Begin this Vermont Fall Foliage bicycle tour with a cruise across Lake Champlain to Westport, NY. Disembark for a beautiful ride through the Adirondack Park to Essex, NY, the entire town of which is listed on the National Historic Register. The dockside arrival at the Basin Harbor Club is an impressive beginning to your stay at this classic style lakeside resort ( We cross over on a private ferry to stay at the historical Essex Inn by the lake on Sep 29, 2019 and Oct 4, 2020 departures). Enjoy a festive first-night gathering at one of the resort’s established restaurants.

Explore the limestone barracks of Crown Point Historic Site. Relax at the hotel, play tennis or golf, or paddle a boat on the lake. The remains of this 18th century French, and then British, fortress sit along a narrow section of Lake Champlain that was critical to control of this important waterway during the War of 1812. Later, visit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Leave the lakeshore behind and wind your way east through rolling farmland, to the edge of the Green Mountains. Stop to view the waterfalls in the small village of Vergennes before choosing an optional loop out past Kingsland Bay State Park and over Little Otter Creek.

This morning’s ride leads through rural valley farmland to Station Covered Bridge, built in 1865 to provide a vital east-west link to a nearby railroad shipping station. Continue to the town of Brandon along country roads offering stunning views of the Green Mountains. Following a picnic lunch, join your leaders for the short hike to the Falls of Lana.

Wind your way north through open farmland to Bristol and its classic town green. Follow the New Haven River toward its headwaters near the tiny hamlet of Lincoln, nestled along the river, beneath imposing Mount Abraham. Visit Danforth Pewter for beautiful pewter crafts that Fred Danforth and his family have been creating since 1755.

Leave the Green Mountains behind this morning as you venture back towards the lake on your final day’s ride. Pass through one of the country’s only two-lane covered bridges en route to the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm. Continue through Charlotte to Shelburne for a festive seasonal farewell picnic at Shelburne Orchards.