Biking Vermont: Stowe Recreation Path and Island Line Rail Trail (Vermont)

We spent the day exploring two of Vermont's nicest bike trails - the Stowe Recreation Path and the Island Line Rail Trail north of Burlington.  We finished our day with short walk in Waterbury.

The Stowe Recreation Path is approximately 5.3 miles long and runs through Stowe and the surrounding area.  It is flat and paved and features nice views of mountains and streams.  The first two miles travels through the town of Stowe, after which it heads out into the countryside past farms and fields.  Here is a trail map.








The Island Line Rail Trail follows an old railroad line north of Burlington, offering great views of Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks in New York, and the mountains of Vermont.  The trail is 14 miles long and starts south of Waterfront Park in Burlington.  It is flat and the first part is paved, later turning to a dirt path and finally a crushed stone path as it heads across a lengthy causeway.  There is an option to take a bike ferry to finish the trail as well as complete a longer loop on the New York side of the lake.

We started at Waterfront Park and rode 10.1 miles north to the bike ferry.  The trail rides along the shore of Lake Champlain, past residential neighborhoods, through a nature preserve and across most of the causeway before coming to an end near the north end of the causeway at the ferry dock.  Here is a trail map.   We encountered strong headwinds leaving the causeway and rode in the rain for the final 5 miles, but it was still an excellent ride.






After riding 31 miles today, we finished our day with a short, yet very rewarding walk.  (Trail map here).

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