Plattsburgh

Understand

The closest American city to Montréal, Plattsburgh (city and town) has a population of about 32,000 (2020). The area was the site of a native Indigenous village at the time of Samuel-de-Champlain's 1609 Lake Champlain valley expedition. The French settled in the area during the «coureur-de-bois» fur trade era in the mid-to-late 17th century. Historically a French area, Plattsburgh later fell to the English, and then the United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh is separated by the lake from Burlington, Vermont to the east. It is the primary city serving the vast Adirondack Park region, as development within the park boundary is strictly limited outside the few existing villages (such as Saranac Lake and Lake Placid). Plattsburgh has a long military history. The city, founded in 1785, is home to a War of 1812 museum; it was the site of the Revolutionary War's Battle of Valcourt Island and the War of 1812's Battle of Plattsburgh, a naval engagement on Lake Champlain in 1814 that was the final battle of that war and ensured American control over the city for the final time. In 1915, the Preparedness Movement established the first of the "Plattsburgh camps", volunteer pre-enlistment training grounds for prospective future Army officers. During the Cold War, Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PAFB) was the Strategic Air Command's primary wing on the US East Coast; its sheltered location in the Champlain Valley was protected by the rain shadow of the Adirondack Mountains. The 556 Strategic Missile Squadron, activated at Plattsburgh AFB in 1961 and armed with a dozen Atlas liquid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, disbanded in 1965. The Air Force base closed in 1995. The former base, one of four military bases in the United States large enough for a Space Shuttle landing, now serves as a small civilian airport.

Getting there

By plane 1 Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG IATA) (about 10 minutes away from the town center). A regional airport with flights from Boston and various places in Florida. Burlington International Airport (BTV IATA) is a larger airport in nearby Burlington, with flights from Baltimore. Newark, Cleveland, New York City, Orlando, Detroit, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Charlotte. It is about 70 minutes away by car. Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is a major airport in nearby Montreal, Canada, with flights worldwide. It is about 80 minutes away.

By train

2 Plattsburgh station, 121 Bridge Street (at Dock St). Plattsburgh Station is on Lake Champlain, about 1/4 mile from downtown. Building with heated waiting room, no ticket office. Trains are subject to delay at the Canadian border. It is a historic building, built in 1886, and an attraction in itself. (updated Jun 2025) Train operator: Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) Route stopping in Plattsburgh: Adirondack operating daily between Montreal and New York City including stops along the way in Saint-Lambert, Rouses Point, Plattsburgh, Westport, Ticonderoga, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.

By bus 3 Greyhound, Mountain Mart, 7155 Route 9, ☏ +1 518-563-1480. 5AM-midnight daily, 5AM-7PM Christmas Eve. Greyhound or Trailways from Montreal, Potsdam, Albany and New York City. Fares are slightly more expensive than those for the train. The seats are less comfortable, too, and because the route is on highways instead of through forests and small towns, does not provide views of Lake Champlain along the way, and also because the bus stop is far outside of Downtown and you do not get a view of Downtown Plattsburgh from the bus, the bus is useful mostly if you have no alternative or need it as an a

Getting around

On foot The train station is close to Downtown, with SUNY-Plattsburgh only a few blocks further; however, the Greyhound bus stop and airport are over 2 miles from Downtown. Most of the city is easily walkable in decent weather for people of average fitness.

By bus Clinton County Public Transit (CCPT)'s fleet of 16 buses provides transportation to the City of Plattsburgh by way of Au Sable, Champlain/Rouses Point, Clayburg, Ellenburg, and Lyon Mountain. Service is provided within the city between Clinton Community College, SUNY Plattsburgh, Downtown Plattsburgh, and various stores and plazas along Cornelia Street (Route 3).

By taxi Within the city of Plattsburgh, taxis operate on a zone system. A law requires rates conspicuously posted in every taxicab; a trip cross-town should cost no more than $7.75. Cabs are not generally available for hail on the streets, except downtown on weekend nights, so must be called:

City Taxi, 269 Margaret St., ☏ +1 518-561-7777. A taxi to the Canadian border should cost no more than ten times the cross-town rate (so $77.50).

See

Plattsburgh bills itself as a "two state, two nation, do-it-all destination" on Lake Champlain with several historical and art museums, a famous sandy beach, marinas and a downtown dining and entertainment district. There is excellent documentation about the historical monuments and the most important buildings on plaques, and there are several maps with marked points of interest on signposts on the city's sidewalks.

Museums 1 Battle of Plattsburgh Interpretive Center, War of 1812 Museum, 31 Washington Rd, ☏ +1 518-566-1814, fax: +1 518 562-3534. W-Sa 10AM-3PM. Clinton County Historical Museum, 98 Ohio Avenue, ☏ +1 518-561-0340. W-Sa 10AM-3PM. Museum and book shop. Local history. Clyde A. Lewis Air Park. At former air force base entrance, a small park with aircraft on display. 2 Kent-Delord House Museum, 17 Cumberland Ave, ☏ +1 518-561-1035. June-early Oct: Tu-Sa 11AM-3PM. Guided tour of historic house, free admission to active military, Canadian currency accepted at par. $5/adult, $3/student.

Monuments Champlain Monument, Cumberland Ave (at the mouth of the Saranac River, where it flows into Lake Champlain). This statue was built in 1912 by the local French-American community to honor explorer Samuel de Champlain as "Navigator, Discoverer, Colonizer." It is now controversial, and there is an informational plaque nearby that points out that Native Americans had been living in the area for ages before Champlain is credited by some non-Natives as having "discovered" the lake he renamed after himself, but the monument is nonetheless impressive and in a beautiful spot. Access is unrestricted. (updated Jun 2025) Macdonough Monument, 42 City Hall Place. This 135-foot-tall monument celebrates the general who won the last battle of the War of 1812, the Battle of Plattsburgh, which was a naval engagement on Lake Champlain in 1814. It is not in a typical form for an obelisk, as it narrows in steps instead of diagonal lines near the top and is topped by a striki

Do

The Barracks Golf Course, 24 Golf Course Rd, ☏ +1