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Join us for a "leaf peeping" cycling loop to beautiful Vermont and the Lake Champlain area. Our trip starts in Burlington and cycles a loop following the beautiful lake with a day over to explore Montreal.
Day 1: Burlington,Vt — Check-in and Welcome
You'll check-in throughout the day at the Quality Inn, Shelburne, just a few miles south of the city center and only 6 miles from the Burlington airport. There is excellent public transportation into town so you can visit beautiful Burlington.
Day 2: Cycling around Burlington
We have several routes offered today to discover the outskirts of Burlington by bike. All routes will explore the beautiful backroads east and south of Burlington, dotted with loads of family farms to visit, and ending with a visit to the Charlotte Village Vineyards and famous historic Shelburne Estate.
Tonight we have a Welcome Dinner nearby to meet each other and go over trip details for the week.
Day 3: St Bernard de Lacolle-Quebec (50 miles)
We leave Burlington and cross Lake Champlain by ferry to Port Kent, New York. Just a short pedal away we stop at mystical Ausable Chasm and stop for breathtaking views of Rainbow and Horseshoe Falls.
Skirting the lake we head north towards Plattsburg. Being Sunday, we should have light traffic to worry about as we take the country roads into the quaint town center for lunch.
Following the Lake Shore Rd we enjoy continuous lake views all the way to Rouses Point, where we take a break at Lakeside Coffee, overlooking the shores of Champlain. Time permitting, we hope to enjoy a stop at Chazy Orchards en route.
It's no time to the Canadian Border from here where we have passports inspected/stamped and on we go to our stop for the night in St. Bernard de Lacolle, QC. We hope to get a look at the local Vineyard -Emile August- before settling in.
Day 4: Montreal (48 miles)
A very enjoyable day today cycling in the province of Quebec. We will be following an old railway route called the Sentier du Paysan until we reach the Chateguay River in Sainte- Martine. We then turn north and enjoy the quiet river views until then town of Chateguay for stop and lunch.
As we cycle approaching Montreal, we meet the St. Lawrence River and stop by the beautiful Marguerite D'Youville Park Faunique where you are invited to enjoy the lovely grounds, take a walk, or enjoy a snack before heading into Montreal via a lovely rail trail bordered by water.
Day 5: Day over in Montreal
Montreal is one of the most impressive cities in Canada, and for us being championed as one of the world's best cycling urban areas is a reason for exploring today by bike.
As our hotel is situated in the Old Port there is lots of opportunity for sightseeing and we will offer an enjoyable led bike ride through the Route Verte and the Lachine Canal. To fully enjoy your day, you are free tonight to enjoy the cuisine of a local restaurant!
Day 6: St Jean Sur Richelieu (35 or 50 miles)
We exit Montreal via the lovely Ile St. Helen and do one last loop along the St. Lawrence River to cross into Lemoyne. Following typical Montreal well manicured neightborhoods, we leave the city behind as we head to our stop at Fort Chambly. Designated as a national historic site of Canada, the imposing stone structure was originally built to protect New France from Iroquois attacks.
At this point you can select from two different routes- a beautiful and direct route following the Richelieu River, or a longer route diverting into the Quebec countryside. A group dinner ends this fun day of cycling.
Day 7: North Hero (42 miles)
We cross back into the U.S. and cycle some of the Vermont side of the Champlain Valley. As we near the border we stop at the Artisan Cheesemaker-Fritz Kaiser. Having traveled in the Netherlands so many years, we are lovers of good cheese and we would like you to see how good cheese is made in Canada.
Today we explore the islands of Lake Champlain-Alburg Tongue- the peninsula that extends from Canada into Lake Champlain, Isle La Motte and on into North Hero. The cycling is wonderful and views lovely everywhere!
We stop for the night at a family owned inn overlooking the water and celebrate another lovely day in a group dinner with cycling buddies.
Day 8: Back to Burlington (31 miles)
We have planned this day for an early ride start and easy/quick cycle back to Burlington.
- Seven nights motel lodging
- All breakfasts and four wonderful dinners!
- Support van, luggage transport and en route ride leaders
- Rest stops with snacks
- Ferry tickets
- Ride packet with cue sheets, maps & items of interest
Trip Difficulty
The terrain in the Champlain Valley to Montreal area is flat to gently rolling with a mixture of more to moderate hills only in the Burlington area. We have selected mostly quiet, picturesque routes also taking advantage of any area bike and rail trail systems as they afford great car-free and scenic cycling.
For full enjoyment of the trip, you should come prepared to cycle our daily mileages listed above. As always, we advocate a social touring pace and a "smell the roses" philosophy to bike travel. There will be two ride leaders and our support van on route.
Getting There
If arriving by plane, you will be flying into Burlington International Airport, just 6 miles from our hotel in Burlington. Our host hotel offers free parking for those driving to the trip start.
Suzie and Roger are offering to receive your bikes and bring to trip start if you ship them to our address in Maryland. In addition, there are several bicycle shops in Burlington that offer weekly rentals and we are happy to pick those up for you on check-in day. More information on renting and shipping bikes is in the confirmation Welcome Letter sent after you register.
Additional Information
Please contact us for general trip information and registration information.
Upon registration we will send you a Welcome Letter full of pre-trip details including how to get you and bike to the trip start, bike rentals, suggestions on packing, trip area and contact information, cycling and travel websites to enhance your trip experience, etc.