SOUTH HERO, Vt. (AP) — Abandoned rail lines have been converted into recreation paths all over the United States. But Vermont's Island Line Trail is unusual: It includes a causeway that runs across the open waters of Lake Champlain, from the mainland to the island community of South Hero. And that causeway includes a gap to allow boats through.

How do bikers and others get across the 200-foot (61-meter) gap?

A ferry takes them from one side to the other.

The unique trail across the lake is open for walking, running and fishing, but it's mostly used by bicyclists, who practically pedal across the water with boats on either side.

It's been more than a half-century since trains used the causeway. A rotating bridge once took trains across the gap.

 

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