At the foot of the Green Mountains, Burlington isn’t lacking for hill-climb routes, and thanks to it’s proximity to Lake Champlain, this East Coast outdoor Mecca has plenty of gentle scenic terrain to offer road riders as well. This 30-mile loop (with a 4.25-mile optional lakeside detour) cruises quiet countryside roads just south of Burlington proper.
Heading south along Spear Street, the ride's rolling terrain showcases the wide open expanses of the Champlain Valley. Along the way, the scenery alternates between open farm fields, quiet Vermont bergs, and idyllic dream homes. Turning west, the route drops down towards the lake, losing a few hundred feet of elevation, before turning north on Greenbush Road. On this quiet stretch you’re more likely to pass fellow cyclists and farm tractors than be passed by car traffic. Nineteen miles in, you’ll have an option to detour west down to the eastern shores of Lake Champlain before climbing back up the valley towards the start.
-Mapped by Berne Broudy, AuthenticOutdoors.com
TO TRAILHEAD: Take US 7 south and turn left on Swift St. (just past the I-189 interchange). Go 1 mile and turn right on Spear St. Continue 0.8 mile to parking lot on right.
