Your Next Adventure
Your Next Adventure
Green Mountain Gravel Adventure Bike Tour
Trip Overview
Adventure Trips: Historically, Discovery Bicycle Tours has offered high-end, inn-to-inn, van-supported bicycle tours. Now, we offer you a new style of touring called “Adventure Trips.” These are for riders who appreciate a more gritty and rustic travel experience. The routes focus on remote, off-road surfaces, often involving gravel, dirt, and single-track. Guests camp in tents, with only an occasional night indoors. Guests provide their own bicycles and are responsible for their own basic bike maintenance, such as fixing flats and cleaning and lubing chains. Guests also provide their own camping gear. When available, riders will dine in restaurants, supplemented by meals prepared by an on-staff cook. A van will be available to ferry gear and food. However, the van’s purpose is not to serve as a sag vehicle, as riders are expected to pedal every mile.
Our first Adventure trip, the Green Mountain Gravel Adventure, is arguably one of the best adventure routes in the northeast. It's based on a route created by Joe Cruz and Logan Watts from bikepacking.com, with some Discovery additions. You pedal 250 challenging miles and climb nearly 22,000 feet. Nearly 70% of the route is off-road — ranging from well-maintained gravel roadways, to barely maintained Class IV dirt lanes, to super fun single-track. If you appreciate the challenge of gritty off-road riding, then this route is for you!
You start and end in Burlington, and pass through quaint New England villages, rolling farmland, and forested trails — including scenic red barns, covered bridges, and classic Holstein cattle. And if you like brews, you are in for a treat! As Vermont proudly holds the title of “Craft Beer Capital of the U.S.,” there will be a ton of opportunities along the route to relish your favorite liquids.
(Note: The Vermont Brewers Festival, which is held at the Burlington Waterfront Park, runs from July 17-18, 2020. Plan your travels accordingly.)
Itinerary
From start to finish, check out the route.
Consider arriving early to Burlington, so you can cruise around town and explore the largest metropolitan area you’ll see along the entire route. Enjoy the Church Street Marketplace, a four-block pedestrian mall in the heart of the city. The trip begins with a 3 p.m. meet’n’greet at the North Beach Campground, on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. You have a brief orientation meeting to discuss the logistics of the trip. After setting up camp, you relish your first meal prepared by our traveling chef. After dinner, you pedal to a nearby brewery. The first round is on Discovery as you pass the evening getting to know your fellow travelers.
Your first mile and a half will be beside beautiful Lake Champlain. As you pedal along the Island Line Trail, take note of the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains across the way. When you leave the bustle of Burlington behind, you won’t see a city this large until your return to town at the end of your journey. Fourteen miles into the route, you have your first encounter with the Winooski River, which you parallel for the remainder of today’s ride. Savor a late lunch in the Waterbury Village Historic District and a local Vermont beverage at Prohibition Pig. For Ben & Jerry’s fanatics, pedal three miles off-route to visit the famous ice cream factory for a tour, a sample, and a viewing of the Flavor Graveyard. Cycle the final few miles to Little River State Park, where you can explore miles of hiking and mountain biking trails in the adjacent Mt. Mansfield State Forest or take a refreshing dip in the Waterbury Reservoir.
The climbing begins today! That should come as no surprise, as you are pedaling in the vicinity of Stowe, better known as “The Ski Capital of the East.” You pass the day in the presence of Mount Mansfield, which at 4,395 ft. is the highest mountain in Vermont. Pass by the lodge of the von Trapp Family, widely fictionalized in “The Sound of Music.” Enjoy a hearty German pretzel and a brew at the Von Trapp Brewery & Bierhall. Just a few miles later, stop by The Alchemist for a tour of a beautiful facility and a taste of some of the best beers in the country. Grab some grub and suds in Morrisville before cycling the final miles to Elmore State Park. If you still have some energy to burn, hike to the fire tower at the top of Elmore Mountain or rent a stand-up paddleboard and explore Lake Elmore.
