There is no McDonald's within 30 miles. It was a commercial breakthrough when Ethel's Dew Drop Inn opened and we could get pizza besides the small frozen ones at the Grand Union. That doesn't mean the area doesn't offer plenty of things to do and see. There is rafting through Ausable Chasm, a working farm from 1812 outside of Willsboro, and the Revolutionary War's Fort Ticonderoga at the lake's southern end. There are museums and apple orchards.
Antiques shops are numerous.
The pre-Civil War architecture of the nearby village of Essex has earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. The entire region is rich in American history. Lake Champlain was a critical pathway in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars. It was also the focal point of battle in the War of 1812. Historians estimate that 2,000 lives were lost in battle on or near the lake.