Vacationing in Westport, NY

Westport is a truly amazing little community. Originally settled in 1785, the village of Wesport, hard against Lake Champlain's Northwest Bay, has seen some incredible ups and downs. During the colonial period the lake was a main north/south transportation corridor and Westport a not insignificant dot on that map. The 1800's saw an explosion in iron ore mining. And at the turn of the last century, the nearby Adirondacks had become a fashionable vacation and sporting destination for the nation's elite.

So popular was the small resort town that the New York Times actually had a regular column devoted to Westport's summer social scene. The Westport Inn, situated on present day Ballard Park (see photo above) was the seasonal hub, and the railroad station saw the comings and goings of some of the wealthiest families in America (the Carnegies, the Vanderbilts and others).

The long slide began with the stock market crash of 1929. Depression set in and the Champlain region went into decline. Finally, the completion of the Adirondack Northway (I-87) from New York to Montreal in the mid-1960's brought vacationers back to the Adirondacks on a significant scale.

Westport Today

Some mark the town's rebirth with the opening of the Depot Theater, in Westport's historic train station in the late 1970's (see photo right). This summer stock company puts on a schedule of professional theater every year from late June through mid-September. In addition to theater, Westport today offers a variety of restaurants, shops and lake-oriented activities. For golfers, the The Westport Country Club is a must play. And there are no shortage of places to go and things to do in the surrounding area.

In addition to water-oriented activities, Westport and the surrounding Adirondack Park area offer great athletic and cultural diversity. Take riding lessons at Soncy Brae Farms. Enjoy hiking in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. Take the ferry to Burlington for casual shopping on pedestrians-only Church Street (see photo left), or drive 90 miles up the Adirondack Northway to Montreal for a continental adventure. Or go for a drive in the mountains - Lake Placid, the picturesque home of the Winter Olympics, is a short but stunning 45 minute trip.

Whether you're planning a week or a month, you won't run out of things to do and see in this part of the country.