Overview
Lake Champlain stretches about 107 miles along the border of New York and Vermont and just into Quebec. It reaches 400 feet deep in places and covers about 514 square miles. Burlington, Vermont, is the largest city on its shore. For well over a century, people have reported a large, long-necked animal in the lake, known affectionately as Champ.
A popular story says the explorer Samuel de Champlain saw the monster in 1609. Researchers have traced that claim to a 1970 Vermont Life magazine article; his own writings describe large fish, likely gar, not a serpent. The documented record starts in 1819, when a newspaper in Plattsburgh reported a boat captain's sighting of an enormous serpent.
Reports grew through the 1800s. In 1873 showman P.T. Barnum offered a large reward for the creature, and in 1883 a county sheriff reported a water serpent 25 to 30 feet long. In 1977 Sandra Mansi took the photograph that became Champ's most famous evidence, showing what looks like a neck and head rising from the water.
Champ is now a regional mascot. Port Henry, New York, has a giant model of Champ and celebrates Champ Day each August, and Burlington's summer baseball team is the Vermont Lake Monsters. A 2022 family film shot in Port Henry, Lucy and the Lake Monster, brought the legend to a new generation.
Visiting
Where: Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York. Port Henry, NY, on the western shore, has a giant model of Champ. Burlington, VT, is the largest lakeside city.
Access: Public beaches, parks, ferries and waterfront paths line the lake. Watch from shore or a ferry; the lake is large and cold, and storms come up quickly, so small boats should check weather first.
Events: Champ Day in Port Henry, NY, on the first Saturday of August. Vermont Lake Monsters summer baseball in Burlington.
Timeline
- 1609Samuel de Champlain explores the lake; his journals mention large fish, not a monster.
- 1819The Plattsburgh Republican reports Captain Crum's sighting of a huge serpent.
- 1873P.T. Barnum offers a reward for the creature.
- 1883Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney reports a water serpent 25-30 feet long.
- 1970Vermont Life prints the invented Champlain 'sighting' quote.
- 1977Sandra Mansi takes her famous photograph.
- 2003Fauna Communications Research Institute records unexplained echolocation-like sounds.
- 2005Fishermen Dick Affolter and Pete Bodette record video said to show Champ.
- 2022-2024Lucy and the Lake Monster is filmed in Port Henry and released.
Reported sightings
Near Bulwagga Bay / Port Henry, NY
1819 On the record
The Plattsburgh Republican reported that a Captain Crum saw an enormous serpent in the lake, which he put at about 187 feet long. He described three teeth, eyes the color of peeled onions and a red band around its neck. It is the earliest printed Champ report.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLake Champlain (shore location not given)
1883 On the record
Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney said he saw a water serpent he estimated at 25 to 30 feet long. A sitting county sheriff gave the report extra weight in the press of the day.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgVermont shore, northern Lake Champlain (exact spot unknown)
1977 On the record
While on vacation with her family, Sandra Mansi photographed what appears to be a long neck and head rising from the water. Critics note the bay she described is only about 14 feet deep, and that she discarded the negative and could not find the spot again, which makes the image hard to test.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLake Champlain
2003 Investigated report
Researchers from the Fauna Communications Research Institute recorded underwater sounds resembling the echolocation clicks of beluga whales or dolphins, animals that do not live in the lake. The source of the sounds was not identified.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLake Champlain
Summer 2005 On the record
Fisherman Dick Affolter and his stepson Pete Bodette recorded video of something moving in the water that many viewers took to be Champ. The footage is short and unclear, and its subject has been debated.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLake Champlain
2024 On the record
Drone footage tied to the film Lucy and the Lake Monster was said to show a large animal in the lake and spread widely online. Its connection to a film promotion has made many viewers cautious.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEvidence
Mansi photograph (1977) Disputed
The best-known image of Champ. No negative and no confirmed location.
2003 echolocation recording Unexplained
Unexplained clicks recorded by a bioacoustics group.
Champlain 1609 'sighting' Explained
A quote invented or misattributed in a 1970 magazine article.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Believers point to more than two centuries of reports from boaters, fishermen and lawmen, starting long before modern media. Many describe the same thing: a dark body with humps and a long neck.
Researchers note that the lake is deep and large, and that the 2003 sound recordings and the Mansi photo have never been fully explained.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Skeptics suggest lake sturgeon, which can grow large and look prehistoric, along with floating logs, tree trunks and waves or wakes on calm water. The Champlain 'sighting' that gave Champ an ancient pedigree turned out to be a modern invention.
They argue that a breeding population of large animals in a busy, well-studied lake would leave remains or clear evidence, and that famous photos lack negatives or locations.
Open questions
- What made the echolocation-like sounds recorded in 2003?
- Where exactly was the Mansi photo taken?
Did you know?
- The famous Champlain '20-foot serpent' quote first appeared in 1970, not 1609.
- A sequel to Lucy and the Lake Monster, The Secrets of Lake Champlain, was filmed around Port Henry in 2025.