Greater Burlington YMCA is Located at 266 College Street. The YMCA serves the Burlington community with fitness facility memberships, youth and adult sports, group fitness and dance classes, youth and adult swim lessons, family activites. Facilities include two indoor pools, fitness center with Nautilus and cardiovascular equipment, gym and indoor track. The YMCA also provides quality child care and camping programs. Financial assistance available. ^popular Click here to read more.

Burlington Department of Parks and Recreation's responsibility is to enhance quality of life of all the citizens of Burlington and for the visitors to our community in the following ways:

1. By acquiring, developing and maintaining a system of parks which offers a broad spectrum of built facilities and open spaces.
2. By providing high quality, affordable recreation programs which meet the needs of all segments of the community.
3. By regulating and managing public trees and property along city streets is an effort to create attractive greenspace.
4. By managing the Burlington harbor and providing the necessary facilities to ensure safe and pleasurable water-based recreation opportunities.

Burlington Free Press has Vermont Expos Coverage, including Player profiles, team stats and more. ^popular Click here to read more.

Earl's Cyclery & Fitness was founded in 1953, as a specialty retailer of bicycles and fitness equipment. Earl's has been selected as one of the "Top 100" Bicycle Dealers in America, and for the last three years, has been chosen, "Best Place to Buy a Bicycle" by Burlington Free Press Reader's Choice Awards. Our Service Department, nicknamed "Home of the Bike Doctors" is schooled and certified in the most difficult of bicycle and fitness equipment repairs. Earl's is counted on by various hotels, fitness clubs, and schools for fitness equipment repairs, including maintaining the University of Vermont fitness equipment. ^popular Click here to read more.

Burlington Rugby Football Club has established a long standing tradition of success evident in its club accomplishments. The BRFC was founded in the summer of 1978 and has played a Fall and Spring schedule against clubs from Montreal, New England and New York State since that time. Initially an outgrowth of the University of Vermont RFC, the members of the 2000 team still reflect the diversity of the 1978 squad. Players come from the most varied of circumstances and athletic backgrounds. Today, the roster has swelled with players from all over the country as well as overseas. This collection of individuals also represent a wide variety of personalities and professions, some of which include: doctors, lawyers, construction workers, students, and a few passers by. ^popular Click here to read more.

Island Line Rail-Trail is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization promoting cycling, blading and walking and the trails, bikeways, and sidewalks that make such travel safe, easy and fun! ... Local Motion has been around in various forms since 1998. Originally Burlington Bikeways, we were cycling activists with vision and no money. We dug into our own pockets and purchased an old pontoon boat for a five-weekend Bike Ferry demonstration. The response was tremendous! We were so enthused by our vision of the Island Line Rail Trail with its Bike Ferry and Cycle the City, that other people caught the bug. In 1999, volunteers secured grants for Cycle the City and the Bike Ferry and we were off and pedaling. We haven’t looked back. ^popular Click here to read more.

PaddleWays Sea Kayak Tours will continue to share our love for the outdoors (and watery places), but our energies will be directed to the college level wilderness programs that we have conducted since our inception. (at the University of Vermont, Saint Michael's College, and Green Mountain College.) We will continue to offer instructional programs through our good friends at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and you may also meet us should you choose a vacation with Vermont Bicycle Touring. (On VBT's Champlain Valley tour, you'll take a day off from biking to paddle a truly spectacular section of Lake Champlain). ^popular Click here to read more.

Bait fishing is a tradition in Vermont, as using minnows is a way of life for some anglers. But when those minnows get off the hook, they can multiply. That's why Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Department has instituted new rules to make sure the minnows used by fishermen, are the same kind of fish that are already here. "It's mainly designed to protect the fisheries of the state of Vermont," Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Tom Jones says. "We have a great concern of the illegal importation and the illegal use of many fish species in Vermont. Many species can be injurious to the states existing population and we feel that this was a good step for the department to take." Among other limitations, the regulations require anyone who sells live bait to obtain a permit from the state. The cost of that permit will be $50 dollars a year. It also sets limits on anglers who use minnows, limiting the size of nets that can be used to catch them, and limiting the species that can be used. ^popular Click here to read more.

Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center is a non-profit public access sailing program located on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. We offer safe, fun and affordable sailing programs for virtually anyone. Our goals are to provide the community and its visitors with a non-exclusive, accessible and welcoming place to enjoy one of Vermont's greatest and most beautiful resources, Lake Champlain. LCCSC is a US Sailing Member ... We are located in the Old Moran Plant (the big brick building with City of Burlington on it) on the Bike Path just North of the Coast Guard Station. ^popular Click here to read more.

Far Post Soccer Club is a premier soccer club for players from under age 10 through age 16 and beyond. We provide intensive training opportunities for players to develop life-long soccer skills to take with them wherever they play. We have a highly skilled coaches and professionals who provide the best opportunities for players of all ages. ... We are a premier club committed to players with a passion for soccer, pledging ourselves to the development of individuals and teams striving to improve and succeed at all levels of the game. ^popular Click here to read more.

Champ Charters provides fishing enthusiasts with the only Full-Time Charter Service on Lake Champlain. Our chartered fishing excursions begin at Vermont's Burlington Harbor, the widest and central part of Lake Champlain. This area of Lake Champlain is noted for its Spring through Fall Fishing. ... Captain Paul has fished Lake Champlain for over 40 years and Chartered for the last 20+ years. Running the charter service Full-Time (Licensed by the United States Coast Guard) during the fishing season allows the Captain. to stay with the fishing patterns and Hot Spots, which in turn makes your day more Enjoyable and Memorable. ^popular Click here to read more.