Gear up for even more climbing, as today’s elevation profile is very bumpy. As you cycle through rural Vermont, you feel as though you have the whole state to yourself! Bikepacking legends Joe Cruz and Logan Watts describe today’s ride as “epic terrain leading to an epic brewery.” Sure enough, halfway into today’s ride you are rewarded with a shining jewel — the Hill Farmstead Brewery. Have a picnic lunch on the grounds of the brewery. But make sure not to overdo it, as you still have lots of epic riding ahead of you! Forge ahead for the last miles of the day before arriving to camp at Woodbury Meadows.
If you thought yesterday was a challenge, tack on five more miles and 800 more feet of climbing! Nah, your biggest challenge today is pacing your calorie intake so you can enjoy three lunch & brew stops. Fortunately, each stop is spaced with about 15 miles of spectacular riding in between! Day #5 presents you with a bit of a steep stretch, but you conquer that challenge like a champ! Tonight we have the entire Warren Falls Inn to ourselves. After a hard day of riding, sit outside on the deck overlooking the forest and the Mad River. Or sit in the living room and marvel at the four-sided fireplace while challenging your cycling buddies to a game of cards. Or simply take solace in knowing that tonight you are sleeping indoors ... in beds. Wahoo!
It’s all downhill from here! (Well, sorta, but not really.) With significantly less mileage and climbing, today’s ride should be easy-peasy. But, there is a catch, and that catch is called Lincoln Gap. Just a few miles into today’s ride, get your climbing legs ready, as you get nearly all of today’s elevation out of the way in one single push. This climb has some steep sections — and some 18% grades — that may require you to dismount your bike and walk. Your efforts up Lincoln Gap are well rewarded, because after a generous downhill, your remaining miles of the day seem to be as flat as pancakes! Have a scrumptious lunch and liquid accompaniment at Otter Brewing Company in the quaint town of Middlebury. At the end of the day, once you’ve set up camp at Rivers Bend, rent a kayak or a tube and float down Otter Creek. Celebrate our last dinner together at American Flatbread.
You are in the home-stretch! The start of today’s ride follows the New Haven River northward. After pedaling through the countryside, stop at Fiddlehead Brewing in Shelburne. Get a not-to-be-missed beverage and take it to Folino's Pizza next door to be guzzled with a not-to-be-missed pie. You end the ride at Zero Gravity Brewery, where you enjoy a final round on Discovery, share your favorite memories from the last week, and say goodbye to your adventure amigos.
Map
Dates & Pricing
Make your reservation with confidence. Your tour is completely 100% refundable until the final payment due date.
What’s Included
6 nights’ lodging (five camping, one indoors), 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch (you are on your own for five lunches), 6 dinners, snacks to take along on the ride, two leaders (one on-the-bike guide, one cook), gear portage, van support for emergencies, detailed Ride With GPS route directions. Airfare, camping gear and bike are not included.
Dates & Pricing
Make your reservation with confidence. Your tour is completely 100% refundable until the final payment due date.
What’s Included
6 nights’ lodging (five camping, one indoors), 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch (you are on your own for five lunches), 6 dinners, snacks to take along on the ride, two leaders (one on-the-bike guide, one cook), gear portage, van support for emergencies, detailed Ride With GPS route directions. Airfare, camping gear and bike are not included.
Inns
Where you stay along the way.
Enjoy swimming beaches, play areas, boat rentals and a launch, and miles of hiking and mountain bike trails in the adjacent Mt. Mansfield State Forest. Self-guided history and nature trails are located close to the camping area.
Lake Elmore is 219 acres, and lies northwest of the village and empties into the Lamoille River through Pond Brook. Elmore Mountain is in the "Worcester Range" and its timber is mostly hardwood. The mountain has an elevation of 2,608 feet.
The park had its beginning in 1936 when the town of Elmore and local citizens made a gift of 30 acres on Lake Elmore to the state of Vermont. With modest means, a picnic and beach area were created. Today, with more than 700 acres, Elmore State Park has become a popular, developed recreation facility.
After a day spent exploring the Mad River Valley our guests look forward to returning to the The Warren Falls Inn to relax in the living room around the central fireplace, stroll down to the river, or lounge on the deck overlooking the Mad River.
Gallery
Images from this tour. Click each to see it larger.
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