
I like to joke around with our friends, Amy Guglielmo and Brian Giebel about “Champlaining” (aka “Lake Champlaining”) when we’re puttering about on our glorious front yard: Lake Champlain. A common refrain, “Stop Champlaining!” is actually a lighthearted reminder that even on the clunkiest of days, time spent plying (or playing i/on) the waters of America’s greatest lake is a revitalizing gift.
Swimming. Sailing. Speedboating. Windsurfing. Wakesurfing. Waterskiing. Bonfiring… (And even when we’re fortunate enough to have a winter freeze so that we can skate and cross-country ski on the lake!) Champlaining is a term of lighthearted gratitude for the immense good fortune that so many of us enjoy in, on, and near the greatest of American lakes, Lake Champlain.
Mucking through late midwinter strikes me as the optimal moment to share the distinct joy of champlaining with a quick photo essay.
No better place to start than one of my personal favorites, sailing.
Perhaps some scenic day-boating?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgPpo-UOsM5/
Another personal favorite, wakesurfing (and acting like a landing condor!)
Lake Champlaining! #adksurf #wakesurfer #wakesurfing #lakechamplain #lakechamplaining #summer #watersports pic.twitter.com/kmSzTFD6mK
— Rosslyn Redux (@RosslynRedux) July 11, 2019
End-of-day waterskiing, sailing, surfing offers a unique magic (but paying attention to boating regulations vis-à-vis sunset which I might have inadvertently let slip here…)

Celebrating a peak-of-summer day with a sensational sundown surf… in one of world’s the most spectacular spots… This is Champlaining! (Source: Sundown Surf)
Hammocking lakeside might very well be one of the best ways to wind down a week.