People have been paddling for a\u00a0long<\/em>\u00a0time. The Pesse Canoe, discovered in the Netherlands and estimated to be roughly 10,000 years old, is considered the oldest known canoe in the world.<\/p>\n Here in Vermont, waterways were highways long before there were roads. The Abenaki traveled the region\u2019s rivers and lakes by canoe for transportation, hunting, fishing, and trade.<\/p>\n Dugout canoes, or logboats, have also been discovered around places like Shelburne Pond and the Champlain Valley. Made from large trees such as white pine, these shallow-draft boats were well suited to Vermont waters. Wooden dugouts were sometimes even intentionally submerged during the winter, helping keep the wood from drying and cracking.<\/p>\n By the late 1800s and early 1900s, recreational canoeing had become part of Vermont\u2019s outdoor culture. Wilderness camps around the state incorporated canoe trips as a way to teach outdoor skills and explore the backcountry, a tradition that continues today.<\/p>\n Your Turn to Grab a Paddle<\/strong><\/p>\n Fortunately, getting on the water today doesn\u2019t require hollowing out a white pine.<\/p>\n No boat? No problem.\u00a0Vermont Canoe and Kayak<\/a> in Jeffersonville offers rentals and trips on the Lamoille River. Or, if you\u2019re staying right here at Smuggs, head to Bootleggers\u2019 Basin<\/a> and give a kayak or stand-up paddleboard a try.<\/p>\n 5 Places to Paddle Near Smuggs<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have your own canoe, kayak, or SUP, there are plenty of places to explore within an easy drive of the Resort.<\/p>\n Green River Reservoir<\/strong> Belvidere Pond<\/strong> Lake Eden<\/strong> Metcalf Pond<\/strong> Arrowhead Mountain Lake<\/strong> Before You Push Off<\/strong><\/p>\n Paddling is pretty simple, but water deserves respect. A little preparation can keep a great day from becoming a bad one.<\/p>\n Then pack some snacks, grab a friend or the family, take a swim where appropriate, wet a line, or just float around and enjoy the view. It\u2019s a simple and fun way to spend a summer day in Vermont.<\/p>\n The post Vermont at Water Level<\/a> appeared first on Smugglers\u2019 Notch Resort Vermont<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You don\u2019t need a motor, a trailer, or a captain to enjoy some of Vermont\u2019s best summer scenery. A canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard is all you need to spend a few hours exploring local waters at a decidedly more Vermont pace. A Very Old Way to Get Around People have been paddling for a\u00a0long\u00a0time.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":888,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions\/888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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If you want to feel like you\u2019ve gotten away from everything, this is the place. Green River has some of the most undisturbed shoreline in Vermont, and with no motorized boats allowed, it stays remarkably quiet. Paddle into a cove and there may be little to hear besides your paddle and the call of a loon across the water.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Image-1024x576-1.jpg\")
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Small, quiet, and surrounded by woods, Belvidere has the feeling that a moose could wander out of the trees at any moment and start feeding on aquatic plants along the shoreline. Whether one actually appears is another matter, but the wild setting is a big part of the appeal.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FullSizeRender-1024x768-1.jpeg\")
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The most developed of these five, Lake Eden allows motorized watercraft and tends to have more activity. It also offers good fishing and a public beach for swimming, making it a nice choice when paddling is only part of your day on the water.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Image-2.jpg\")
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Close by, small, and tucked out of view, Metcalf is rarely very busy and offers some great fishing. Aside from boats associated with camps on the pond, there\u2019s little motorized traffic, making it an easy place to spend a quiet couple of hours.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_7349-1024x768-1.jpeg\")
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Bring the binoculars. Arrowhead\u2019s shallow water, marshes, and wetlands provide excellent bird habitat, with eagles, osprey, herons, ducks, and plenty of other species frequently seen. There\u2019s good fishing here, too. It\u2019s definitely not a swimming spot<\/strong>, but for wildlife watching from a canoe or kayak, Arrowhead offers something completely different.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefuzzybutts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_3367-1024x768-1.jpg\")
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\u00a0Text SMUGGS to 855-421-2279<\/strong>\u00a0for real-time alerts about weather updates, schedule changes, and more!<\/p>\n