Need help : Cycling route around Burlington VT

[ColdRider]

Long time lurker here and I was wondering if the anyone from the boards can help me out for a day of riding. Long story short, I will driving to Burlington, VT from Montreal to drop off my sister at the airport (and picking her up couple weeks later...). Arrival and departure are at fiendishly early and late time, I figure I might as well make cycling trips out of it!

So... the question is any recommended routes going out from South Burlington? I am looking for nice and quiet rural/along the lake type ride. I have a full day and figure I will do something along century distance. The options that I see are :

1- North : Route 7 to Route 2 towards North Hero/South Hero

2- South : Route 7 to Vergennes then West to the Lake and back South

3- Take the Ferry to Port Kent (West side of the lake) and take Route 22/28/9 southbound

Which is the most scenic? I will be probably just winging the route with google map and the Champlainways.org site. My main concerns are traffic density, shoulder width and to a lesser extent pavement quality.

I can live with no shoulder lane and bad pavement if there is little to no traffic =) I can also live with unpaved roads, that's what the Michelin Carbon 25' are for!, but would much rather ride paved.

thanks a bunch!

[navclbiker]

Dude! Park in Williston, take Hwy 2 to 100 north to Stowe, VT. Stop for Ice cream at Ben & Jerry's (original factory), continue north on 108 and climb through Smuggler's Notch, descend into Jeffersonville, then to Cambridge, south on pleasant valley road, then follow 15 through Essex Jct and back to Williston. OK...so you won't get the constant lake views, but the mountain scenery will take your breath away :) . Yes there are a couple of nice climbs in there, but also great places to stop for snacks and meals. Damn! I miss Vermont.
-Dave :crap:

[PoppaWheelie]

Hwy 7 isn't that great IMHO anyway...better to stay off into the rolling hills (or further into the mountains) to the east. The areas around the lake are nice enough, but somewhat flat...and can be windy. I'm jealous...haven't had the chance to ride out that way for nearly 15 years...

[Steevo]

The islands in Lake Champlain are great riding. Low traffic and rolling hills. You can ride Rt2 or meander in and around Rt2 on backroads. This is accessable from Burlington by bike or car.

Outstanding scenery with the Green Mtns to your east and the Adirondacks to your west. The islands themselves are all rural farmland and the lake views are great.

[samcat]

I'd drive up 7 toward the Champlain Islands. You can pull over either just short of where 2 turns off toward the causeway to the Islands or drive a bit up 2 toward S. Hero.

The ride thru all of the islands, diverting off 2 to ride along the lake, wherever possible, can be about 75 miles, each way, if a circumnavigation of Isle LaMotte is included and will take you thru farmland along the lake for the greater part of the ride, especially from N. Hero and beyond.

A loop from N. Hero, starting at the State Park where the Lipizanner Stallions are boarded, up 2 and around La Motte, up to Alburg on the alternate road, down 2 to the road across to the State Park and then back on 2 to where you parked, is an easy, and flattish 50, or so, miles.

Simply gorgeous.

PH

[CNY rider]

Dude! Park in Williston, take Hwy 2 to 100 north to Stowe, VT. Stop for Ice cream at Ben & Jerry's (original factory), continue north on 108 and climb through Smuggler's Notch, descend into Jeffersonville, then to Cambridge, south on pleasant valley road, then follow 15 through Essex Jct and back to Williston. OK...so you won't get the constant lake views, but the mountain scenery will take your breath away :) . Yes there are a couple of nice climbs in there, but also great places to stop for snacks and meals. Damn! I miss Vermont.
-Dave :crap:


This is definitely one of my all time favorites.

I would do it in the opposite direction. Then you eat Ben and Jerrys after you do the Smugglers notch climb.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and you can find lots of routes. I found 74 with a search for "Burlington VT"

Depending on how well the poster is at adding cues, you can usually find a map and full cue sheet. Good luck!

BBD

[seanw]

south burlington resident here. i prefer to ride south. lots of great back roads with not a lot of traffic and roller coaster like hills. you can start along the lake, then head west to tackle one of the gaps. smugglers notch is the easiest. lots of scenic farmland. but if youre lookin for lake scenery, either up through the islands or across the lake in ny.
i know i have not given specific routes here, but would be happy to help you out with my trusty vt map book, the vermont gazetteer. that way i dont give you wrong road names.
let me know.

sean

[ColdRider]

I'd like to thank the folks for the heads up. I hadn't thought about hitting the hills (or "gaps" ;) ) around there. I will be there on 2 seperate days and will definitely do the a ride to visit the Ben&Jerry ice cream factory. Any idea on traffic density?

It's funny that I did not think about bikely, although I have checked it out for a ride this past weekend! My thinking was that I was better off trusting the combined wealth of knowledge here then to see some unknown posters route.

Seeing how folks are talking about the Notch run, it's now a can't miss for me. Now the hard question is Ben & Jerry's on the out or return leg? :)

Again, many thanks!

