fine trees of the same kinds as those we have in  France, with many vines finer than any I have seen in any other place; also many chestnut-trees on the border of this  lake, which I had not seen before. There is also a great abundance of fish, of many varieties: among others, one  called by the savages of the country Chaoufarou, which varies in length, the largest being, as the people told me,  eight or ten feet long. I saw some five feet long, which were as large as my thigh; the head being as big as my  two fists, with a snout two feet and a half long, and a double row of very sharp and dangerous teeth... Continuing our course over this lake on the western side, I noticed, while observing the country, some very high  mountains on the eastern side, on top of which there was snow. I made inquiry of the savages whether these  localities were inhabited, when they told me that the Iroquois dwelt there, and that there were beautiful valleys in  these places, with plains productive in grain, such as I had eaten in this country, together with many kinds of fruit  without limit. They said also that the lake extended near mountains, some twenty-five leagues distant from us, as I judge. I saw, on the south, other mountains, no less high than the first, but without any snow. The savages told me  that these mountains were thickly settled, and that it was there we were to find their enemies; but that it was necessary to pass a fall in order to go there (which I afterwsaw), when we should enter another lake, nine or ten leagues long...