Planning Help Needed! Last minute, spontaneous, trip to Vermont

[FJRGuy]

We kinda made a spur of the moment decision to rent a motorcycle in Vermont after my pillion does some business in Ottawa. Renting a car to drive down to South Burlington where we will pick up a bike from MotoVermont for 3 days. Dates are October 3rd to 6th. Have nothing planned beyond the transportation. Need Destinations, Routes, Sites to see, Accomodations and Dining options. Open to any and all suggestions!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Look at Easy Eds New England riders recommendations.

 

[RossKean]

Vermont, New Hampshire and upstate New York have some fantastic riding!

For a start, have a look at some of the stuff on New England Riders; an incredible resource for riding in the East:

https://www.newenglandriders.org/

Look at some of the "Best of" sections.

For three of the last four years, there has been a NERDS gathering in Stowe Vermont. A number of great motorcycle routes were developed for this event. I think I may have them in GPX format somewhere. If you want, send me a PM with your email address and I can send them to you tonight after work.

Hope the weather stays good for you - we have been pretty lucky so far this fall. I was in Maine and New Hampshire just last weekend; didn't make it as far as Vermont this time.

You may run into some additional traffic; beginning of the leaf-peeping tourist rush. Usually not terrible but you may need to be prepared for a larger-than-normal crowd of somewhat distracted drivers.

Edit: With the leaf-peepers, hotel accommodations can be a problem in some areas. Book in advance. Are you planning on a "home base" and day trips from there? If so, Stowe (Commodore's Inn) is a pretty fair location.

 

[FJReady]

Some of my favorite takes in Vermont: Rt 17 (Appalachian GAp) from WaitsField to Bristol VT. Nice twists and turns, elevation changes and scenery. And then head south and take the Middlebury Gap back over the mountains. Rt 125 from Middlebury to Hancock. almost anywhere along Rt 100 is pretty scenic, especially this time of year. Going north through Stowe up toward Newport is pretty. There will likely be a lot of leaf-peeper tourist the next couple weeks however. Weekends especially.

Nearby White Mountains in New Hampshire also offer nice riding. I like the loop from Bethlehem to Twin Mountain to Bartlett to Glen to Gorham, back to Bethlehem. That takes in some beautiful scenery, the famous Mt Washington Hotel and Mount Washington valley.

Accomodations will be pricey in Burlington.

Enjoy!

 

[FJRGuy]

Thanks guys! I'm told this will be one of the busiest wknds of the year in the area, but we'll be leaf peeping ourselves. Don't get this kind of colour out west. Nailed down some reasonably priced accommodation along the way so should be all good. I don't have any firm route plans so I'll use this info to guide me.

If anyone wants to meet up along the way, we'll be in:

Lake Placid NY Friday night (in Car)

Hardwick VT Saturday night (after picking up bike in Burlington VT)

Augusta ME Sunday night

Lincoln NH Monday night