[alancw3]

i lived in burlington in like from 1970-72. one of my favorite rides was on the street that runs on the crest of the ridge that the university of vermont is on. name of street escapes me at this time. absolutely a breath taking ride. just continue on that road for like forever. you get to see lake champlain on one side and snow covered mountians on the other (depending on time of year) and some very interesting country life. oh and go to the university dairy store to get some really really good ice cream! this is where the locals go. hey i was a local at one point! go figure. oh if you do go down route seven don't forget to climb mt. milo. a spectacular view of the lake!

[CNY rider]

i lived in burlington in like from 1970-72. one of my favorite rides was on the street that runs on the crest of the ridge that the university of vermont is on. name of street escapes me at this time. absolutely a breath taking ride. just continue on that road for like forever. you get to see lake champlain on one side and snow covered mountians on the other (depending on time of year) and some very interesting country life. oh and go to the university dairy store to get some really really good ice cream! this is where the locals go. hey i was a local at one point! go figure. oh if you do go down route seven don't forget to climb mt. milo. a spectacular view of the lake!

Time has not done Route 7 any favors. Unfortunately it's an ugly hodge podge of sprawl as far as the eye can see when you take it south out of Burlington.

Spear Street is a better way out to the south.

Another great ride would be to do Appalachian gap west to east, descend to Waterbury, get your ice cream, then home to Burlington on Route 2.

Prefer to do the passes on a weekday. Summer weekends and fall weekends tend to have more traffic.

[seanw]

ok, here ya go. route from south burl, up over smuggs and back.

turn right onto rt 2 from airport to spear st. turn left onto spear and follow spear south and turn left onto barstow rd.
follow east and then straight onto cheese factory rd. continue east to rt 116. turn left onto 116 and follow north and turn right onto van sicklen rd. follow east to south brownell rd. turn left onto south brownell and then right onto walker hill rd. follow walker hill rd east up hill and to rt 2a. turn right onto rt 2a following south and turn left onto west oak hill rd. follow west oak hill to oak hill rd. turn left onto oak hill rd heading north into williston.
you will cross over rt 2 and onto north williston rd. follow n. williston rd to rt 117 and turn right onto rt 117 heading east/se. follow 117 to skunk hollow rd. turn left onto skunk hollow rd (short section dirt, but fine). follow skunk hollow to plains rd. turn left onto plains rd and follow to rt 15. turn right onto rt 15 and follow to underhill and turn right onto river rd. follow river rd to pleasant valley rd. turn left onto pleasant valley rd. and follow to upper valley rd. bear right onto upper valley rd and follow all the way into cambridge. in cambridge, if you need any "fuel" there is a mobil mart if you turn left onto 108. if not, turn right onto 108 and start the gradual climb up to smugglers notch ski resort. follow 108 up and over the gap and down the other side into stowe. some really hairy turns up top! some great straight sections below that where you can easily hit 50+. follow 108 into stowe and turn right onto luce hill rd. follow luce hill to barrows rd and turn left onto barrows. follow barrows to moscow rd. and turn left onto moscow rd. follow mosow rd to rt 100 and turn right onto rt 100. follow rt 100 south and you can stop in waterbury and get a treat at ben and jerrys. then, once done with your ice cream, follow 100 south to rt 2. turn right onto rt 2 and you can follow rt 2 all the way back into town.
if you want to avoid riding 2 all the way, i could give you some more back road options back to spear st. let me know. i hope this helps and is not too confusing.

sean

[Tom Kellogg]

Unless you like to climb, you may want to avoid Smugglers and especially App gap. That thing is nuts! Previous posts about Rt. 7 south are right on the money. The pavement is horrible, big traffic and booring. Take Spear street out from the UVM campus and head south. Beautiful views of everything since you are still well above the lake. Once you are five miles or so south, you can then head southwest into beautiful rollers of farm land. You may want to talk with a few of the folks on the UVM Cycling team since they ride these roads at ALL times of the year. If you have trouble finding UVM riders, give me a call and I can refer you.

The Heros are beautiful, but in a different way. Picture isolated and wind swept farms. Almost a different country, In fact, La Monte was suposed to be part of Canada. It was kind of a mistake. If it is a windy day, you might not want to be up there. You will be EXPOSED. You've picked a stunning part of our country! Have a great time.

[Ginger]

Funny...I'm planning on being in VT after D2R2...what parts of the state would you avoid, and which are can't miss? (and what roads should I really avoid with bike and trailer?)

Thanks!

Ginger

[seanw]

ginger,
personally, i like avoiding rt 7, rt 15, and rt 2. all are ok for short sections, using them to get to more back roads. have only cycled around the burlington area and surrounding counties, so i can only comment about here. and there are plenty of great routes to be had. and for the most part, motorists are courteous. as for the trailer, this area would be good for avoiding any kind of severe mountain climbs/descents. sticking to the valley and the islands. beautiful riding with views of farmland, lake champlain, the green mountains and the adirondacks.


sean

[navclbiker]

Hey Coldrider,
Tell us Vermont fans all about your ride when you get back.....Oooooh, and if you can snap a few shots, that would be shweet also :D. Let us bike vicariously through you! :beer:
-Dave

[navclbiker]

Dja get any pics from Vermont? I'm getting impatient...... :rolleyes: