Six miles of sandy shoreline bring hordes of summer vacationers to D.L. Bliss State Park, the premium strands of Lester Beach being favoured for swimming, fishing, boating – and for simply sitting in the sun with the lake lapping around one’s ankles.

The park also has a huge number of exceptionally smooth boulders: the Balancing Rock, a large hunk of granite naturally mounted on a pedestal, being the most spectacular. Another mighty slab of rock is the 600-ft high promontory, Rubicon Point, defining the park’s northern perimeter. The point’s summit can be reached by a steep but rewarding trail, which concludes with a splendid outlook across the blue lake and stands directly above its deepest section – a vertical drop of more than 1,000 feet.

With energy and a day to spare, gather picnic supplies and embark on the 4-mile trail leading south, a pleas­ant waterside amble that concludes at Vikingsholm, in Emerald Bay State Park.