Westport, NY, lake Champlain.

[Tom Duca]

Another amazing day out in the Northwest Bay. 

Lots of familiar and new faces. 

People parked well and left room for the many nice fishermen. 

Parking at the NYS fishing access in Westport appears to be the best/only option.  

Access from Vermont appears to be nil. 

The Broad lake is largely frozen. There is still a band down the middle of the broad lake that appears open. Any ice reports are appreciated. 

There is wind tonight. If the ice survives and 

the wind stays down there is potential for big ice early this week. The next snow is Friday. 

Thank you,

Tom d. 

[kittyw...@gmail.com]

Huge thanks to Kevin, Tom, Dan and company for the fantastic scouting and ice reporting that inspired our adventure today!

Charlene and I drove to Westport, where we met up w (sister) Elisha Bartlett and Elizabeth Lee. There are some nice sidewalks that lead you out to stellar black ice. There’s a tricky (and very visible) pressure crack off of the fishing access that requires some patience to find a good crossing place. We found a good place heading northwards closer to shore.

From there it was pretty smooth skating on mostly smooth, clear black ice that seemed consistently about 4 inches thick. I didn’t record but Charlene did and may post the track later.

Basically, we skated close to Button Bay, headed south for a stretch and then rounded back around.

All in all, a pretty perfect day to enjoy sunshine, low wind, beautiful ice and a rising full moon with wonderful company.

Hoping to get out there again and I’m super curious to hear if anyone has found a good entry point from the VT side.

Warmly,

Kitty

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 31, 2026, at 5:11 PM, Tom Duca <tdu...@gmail.com> wrote:

Another amazing day out in the Northwest Bay. 

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[Adam Franco]

Just wanted to make a few notes from our day which overlapped the other groups on this part of the lake. The recent satellite imagery is a bit cloudy. But you can easily see the difference between the clear black ice and the snow/rubble.

The best ice was on the southern/eastern part of the lake, off shore from NY's Young Bay and Button Bay (which is itself is unappealing uneven snow ice, rubble, and patches of snow). Access from Button Bay State Park may be possible, but might require a long 3/4 mile trek out to the smooth ice even if the park roads are passible (which is unknown). A ski out the park trails to the point might be a reasonable if long way to access.

There is good ice just off shore from the Basin Harbor Club's marina, but I have no idea if they or the Maritime Museum allow or prevent public access or parking in the off-season. Any intel on that would be welcome. Just north of Basin Harbor is a rubble band that crosses all the way to the NY shore at Rock Harbor.

North of that rubble band is decent ice,  but it was covered in just enough snow to be tough to skate on. If the snow blows off it might be more worth exploring.

- Adam 

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[BIll Horne]

nice to connect again out there today, Hank! what a windy glide!

On Feb 1, 2026, at 5:07 PM, Hank Clark <hank...@gmail.com> wrote:

My thanks as well from the ice boating community that launched at Westport. These ice reports are very valuable.

Good of the town to plow the whole parking lot and the ramp. Beautiful ice! The pictures don't lie. 

We enjoyed meeting the skaters. We love the ice too although I prefer sitting down and being propelled by the wind. 😋

On Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 7:01 PM <kittyw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Huge thanks to Kevin, Tom, Dan and company for the fantastic scouting and ice reporting that inspired our adventure today!

Charlene and I drove to Westport, where we met up w (sister) Elisha Bartlett and Elizabeth Lee. There are some nice sidewalks that lead you out to stellar black ice. There’s a tricky (and very visible) pressure crack off of the fishing access that requires some patience to find a good crossing place. We found a good place heading northwards closer to shore.

From there it was pretty smooth skating on mostly smooth, clear black ice that seemed consistently about 4 inches thick. I didn’t record but Charlene did and may post the track later.

Basically, we skated close to Button Bay, headed south for a stretch and then rounded back around.

All in all, a pretty perfect day to enjoy sunshine, low wind, beautiful ice and a rising full moon with wonderful company.

Hoping to get out there again and I’m super curious to hear if anyone has found a good entry point from the VT side.

Warmly,

Kitty

<image0.jpeg><image1.jpeg>

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 31, 2026, at 5:11 PM, Tom Duca <tdu...@gmail.com> wrote:

Another amazing day out in the Northwest Bay. 

Lots of familiar and new faces. 

People parked well and left room for the many nice fishermen. 

Parking at the NYS fishing access in Westport appears to be the best/only option.  

Access from Vermont appears to be nil. 

The Broad lake is largely frozen. There is still a band down the middle of the broad lake that appears open. Any ice reports are appreciated. 

There is wind tonight. If the ice survives and 

the wind stays down there is potential for big ice early this week. The next snow is Friday. 

Thank you,

Tom d. 

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<image1.jpeg><image0.jpeg><image0.jpeg><image1.jpeg>

[Charlene Wallace]

Thanks Adam, for the great track-with-satellite images! Adam wrote, "Access from Button Bay State Park may be possible, if the park roads are passable". I looked it up. Vermont State parks off-season page (under "Southwest") says this: “Button Bay State Park: Parking access is plowed throughout winter.” 

Worth trying. Tomorrow, Monday, two friends and I are going to Button Bay, to arrive at 10:15am. Others who have safety equipment and poles are welcome to join. Kitty and I skated on that ice from Westport on Saturday, it was terrific. I'd like to access it from the VT side. Even if a 15 minute slog in spikes (a guess) is necessary to get to the ice, it's preferable to a longer drive. 

Note, my friends and I don't have drysuits, but we do have PFDs, helmets, throw ropes, etc.

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[Charlene Wallace]

In light of Evan's report that there is great ice from the Charlotte Town Beach, we are changing our plan. We will be leaving from Charlotte Town Beach around 10:15-10:30 am Monday morning 2/2.

Charlene

[Matt & Leda]

Cool that is probably better. I did oakledgr yesterday. Was good not amazing 

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