The Spread:
Owned and operated by the Beach family for 120 years, the Basin Harbor Club is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain in Vergennes, about 30 miles south of Burlington. Guests choose either lodge rooms or one of 77 one- to three-bedroom cottages. This 700-acre resort, with its "sophisticated country" ambiance, is the old-fashioned lake vacation grown up with good food and wine. Before dinner, guests linger over cocktails while savoring the views from

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Adirondack chairs set out on the lawn (child-size chairs provided, too). In the evening, everyone who eats in the main dining room dresses for dinner, including gentlemen over age 12. An ensemble often provides dance music, when it's fun to see grandparents teaching the foxtrot to their grandchildren.

Why Families Love It:
From late June to Labor Day, and on spring and fall weekends, Basin Harbor offers a free, supervised children's program for ages three to 12 and teens from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and supervised dinner and games from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Younger kids bake cookies, go on treasure hunts, finger paint, splash in the pool, and play games. Older kids canoe, fish, hike, build ships, and reenact Revolutionary War battles fought on Lake Champlain. Teens can check email and play computer games at the Hangar, a teen center. Afternoon is a time for families to play golf and tennis or go swimming, bicycling, boating, kayaking, or fishing together.

Check out the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, founded by one of the Beaches, located on the resort's grounds. Kids learn about the region's impressive nautical heritage, including the lake's trove of sunken horse ferries, gunboats, and steamboats. The Philadelphia II, a replica of a 54-foot Revolutionary War gunboat, is moored in the harbor.

The resort is open from mid-May to the third week in October.

Special Activities & Events:
Don't miss the beach party by the harbor, complete with D.J., face painting, and fishing for kids.