Vermont: Middlebury & Idyllic Countryside

Your bike tour in Vermont begins and ends at Burlington International Airport (airport code: BTV). Please plan to have lunch before leaving the airport or bring a packed lunch with you. VBT will offer a shuttle to the award-winning Swift House Inn in Middlebury, departing from the airport at 2:00 p.m. The shuttle works on a “show and go” basis with no reservations needed. Meet your trip leader outside the main exit from baggage claim and across the road in the shuttle pickup area. Your trip leader will be wearing VBT staff garments and holding a VBT sign and the van will have VBT signage.

If your flight arrives after this time, or you are delayed, you will need to arrange transportation to the Swift House Inn at your own expense. You can take any cab available at the Burlington airport or call one of the following taxi companies: Jessica’s Vital Transit (802-349-8833), Green Mountain Taxi (802-503-3096) or Burlington Airport Taxi (802-239-1515). Travel time from the Burlington airport is approximately 60 minutes.

Guests driving to the tour should meet the group at Burlington International Airport and park your cars here for the week. Parking rates are approximately $12.00 per day. The airport offers both short and long-term parking in their newly expanded, multi-level, covered parking garage. The main parking entrance is located just past the terminal building on the left. Credit cards and cash are acceptable payment methods. Alternatively, you may park at the Swift House Inn in Middlebury for the first two days of your tour. Then your trip leaders will escort you to Vermont Sun Fitness Centers in Middlebury to park for the remainder of your tour.

VBT Pre-Trip Extension guests: You have another morning to enjoy Burlington. At 1:30 p.m., the shuttle company will meet and transfer you to the Swift House Inn in Middlebury. This transfer is only available to guests who purchase the Pre-Trip Extension through VBT.

Meet your VBT trip leaders at 3:30 p.m. in your cycling clothes for a bike fitting and brief cycling skills clinic. This will be immediately followed by a short warm-up ride. Then gather at 6:00 p.m. for an orientation meeting and welcome cocktail. You will enjoy a candlelit dinner at the inn at 7:00 p.m.

Accommodation: Swift House, Middlebury
Included Meals: Dinner

Today’s Ride Choice:
Cumulative Distance Range: 8 miles
Afternoon
Warm-up Middlebury: 8 miles

What to Expect: Your warm-up ride gives you the opportunity to get acquainted with the bike that will be your stalwart companion for the rest of the trip. Cycle through Middlebury’s charming downtown and then continue along residential roads around the edge of town and cross the Pulp Mill Covered Bridge before heading back to the inn.

The first full day of your Vermont bike tour starts with a journey through the quiet town of Salisbury, where you’ll traverse tranquil roads past antique shops, weeping willows, and stone walls. Your destination is Lake Dunmore and Branbury State Park (whose name is a marriage of the towns of Brandon and Salisbury). After a picnic lunch, enjoy a cool swim in serene Lake Dunmore. Refreshed and renewed, climb back on your bicycle and follow the scenic roads back to Middlebury.

This afternoon, explore the college town of Middlebury with its Main Street full of shops, restaurants, and galleries. Visit Cannon Park and view the historic marker commemorating John Deere and his invention of “the plow that broke the plains.” From 1821 to 1825, Deere apprenticed at an area blacksmith shop before moving to Illinois, where he built the world’s first steel moldboard plow. Tonight, your trip leaders can direct you to any of the town’s fine restaurants, all within walking distance of our inn.

Accommodation: Swift House, Middlebury
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 15 – 37 miles
Morning
Lake Dunmore: 19 miles
Branbury Park: 3 miles
Afternoon
Swift House: 15 miles

What to Expect: Ride out of Middlebury on moderately hilly roads into Vermont’s farm country to Lake Dunmore, located in Branbury State Park. A 15-mile ride will access Branbury State Park from the northern end of the lake and either a 19-mile or 3-mile ride will access the park from the southern end. If you wish, you may take a short out-and-back ride to pretty Forestdale before enjoying a picnic lunch back in the park. After lunch, relax by the lake and then cycle back to the inn.

Today you will cycle along Middlebury’s peaceful back roads, beside the scenic Hogback Mountain Ridge. Continue north to Bristol village, gateway to the Green Mountains. By Vermont standards, the village is amazingly flat due to ancient geologic events that deposited a level “fan” of gravel at the New Haven River “water gap” through the mountain ridge. Bristol has many interesting shops, including Vermont Honey Lights and Art on Main and a delightful bakery. After lunch on your own, cycle to Vergennes, passing picturesque Cedar Lake and rolling farm fields. Take in spectacular views of the Champlain Valley, the Adirondacks, and Otter Creek as you make your way to Basin Harbor. Dinner tonight is in Basin Harbor’s Red Mill Restaurant.

