Paddlers’ Trail Guidebook Now Includes Western Abenaki Place Names and Better Maps 

Sobagwihla --soo-bah-gwee-hlah--where sea ducks gather, where it becomes ocean. That’s the Western Abenaki place name and the meaning of Kill Kare, one of the Lake Champlain Paddlers’ Trail sites. A bill that passed the Vermont Legislature in 2020 that LCC supported required that any new state park signs display both the English name and Abenaki name, if there is one. Preliminary work to identify site names was completed in October 2024 and we’ve added them to the Lake Champlain Paddlers’ Trail guidebook in recognition that the Trail exists on territory originally and currently inhabited by Abenaki and other native people. We hope to add more place names in the future.  

The guidebook has been further enhanced with additional color maps that show close-ups of individual Trail sites and their locations on the lake (see above). Drop-down menus for site information on the interactive map also include Western Abenaki names where available (see below).