Shifting Gears | Spring Cycling on Vermont’s Champlain Islands

We were coasting toward an intersection on Route 2 on Grand Isle when I spotted a small hand-painted sign promising just the rejuvenation we needed: “Bake Shop.” Soon enough, my 10-year-old son, Calvin, and I had dropped our bikes in the driveway and stepped into the prim little building that housed owner DonnaSue Shaw’s made-from-scratch creations. Cookies, granola, cakes, mini loaves, and “go to” energy bars stocked the upright wooden boxes and shelves; meanwhile, a humming refrigerator held berry pies, along with iced coffee infused with maple syrup.

After rounding up our goods, we took a seat on a bench that looked onto a fenced-in yard of chickens and ducks. Late morning, a bright sun hung in the sky, songbirds fluttered about, and the apple trees and lilacs were in full bloom. Calling an end to winter can be a dicey game in New England, but on this mid-May day it finally, officially felt over.

Calvin shook his head. “I think I could live here,” he said.

I knew what he meant. For two days we had explored the Lake Champlain Islands on our bikes. It’s not the Vermont that many imagine: Positioned between the Adirondacks to the west and the Green Mountains to the east, this land is flat, with farms and barns and silos nestled close to cottages edging the water. Sometimes you feel as though you’re riding through the Midwest; other times, a breeze rushes up from the big lake and you swear you’re near the ocean. Is that salt air I smell?

“My wife and I have biked all over the country, in some pretty spectacular spots,” a man from Lake George, New York, told me. “But this is as beautiful as any place we’ve seen.”

Having made base camp at the North Hero House, an inn and restaurant that sits lakeside in its namesake town, we pedaled along the quiet shoreline of Isle La Motte. Then we headed south to Grand Isle’s West Shore Road, where farmland, orchards, and mountain views intersect. Our mission was simple: to meander. We picnicked at an old military fort, explored the grounds of a retired granite quarry famous for its fossils, and moseyed around the aisles at Hero’s Welcome for tchotchkes, toys, and the best made-to-order sandwiches on the islands. We took a load off for kid-friendly cold beverages at Kraemer & Kin, a North Hero brewery that makes its home in an old church, and made a similar stop the following afternoon in South Hero at Snow Farm Vineyard, whose property tumbles to the water’s edge. During one afternoon break, Calvin perused the titles of a book swap shop while I stretched out on the grass. Then it was time to push on to our next unplanned destination.

The cycling on these islands isn’t merely a tolerated activity; it’s part of the culture. Signs for the Lake Champlain Bikeways—a 1,600-mile network that runs through Quebec and New York—are everywhere, as is the patience of drivers, even on the busy stretches of Route 2. The islands’ roads, both paved and dirt, are well maintained. At a big farm on Grand Isle, cyclists are invited to take advantage of the “free water and air.” Come summer, Local Motion, a Burlington-based cycling advocacy group, runs a bike-specific ferry that links South Hero to the mainland.

Put it all together, and on a prime April or May day even a few hours of cycling on these islands can pack just the right kind of spring lift after months of winter confinement. To finally allow some serendipity back into your life after a season of restricted movement is liberating. On the first day we covered 31 miles; on the second, 22. My son, who’d maybe hit only the dozen-mile mark in a single day before this trip, didn’t spend a second complaining about the distances.

But never was he happier than while sitting on that bench at DonnaSue’s bake shop, tearing off big chunks of homemade oatmeal bread and taking swigs of cold water.

“This is pretty perfect,” he said. Indeed it was.

For Lake Champlain biking maps and ferry information, go to localmotion.org/bike_ferry. North Hero House is open year-round; for rates or to make a reservation, go to northherohouse.com.