Accommodation: Basin Harbor, Vergennes
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 16 – 52 miles
Morning
Bristol: 16 miles
Lincoln: 10 miles
Afternoon
Basin Harbor Club: 26 miles

What to Expect: Cycle peaceful back roads in the shadow of Hogback Mountain Ridge to Bristol village, with its dramatic backdrop of Deerleap and South Mountains. After lunch, you may add a moderate ride to Lincoln along the New Haven River. Then cycle through rolling farmland to Vergennes, enjoying spectacular views of the Adirondacks and Otter Creek.

After breakfast, choose from one of three loop rides through Vermont’s scenic countryside. First, you can ride through a scenic valley and along gently rolling farm fields to the village of Panton, with panoramic views of the Green Mountains to the east and the Adirondacks to the west. If you wish, ride a little further to the town of West Addison with a stop at WAGS, the bustling West Addison General Store. Today’s longer option takes you to Chimney Point Historic Site, home to the 1785 tavern that once served Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and the setting of countless stories of Native American, French colonial and early American history. Enjoy views of the recently rebuilt Champlain Bridge, half a mile long and one of the few bridges that spans Lake Champlain. Later, you’ll return to your hotel, riding past farmland, and lake and mountainside vistas.

After lunch at Basin Harbor, head to the shore for your private, guided kayaking excursion through the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, a tranquil haven for birds and river creatures. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Accommodation: Basin Harbor, Vergennes
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 18 – 30 miles
Morning
Panton: 18 miles
OR
Addison: 23 miles
OR
Champlain Bridge: 30 miles

What to Expect: On your choice of three successively longer loop rides, cycle along Lake Champlain and into gently rolling farmland with Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks framing your view. The longest option traverses the delightful flat terrain of the southern Champlain Valley.

This morning, ride into Vergennes along the Otter Creek River. Dubbed the “smallest city in America,” it’s an ideal spot for shopping and great food. Be sure to check out all the nooks and crannies, as some of the shops in this tiny hilly city are located below street level. After lunch on your own, continue along Otter Creek River to Kingsland Bay, one of Vermont’s loveliest state parks. Follow a route through the gently rolling farmland of the beautiful Champlain Valley to Ferrisburgh, adding to your daily dose of gorgeous views.

You have many options this afternoon. You may walk some of the area’s nature trails, swim in the lake, or golf. Don’t miss our included visit to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. With more than a dozen exhibit buildings, the museum presents a comprehensive overview of the maritime history and nautical archaeology of the Champlain Valley. You can also relax on the beautiful Basin Harbor grounds. Gather this evening to share stories about your bike tour in Vermont over a festive farewell dinner celebration in a private room off the club’s main dining room.

Accommodation: Basin Harbor, Vergennes
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 7 – 41 miles
Morning
Kingsland Bay and Vergennes: 20 miles
Afternoon
Vergennes to Basin Harbor: 7 miles
Ferrisburgh: 14 miles

What to Expect: Follow the Otter Creek River into Vergennes, where you may pause for shopping and lunch. Ride or shuttle back to the hotel. Today’s longer option provides more delightful Champlain Valley vistas as you cycle gentle terrain to Ferrisburgh.

This morning, leave Lake Champlain behind as you cycle to the quiet town of Weybridge, where you can admire fanciful Victorian farmhouses and westerly views across the Lemon Fair River. There will be time to explore before continuing to the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm, dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the Morgan horse through careful breeding and selection. Designated as a National Historic site, the farm plays an important role in the history of the Morgan breed. After your enriching and educational visit, pedal into Middlebury and enjoy lunch on your own.

The tour concludes at Vermont Sun Fitness Centerson Exchange Street, where showers are available. VBT has made arrangements for a shuttle from Vermont Sun Fitness Centers in Middlebury back to Burlington International Airport, departing at 2:00 p.m. (travel time is approximately 60 minutes). We recommend flights out of Burlington no earlier than 4:00 p.m. If you need to get to the airport prior to that time, the transfer back to Burlington will be at your own expense.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Today’s Ride Choice:
Cumulative Distance Range: 24 miles
Morning
Middlebury: 24 miles

What to Expect: Today’s ride follows quiet roads past Victorian farmhouses with views of the Green Mountains into Weybridge. After visiting the Morgan Horse Farm, ride into Middlebury for lunch on your own. The tour concludes at Vermont Sun Fitness Centers, where showers will be available.