Charlotte Covered Bridges

Surrounded by the rolling green Adirondack Mountains and the deep blue waters of Lake Champlain, the small Vermont town of Shelburne, population just over 7,000, plays host in mid-September to the annual Charlotte Covered Bridge Half Marathon, which takes runners on an out-and-back course.Join us for one of our most popular races – and for good reason! The race begins and ends at Shelburne Beach, on beautiful Lake Champlain, which is a favourite spot of Shelburne residents to have picnics, BBQs, play volleyball, swim, kayak, and let the kids play tetherball or climb on the playground. Your family may enjoy spending time here while waiting for your return.
Along the course, you will pass Shelburne Orchards and run along a picturesque dirt/gravel road featuring wonderful views of Vermont countryside. Run past Charlotte Beach just before entering the covered bridge for the first time. The course continues on quiet, rolling hills before arriving at the turn around where you will head back the way you came. This race is a great race for all running abilities because it’s a relatively flat course. If you are just starting out, you may opt to do a 5K or 10K instead. This race has something for everyone and is treat to run – especially to our visitors from out-of-state. Just last year we had runners from all over New England, as well as Colorado, Texas, California, Michigan, Minnesota and even Alaska!
Course Highlights
Course starts and finishes at Shelburne Beach.
From there, the race unfolds along a largely north-south route, heading south along Beach Road, Bostwick Road, Orchard Road and Lake Road, all the way south down to the half-way turnaround point near Thompson’s Point Road.
Once there, the course then returns north along the route runners just covered, all the way back to Shelburne Beach for the race finish.
Along the way, runners get to see the peaceful, bucolic scenery of this part of western Vermont, with wide-open farm fields specked with rolled hay bales, and the occasional tree-lined stretch of road.
There’s a brief stretch along the shoreline of the lake near Holmes Creek, and there are plentiful farm fields and farmhouses all along the route.