Three lawmakers want to hold off on construction of a bicycle bridge over the Winooski River until the Legislature reconsiders the expense. The cost of the bridge, which would connect Burlington and Colchester, has more than doubled since the Legislature approved $1.4 million for the project in the spring. The price tag is now $3.2 million. The three House members took their concerns about the jump in cost to the Vermont Transportation Board on Wednesday. Rep. George Schiavone, R-Shelburne, presented the board with a letter also signed by Rep. Michael Obuchowski, D-Bellows Falls, and Rep. Robert Helm, R-Castleton, that asked that the board to freeze the project and allow the Legislature to reconsider it. ^popular Click here to read more.

Some Vermont lawmakers want the brakes applied to a proposed Burlington bike bridge because the cost has more than doubled. The bike-pedestrian bridge would span the Winooski River between Burlington's new north and Malletts Bay in Colchester. Currently bike riders cross the river on a ferry, but it runs only in the summer. Years ago someone suggested the state should build a permanent bike path bridge. Sam Lewis, Agency of Transportation Engineer, says the project's estimate of 1.4 million dollars was accurate when it was presented and approved by lawmakers in June. Lewis says unanticipated expenses have since more than doubled the cost to 3.3 million....and that was just completely unforeseen. Now the project has gone out for bids with plans to begin construction in December. ^popular Click here to read more.

Burlington's Waterfront Bike Path is a 7.6 mile recreational route that runs from the southern end of Burlington at Oakledge Park to the northern end at the Winooski River, where it connects via the newly constructed (spring 2004) bike path bridge to the Colchester Bike Path. The Bike Path rides along the Lake Champlain shoreline, offering wonderful views of the lake and the Adirondack Mountains to the west. The bike path links six major waterfront parks, along with the Burlington High School and the central Waterfront district. Initially used as a railroad bed for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad companies, the conversion from rails to trails concept began in 1973. With the help of State and federal funding, Burlington's Bike Path was completed in 1986; making it part of the Lake Champlain Bikeways, a 1,187- mile network of bicycle routes...in the Lake Champlain Valley of Vermont....

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Full Stride Ice Hockey Clinic specialize in helping you play better, at all levels of the game. ^popular Click here to read more.

Play It Again Sports has been the preferred store of value-conscious consumers because we buy, sell and trade used and new sports equipment and gear. Because our customers can sell or trade in their quality used sports gear for cash or store credit, they are able to get deeper discounts and better prices on really great used and new equipment. Our stores are individually owned and operated by moms and dads just like you who understand money does not grow on trees. But because kids grow, their equipment needs change every year which is why USED SPORTS GEAR makes so much "cents" and our NEW SPORTS GEAR provides ultra high value. The local franchise is at 150 Dorset St # 220 in South Burlington, VT 05403. ^popular Click here to read more.

Blue Wave TaeKwonDo was brought to Vermont in the 1960's by the late Grandmaster Bruce V. Twing, the founder of the Blue Wave Association. Grandmaster Twing began his TaeKwonDo training in 1964, in Osan Korea, while stationed with the U.S. Air Force. His Instructor, Grandmaster Tae Sung Lee is still the Blue Wave’s chief instructor and visits the Association on a regular basis. Today, the BWA consists of 11 schools, located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Please have a look around to learn more about TaeKwonDo and our association. ^popular Click here to read more.

Outdoor Gear Exchange opened their doors in downtown Burlington, Vermont back in May of 1995. Marc and Andreas ran the 800 square foot shop with a card table and steel box for a front counter. ... are passionate about the outdoors. We are committed to selling quality closeout, new, and used gear to make the outdoors accessible and affordable for all levels of ability, from the occasional backpacker to the most accomplished mountaineer. We have fun outdoors and want people to enjoy themselves in our store. We all love the gear we sell and want to help people get the most out of the outdoors by sharing our knowledge and experience in a relaxed, friendly environment. As the technology of outdoor gear has improved, prices have soared, in many cases putting the once affordable art of camping out of reach of many. That's why we started The Outdoor Gear Exchange based on a few principles: ^popular Click here to read more.

Burlington's bike path and parks provide opportunities for its residents that not all city's can offer. But when it's cold, many of those opportunities simply go away. ... Now those opportunities are on the drawing table. City officials are looking into a new recreation center for residents. The new gymnasiums, and a possible indoor pool would be located at existing facilities in the city. Clavelle says the project could involve the renovation of Memorial Auditorium as a venue for cultural events, and as a recreation center. Part of the plan could also include the expansion of Leddy and adding a gymnasium, and possible pool to the ice skating arena While most people agree that more indoor recreational space would be a good thing for Burlington, the biggest question still unanswered is how to pay for the estimated $7-million dollar project. ^popular Click here to read more.

recreation-and-sports : parks

For many, Burlington's newest dog park is a great place to run away a Sunday afternoon. The park is a large fenced in area near the end of Starr Farm road in the city's north end. It provides a place for dogs to stretch their legs, and meet other canines. "It's great," Jamie Miller of Burlington said. "I think the dogs love it more than anything else, I mean it wears them out, keeps them occupied, they get to interact with other dogs, they have a greast time." The dog park cost 8-thousand dollars to build and operate for the first year. Dog owners say it's a welcome addition, because they simply have no place to let their dogs run off leash. ... The dog park is a pilot program to test whether more should be built, and this one permanently kept open. Dog owners know the park could go away if all doesn't go well, so they're careful to keep their dogs, and themselves in line. ^popular