With its sweeping views of Lake Champlain, Vermont's Green Mountains, the Boquet River, and the Adirondack foothills, Noblewood Park is truly one of the hidden jewels of the Adirondack-Champlain region. Established in 1999 as the result of a partnership between the Town of Willsboro and the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, Noblewood offers both town residents and visitors wonderful opportunities for birdwatching, canoeing, swimming, camping, and admiring the spectacular scenery of the Champlain Valley.

Noblewood Park is located just a few miles north of the Essex ferry dock, and less than an hour's drive from Lake Placid, making it an ideal day-trip destination for visitors from both Vermont and the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. The park is open daily for full use (camping, canoeing, and swimming) from July 1 to Labor Day, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. During this time, Willsboro residents are allowed free access to the park with a resident pass, while non-residents are charged a day-use fee of $5.00 per vehicle (with no additional charge for extra passengers). Both types of passes are available from the park staff before 6:00 p.m. After Labor Day (and on summer evenings), the main gate to the park is closed, but the park is still open to pedestrian access, free of charge.

A view of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains, taken from
Noblewood Park in Willsboro.

A juvenile Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) along the Boquet River.

A Diversity of Habitats

Willsboro is often described as the place where the
mountains meet the lake, and perhaps no place better
epitomizes this saying than Noblewood. A visitor to the
park enters through a forested area that is suggestive of
the Adirondacks to the west. Hemlocks predominate in
many places, creating a cool, shady environment in which
Hermit Thrushes sing their beautiful songs and Black-
throated Green Warblers flit about in the canopy. A short
walk through the woods, though, brings visitors to an
entirely different realm. Here, along the edge of the
Boquet River, pitch pines and cottonwoods grow in the
sandy soil, and patches of cattails grow in the shallows
of the river. At this spot, a careful observer can
sometimes spy a Great Blue Heron or Great Egret
standing motionless along the edge of the river, waiting
to lunge at a passing fish. Belted Kingfishers fly by often,
giving their loud rattling call as they go, and on sunny
days, turtles bask on exposed logs in the river. Just a
short distance downstream is the Boquet River mouth,
with its expansive sandbars during the summer months.
Standing here along Lake Champlain near its widest
point, one can see the Green Mountains to the east, the
Four Brothers Islands to the north, and the Essex-
Charlotte ferry crossing the lake to the south.

A Strategic Spot for Birds

In just a few short years, Noblewood has established itself as one of the premier birdwatching spots in northeastern New York, and it still has considerable potential yet to be explored. Together with the Richelieu River to the north and the Hudson River to the south, Lake Champlain is part of a natural migratory highway stretching from the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. The waters and sandbars of the Boquet River mouth provide migrating loons, ducks, geese, sandpipers, gulls, terns, and other birds with a place to rest and feed. Some of these migrants, especially shorebirds, might stop at Noblewood for only a few minutes before continuing on their long journeys. Large numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls, on the other hand, spend several weeks here during July and August, feeding, resting, and molting from breeding plumage to non-breeding plumage. Also during the summertime, Noblewood serves as a feeding and resting ground for Great Egret, Caspian Tern, and other colonial waterbirds from the nearby Four Brothers Islands.

In recent years, birdwatchers in Vermont have demonstrated that Lake Champlain is a major southbound migration route for loons, gulls, sea ducks, and other waterfowl, as well as a spot where rare migrants, such as jaegers, can be found. While Noblewood has not been visited by birders during fall migration, the park contains some high bluffs that should serve as an excellent vantage point from which to scan for birds flying down the lake. These same bluffs provide brave winter visitors with a bird's eye view for studying the loons, grebes, and large flocks of Common Goldeneye and other ducks that congregate on the lake near the Boquet River mouth.

With the large number of birds passing by Noblewood each year, the potential always exists for finding a rare bird amongst more common species. In just the past two summers alone, the sand bars of Noblewood have played host to Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Whimbrel, and Red Knot. These birds are rare not only in the Champlain Valley, but throughout much of the Northeast, and suggest that almost any waterbird could be found at Noblewood.

Adult breeding (left) and juvenile (right) Bonaparte's Gulls (Larus
philadelphia).

An adult Red Knot (Calidris canutus). This rare visitor to the
Champlain Valley has one of the longest migrations of any bird species.

Other Nature

Noblewood Park is the perfect place for curious visitors to explore and learn more about plants, animals, and the rest of the natural world. Mammals are not as conspicuous as birds are during daylight hours, but a lucky person might come across a beaver or porcupine at Noblewood near dawn or dusk. In the long evening hours of June, the woods of Noblewood are filled with the calls of Green Frogs, Spring Peepers, and Gray Tree Frogs. The warmer weather of July brings with it increased insect activity, with butterflies and dragonflies becoming quite conspicuous along the Boquet. And, during wet summers, the forest floor of Noblewood can suddenly seem covered with a variety of mushrooms. The park is a wonderful place for bringing your curiosity, a camera, and a field guide, and learning something new about the world around you.

Larger Blue Flag (Iris versicolor)

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella)

Canoeing, Swimming, and Camping

For those who enjoy canoeing and kayaking, Noblewood
offers a canoe launch site on the lower Boquet River,
providing easy access to the waters of Lake Champlain.
The canoe launch is for canoes, kayaks, guide boats, and
other small, car-top watercraft. Motors are prohibited.
From a temporary parking spot, it is about a 250-yard
carry to the canoe launch, and wheeled carts are available
for visitor use. All boaters are asked to please refrain
from landing their craft on the swimming beach.

Noblewood is also the home of the Willsboro Town
Beach, where visitors can enjoy the refreshing waters of
Lake Champlain in the safety of a supervised swimming
beach. Swimming is allowed only when a lifeguard is on
duty, typically between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. A
nearby building provides visitors with restroom facilities
and changing areas.

A limited number of primitive camp sites are available at
Noblewood, providing visitors with the opportunity to
experience the solitude of the park in the evening and
early morning hours. Each camp site contains an
outhouse, small fire pit, and place to pitch a tent. The
fee for camping is $12 per night.

Directions to Noblewood

The entrance to Noblewood Park is located on Rt. 22 in the Town of Willsboro, about two miles north of the Essex-Willsboro town line. From the Lake Champlain ferry dock in the Hamlet of Essex, turn right and proceed three miles north on Rt. 22. Coming from this direction, the entrance to the park is on the right, shortly after a brown-and-gold state road sign that says "Park--Noblewood." Turn right into the park just before the green and gold "Noblewood" sign seen at the top of this page.

From points to the north, take Rt. 22 south to downtown Willsboro. From the Sportsman's Dinette, Brown House Antiques, and United Methodist Church downtown, continue south on Rt. 22 for 1.5 miles. Coming from this direction, the entrance to the park is on the left, shortly after a brown-and-gold state road sign that says "Park--Noblewood." Turn left into the park just after the green and gold "Noblewood" sign seen above.

The lower Boquet River, as viewed from the Noblewood Canoe Launch.

Fifteen Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) at Noblewood, May 30, 2004. These spring visitors stopped only briefly at the Boquet River
mouth before continuing on their northbound migration.

All content and photographs on this page ©2004 Matthew Medler, except for Twelve-spotted Skimmer photograph, ©2004 Michael J. Andersen.