• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Abroad Reach Travel

Smooth Sailing for Your Next Adventure

  • Home
  • DIY
    • Boat DIY
    • Van DIY
  • Van Life
    • Van Life Diaries
  • Sailing
    • Intracoastal Waterway
    • Sailing Destinations
    • Small Boat Living
  • Travel
    • Sailing Destinations
    • Central America
    • Europe
    • North America
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Shop

Valcour Island East: Harbor Hopping

October 20, 2019 by Gwen 1 Comment

Updated on September 29th, 2020

44°37’22.9″N 73°24’27.1″W

Chart–Map 9

Chart of Valcour Island

How to Get There

Valcour Island is on the west side of the lake south of Plattsburg, and directly west of outer Mallets Bay. The lake can get quite rough in this area if the wind blows hard from the south and to a lesser extent from the north.

Approaching Valcour’s east side is relatively easy and the shoals well marked.

Getting Lost on Valcour’s East Side

Staying There

There are three main anchorages on Valcour Island East: Smuggler’s Harbor, Sloop Cove, and Spoon Bay.

Smuggler’s harbor is quite shallow and therefore best suited to low draft vessels.   Due to the size of the harbor, you will need to tie off from shore as well. There are also several campsites around the harbor that can get loud on occasion. 

Sloop cove is in the middle of the island with good protection expect east and northeast.  Anchor in 10 – 25 feet of water and avoid the southwest corner. There is a large sand bar not shown on some charts. We may or may not have found the “hard” way.  On the weekends the cove can be crowded. You may have to tie a line to shore if you don’t have adequate swinging room. 

Spoon Bay is on the north end of the Island with good protection from the south. Anchor in 10- 25 feet of water. Spoon Bay is a large anchorage with lots of room. It is well suited if you have to make the approach in the dark.

Quick Facts About Valour Island East:

  • When to Avoid: When the wind is from the east or north east. Avoid Spoon when the wind is out of the north. 
  • Services: None
  • Restrooms: There are a few primitive toilets on the island. We wouldn’t recommend.
  • Showers: None
  • Is it dog-friendly?  Yes.

Things to Do

There are seven miles of hiking trails that crisscross the entire island. Signage is quite good but unfortunately, on Valcour Island East trail markers can be few and far between. You may find yourself lost (like us) so bring a smartphone or GPS with you.  Smuggler’s harbor contains a memorial to sailors who stayed here on their way to fight in WWII.

Restaurants and Provisions

None.

Check out the rest of our Lake Champlain Harbor Hopping Guides!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

We Think You Might Like....

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Home
  • DIY
  • Van Life
  • Sailing
  • Travel
  • About
  • Shop
Copyright © 2025 · Abroad Reach Travel
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d