2024 Cycle & Bike Tours in Vermont

The lower Champlain Valley provides the best cycling in Vermont.  While much of the rest of Vermont is mountainous, ours is a rolling terrain of open “bocage” farmland dotted with truly picturesque villages.  Our 2024 self-guided Vermont tours, designed for cyclists who want luggage transported between inns but have no need for a guide, provide 3, 4, or 5 days of leisurely paved-backroad biking with accurate maps, augmented by an orientation talk at the first inn and daily turn-by-turn cue sheets. Our guests have been thrilled that we are have obtained a license to provide our cyclists with a RideWithGPS app for their phones displaying turn-by-turn directions, spoken-aloud if desired.  Well-vetted routes provide 20 to 40 miles of safe, scenic, moderate biking per day, or more if you prefer.  Benefit from our 49 years of experience in searching out rewarding, safe, and scenic cycling routes and fine Vermont country inns.

Explore the charming villages of Brandon, Middlebury, Vergennes, Bristol, Shoreham, Addison, and Proctor.  Perhaps pop across Lake Champlain to check out the historic fort and village of Ticonderoga, NY, or climb the stone lighthouse and clamber over the pre-Revolutionary War fortresses at Crown Point, NY.  Enjoy a refreshing swim at a state park along several of our routes.  Visit museums and exhibits which present Vermont’s fascinating history.  Cruise through a covered bridge.  Pause while a farmer drives his (or her!) herd from field to field across your route.  And, enjoy the magnificent scenery all along the way.

The cycling season runs from about the beginning of May through about the third week of October. In 2024, the innkeepers expect to be facing the same labor shortage (housekeepers, waitstaff, kitchen help, etc.) that challenged Vermont hospitality enterprises since the onset of the pandemic.  As we partner with small, independent, owner-operated properties, we’re concentrating our cyclists at the inns on one or two nights each week.  As the travel and tourism world attempts to get back “on balance” in 2024 after three topsy-turvy pandemic years in a row, we are only able to offer our popular Vermont biking program as a three-, four-, or five-night itinerary checking in Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday afternoon and departing Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings.

Comfortable accommodations at unique Vermont country inns, including farm-to-table dinners and hearty breakfasts, round out the package.  Occasionally, accommodations may be at charming bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs), giving you the opportunity to dine at whim at fine local restaurants.  Trips start and end in “the Art and Soul of Vermont,” the village of Brandon, where you will receive a personal overview of your trip.  Hosting our cyclists in 2024 (our 49th year) are Lilac Inn, The Inn on Park StreetShoreham InnStrong House Inn B&B, and Swift House Inn.  Bring your own bike, or rent from our well-equipped shop.  We do not plan biking for your arrival day.  Biking starts after your first overnight, when we meet you before breakfast to do a quick orientation talk and answer any “day-of” questions.  The bike shop also delivers rentals before breakfast.  We do generally plan to bike on departure day, but if your travel schedule does not allow, please advise early in the tour planning process so we can design your tour with that in mind.

Rental bikes are customized to your height and inseam measurements and your preferences for pedals.  Rental bikes come equipped with helmet, water bottle, and small trunk over rear wheel for sundries.  Each pair of bikes comes with spare tube(s), mini-pump, adjustment kit, and lock.  Additional comfort and safety items that come with your bike are a mirror and a handlebar-mounted phone holder to avail yourself of the RideWithGPS cues.  (Non-electric) hybrids are the longstanding recommendation.  These are not knobby-tired, heavy mountain bikes with shocks; they do have a bit beefier tire than a thin-tire road bike.  All the routes you ride will be paved, but more than half the road distance in Vermont is unpaved, and hybrids will give you more freedom to choose a quiet lane, take an extension that looks promising, or shortcut off the cued route using your large-format map.

Our 2024 independent Vermont cycling packages feature

  • high-quality rental non-electric hybrid or non-electric road bike for one day of cycling for each overnight stay booked (or add $25 per rental day for an electric-assist eBike; deduct $25 per rental day if bringing your own bike)
  • relaxed Old World dinner service at your inn each evening (except one dine-out off-package if in Middlebury on a Tuesday night)
  • comfortable country inn accommodations (private baths; non-smoking inns)
  • full country breakfast at your inn each morning
  • daily luggage transfer while you cycle
  • an in-person orientation talk with one of the principals, in her 20th year of working with these tours
  • cue sheets and daily tour highlights in advance through a fun and informative “Vamoos” app
  • detailed maps and turn-by-turn cue sheets for cycling well-vetted, paved back roads that have been enjoyed by our clients for safety and scenery for more than forty years
  • RideWithGPS app for on-bike directions on your phone sitting in a holder on the handlebars (audible cues spoken aloud if you desire)
  • housekeeping and waitstaff gratuities
  • Vermont meals and rooms taxes (9% or 10%, depending on the town)

Out-of-pocket expenses:  lunch daily along the way (or gather a picnic before setting out from the village this morning — we’ll let you know what the best approach is for each day); dinner one night (if in Middlebury on a Tuesday evening); and any alcohol.  “PPDO” pricing is “per person, double occupancy” and is the amount one person pays when there are two to a room.


