Clarence DeMar Road Race

Clarence DeMar was a seven-time Boston Marathon champion and a South Hero native, and the road race that carries his name on Independence Day morning is an appropriate tribute to a man who ran through life with uncommon seriousness of purpose. The 2026 event at Folsom Elementary School opens with a children’s race before the 8:30 AM 5K on South Street, with registration already confirmed for the holiday morning program. At $25 per participant, the entry is among the more accessible race fees in the Vermont summer calendar. What distinguishes the Clarence DeMar from comparable holiday fun runs is its setting: South Hero sits on an island in Lake Champlain, and the course moves through farm fields and island roads with the lake visible at multiple points along the route.

The Course and the Community Around It
The South Street course is flat, approachable for runners of most experience levels, and scenic in a way that island geography provides without effort. Lake Champlain frames the eastern and western horizons as the route progresses, and the Champlain Islands’ characteristic blend of apple orchards, old farmhouses, and open sky gives the run an atmosphere that urban race courses spend considerable organizational effort trying to approximate. After the race, South Hero’s July 4 parade tradition continues later in the morning along the island’s main roads, providing a natural second chapter to the holiday before the afternoon opens for lake recreation.

Allenholm Farm: An Island Institution Since 1870
Allenholm Farm on South Street in South Hero has been operating continuously since 1870, making it one of the oldest working orchards in Vermont and a Grand Isle County agricultural landmark of genuine historical weight. The farm stand carries apple cider pressed on the property, seasonal jams, and a selection of the island’s celebrated apples through the harvest months, but in July the primary draw is the farm’s picnic area and the opportunity to walk the orchard rows at a working Vermont farm that has remained productively agricultural across six generations of the same family. For families traveling with children who have limited exposure to working farmland, Allenholm provides one of the most accessible and authentically grounded agricultural encounters in northern Vermont.

Blue Paddle Bistro: The Champlain Islands Dining Standard
Blue Paddle Bistro on South Street in South Hero, a few doors from the race’s starting area, has been the culinary reference point for the Champlain Islands since its opening in 2000, offering a farm-and-lake-sourced menu in a converted Victorian commercial building that suits the island’s architectural character without affectation. The Lake Champlain walleye with lemon caper butter and the duck confit with local cherry gastrique represent the kitchen’s most regionally rooted preparations, and the Vermont cheese board assembled from Champlain Valley producers is among the most considered in the islands. On July 4, arrive for an early lunch by 11:00 AM after the race finishes before the holiday crowd builds toward the afternoon service.

Lake Champlain by Kayak: The Afternoon After the Race
Lake Champlain’s island passages between South Hero and the Vermont mainland offer some of the most rewarding flat-water kayaking in the northeastern United States, with island-to-island crossings navigable by paddlers of moderate experience and shoreline routes suitable for families with children in a tandem craft. Several outfitters in the Grand Isle County area offer kayak and canoe rentals through the summer season, with launch access from South Hero’s public shore areas within easy reach of the race venue. The afternoon of July 4 after the morning’s run and parade is the natural time to be on the water.

Champlain Islands Lakeside Rentals
Lake.com lists vacation rentals throughout the Grand Isle County island chain, including properties on South Hero, North Hero, and Grand Isle with direct Lake Champlain water access. The island rental inventory is intimate relative to the demand it sees at peak summer, and the July 4 weekend represents the single most competitive booking window in the Champlain Islands calendar. A reservation confirmed before the spring planning cycle gives you the best access to the waterfront properties that make this corner of Vermont genuinely exceptional as a holiday base.