Champ
The long-necked lake monster of the New York–Vermont border.
- Region
- Lake Champlain, between New York, Vermont, and Quebec
- Documented sightings
- 3 on map →
Overview
Champ — affectionately "Champy" — is the lake monster reported from the 125-mile-long Lake Champlain straddling New York, Vermont, and Quebec. Accounts predate European arrival in the regional Abenaki and Iroquois oral traditions, and the cryptid entered the popular record in the 19th century when showman P. T. Barnum offered a reward for its capture. Both the Vermont and New York legislatures have passed resolutions protecting Champ from harm.
Identification
Most commonly described as a dark, serpentine or plesiosaur-like animal between 15 and 50 feet long, with a long neck, a horse- or snake-like head, and one or more humps that break the surface in a line. Coloring is reported as black, gray-green, or brown. Sightings cluster around Bulwagga Bay, Port Henry, and the broad lake off Burlington, frequently described as a moving wake resolving into surfacing humps.
Lore & Origin
A widely repeated claim attributes a 1609 sighting to explorer Samuel de Champlain, though the quotation is now regarded as a modern embellishment. The cryptid's modern evidentiary core is the 1977 Sandra Mansi photograph, which shows a dark neck-and-head shape rising from the water and remains among the most analyzed lake-monster images ever taken. Port Henry, New York styles itself the "Home of Champ," and modern reports continue — including a July 2025 video filmed at Port Henry and drone footage from Bulwagga Bay aired in 2025.