2024 Summer Five-Night Tour (May 5th through September 14th)

Tour 1S:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Friday lunchtime

Tour 1S includes five nights at four unique inns in four different villages; biking on Friday is optional

(Friday’s optional biking is a figure-eight loop riding through three covered bridges of the Marble Valley)

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Strong House; Wednesday Swift House; Thursday Lilac

$1745 ppdo / $3490 per couple or $2345 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 5 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1620 ppdo / $3240 per couple or $2220 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1870 ppdo / $3740 per couple or $2345 ppso

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2024 Summer Four-Night Tour (May 5th through September 14th)

Tour 2S:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Thursday lunchtime

Tour 2S includes four nights at four unique inns in four different villages and *requires* biking on Thursday

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Strong House; Wednesday Swift House

$1545 ppdo / $3090 per couple or $1995 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 4 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1445 ppdo / $2890 per couple or $1895 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1645 ppdo / $3290 per couple or $2095 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

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Tour 3S:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Thursday lunchtime

Tour 3S includes four nights at three unique inns in three different villages; biking on Thursday is optional

(Thursday’s optional biking is a figure-eight loop riding through three covered bridges of the Marble Valley)

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Swift House; Wednesday Lilac

$1545 ppdo / $3090 per couple or $1995 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 4 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1445 ppdo / $2890 per couple or $1895 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1645 ppdo / $3290 per couple or $2095 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

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2024 Summer Three-Night Tour (May 5th through September 14th)

Tour 4S:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Wednesday lunchtime

Tour 4S includes three nights at three unique inns in three different villages and *requires* biking on Wednesday

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Swift House

$1245 ppdo / $2490 per couple or $1695 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 3 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1170 ppdo / $2340 per couple or $1620 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1320 ppdo / $2640 per couple or $1770 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

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2024 Fall Season Five-Night Tour (Sept 15th – October 19th)

Tour 1F:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Friday lunchtime

Tour 1F includes five nights at four unique inns in four different villages; biking on Friday is optional

(Friday’s optional biking is a figure-eight loop riding through three covered bridges of the Marble Valley)

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Strong House; Wednesday Swift House; Thursday Lilac

$1895 ppdo / $3790 per couple or $2495 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 5 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1770 ppdo / $3540 per couple or $2370 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $2020 ppdo / $4040 per couple or $2620 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

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2024 Fall Season Four-Night Tour (Sept 15th – October 19th)

Tour 2F:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Thursday lunchtime

Tour 2F includes four nights at four unique inns in four different villages and *requires* biking on Thursday

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Strong House; Wednesday Swift House

$1645 ppdo / $3290 per couple or $2095 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 4 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1545 ppdo / $3090 per couple or $1995 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1745 ppdo / $3490 per couple or $2195 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

Book This Trip!

Tour 3F:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Thursday lunchtime

Tour 3F includes four nights at three unique inns in three different villages; biking on Thursday is optional

(Thursday’s optional biking is a figure-eight loop riding through three covered bridges of the Marble Valley)

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Swift House; Wednesday Lilac

$1645 ppdo / $3290 per couple or $2095 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 4 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1545 ppdo / $3090 per couple or $1995 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1745 ppdo / $3490 per couple or $2195 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

Book This Trip!


2024 Fall Season Three-Night Tour (Sept 15th – October 19th)

Tour 4F:  arrive at Lilac Inn Sunday afternoon; finish at Lilac Inn Wednesday lunchtime

Tour 4F includes three nights at three unique inns in three different villages and *requires* biking on Wednesday

Sunday Lilac; Monday Shoreham; Tuesday (dine out) Swift House

$1320 ppdo / $2640 per couple or $1770 ppso (solo guest / private room); includes bikes for 3 days

Bring-your-own-bikes rate:  $1245 ppdo / $2490 per couple or $1695 ppso

Rent electric-assist eBikes instead of regular bikes:  $1395 ppdo / $2790 per couple or $1845 ppso

Preview this trip in a day-by-day online brochure

Book This Trip!


Electric-assist bikes are available for rent!  “eBikes” are purpose-designed/built hybrid bikes factory-outfitted with small electric motors to help give you that little push you might appreciate on the hills.  Many, many of our guests have reported that their eBike made the trip just that much more enjoyable because it was just that much less work.  eBikes do require pedaling:  when you are pedaling, they boost your power.  When you are not pedaling, they do nothing to move you along (you just have a very heavy bike).

If bringing your own bikes:  A “beach cruiser” is not appropriate for distance touring, nor is your old ten-speed from high school.  Have your bike inspected by a reputable mechanic, and consider equipping your own bike similarly to how the bike shop equips the rentals (read above), including a handlebar-mounted holder for your cue sheets / map and phone to avail yourselves of the RideWithGPS app assistance.

Book a Self-Guided Vermont Bicyle Tour!