Photo #29652 - View from highway View from highway driving North. Access to Lake Champlain Visitor Information Center - South side of highway. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed into what is now known as Lake Champlain. It was then, in the summer of 1609, when Vermont was first dubbed 'Verde Mont,' French for 'Green Mountains.' Recreation in the out-of-doors is equally varied in the summer season. State parks and privately operated campgrounds provide everything from wilderness tent sites to complete hook-ups for RVs. Streams, ponds and lakes invite bass and trout fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and boating. Winding blacktop roads are ideal for touring by car, motorcycle, or bicycle. Mountain resorts offer chair-lift assist to hiking and mountain bike trails, or extensive facilities for tennis, golf and swimming.