Scull Hosmer Pond, Vermont
Sandwiched between the hills of Vermont’s remote Northeast Kingdom, Hosmer Pond is the idyllic setting for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center’s sculling school. Now in its 35th year, Craftsbury is the first rowing camp in America. If you ever wanted to learn the sport of sculling or already scull and want to perfect your stroke, Craftsbury is arguably the best place in the States to do just that. The 5-day course goes over all aspects of rowing, and depending on expertise, splits groups up on the lake with instructors. Balancing the boat is always the hardest part for beginners, many of whom will spend the better part of the first day swimming. Oar handles have to be together at all times or the boat quickly tips to the left or right. Legs are thrust up against a board to scoot back as you propel the oars forward. Indeed, many of the coaches have immense quad muscles proving that legs are more important than arms in the stroke. 5-day programs including room, board, and training start at $1037.
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North of Bolton Landing, Lake George feels more lake a river, narrow and hemmed in by the peaks, offering vintage Adirondack beauty. You peer out at ridge after anonymous ridge and a carpet of trees, with few signs of civilization. When I tell people that I find Lake George more exquisite than Lake Tahoe, Lake Powell, or even that wondrous lake to the north, Champlain, they often look at me bewildered. They equate the lake with the honky-tonk village on the southern tip, packed with T-shirt and fudge shops, video arcades, hokey haunted houses, a requisite water park, and my personal favorite, Goony Golf, a miniature golf course crowded with huge fairy tale characters. All they have to do is drive about ten miles north on Route 9N to Bolton Landing and the lake becomes far more serene. Growing up in Schenectady, New York, we would make the hour-drive to Bolton Landing on a regular basis to reach our sailboat docked just out of town. Now I return on an annual basis with my family to treat my kids to a good dose of natural adventure.