Button Bay earns its name from the disc-shaped clay concretions scattered along its stony shore—geological curiosities your children will pocket like treasure. The beach curves gently along Lake Champlain's eastern shore, where the water reaches ankle depth for thirty yards out, making it nearly impossible for young swimmers to venture beyond their comfort zone. By midsummer, these shallows hit a bath-like seventy degrees, warmer than you'd expect from a lake fed by northern tributaries.
“The clay "buttons" that give this beach its name form nowhere else on Lake Champlain's 587-mile shoreline.”
Credit: UnsplashLong-tail boats moored in clear water
The swimming area occupies a protected cove flanked by limestone ledges and cattail marshes. You'll wade in from a narrow band of pebbles, your feet finding purchase on smooth, palm-sized stones worn flat by centuries of wave action. Lifeguards staff the beach Memorial Day through Labor Day, though locals arrive during shoulder seasons when the park stays open and the water remains swimmable through September.
Above the waterline, a mown lawn dotted with picnic tables slopes up to the campground, where RVs and tents share 73 sites beneath a canopy of sugar maples. The Nature Center sits a five-minute walk from the beach, housing displays on the lake's ecology and the region's clay deposits. On weekends, rangers lead fossil walks along the shoreline, where Ordovician-era remnants surface in the shale.
