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Burlington to Bar Harbor Ride
Spend six days cycling from Vermont to Maine.
About the Ride
This bike tour traverses the most beautiful roads of New England
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Burlington, Vermont
You’ll ride across three states — Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This ride will feature quiet backroads that wind through mountain ranges, vast forests, rivers, lakes, and even Maine’s rugged coastline. We’ll stay at beautiful summer camps and inns with options to camp if people want to soak in some nature and taste local cuisine along our ride. On the final day, we’ll ride through Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island before shuttling back to Burlington, VT or Boston, MA. Shuttles back to Burlington or to Boston are included!
Event Details
Positive Planet Impact
Full Event Story
Join us on this incredible bike ride that showcases the most beautiful parts of New England. We’ll ride from Burlington on the shores of Lake Champlain, through the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont visiting many adorable towns along the way. As we continue east, we’ll pedal over the White Mountains and around Mt Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast, and through the endless forests of New Hampshire. In Maine, we’ll ride past dozens of woodsy lakes en route to the coastline. Our ride in Maine will feature an optional century ride that ends on Mount Desert Island. The final ride is an incredibly scenic loop in Acadia National Park. This ride offers a dynamic view of the diverse ecosystems of the region from mountains to lakes to the Atlantic. Each night, we will have indoor accommodations available that range from multi-room cabins, hotel-style rooms, bunkhouses, and options to camp on most nights. Indoor accommodations are shared or double occupancy with some availability for a single supplement for an additional fee on a space-available basis.
Details
This is more than a bike trip – it’s an inspiring journey with like-minded people united by their passion for sustainability and adventure. You can choose from our full list of beneficiaries and proceeds will be distributed to the Climate Ride grants program based on your beneficiary selection. You will have access to our superb personal fundraising software and the full support of our team. Participants may select their beneficiaries from our list of more than 100 extraordinary non-profit organizations.
By joining us, you’ll experience epic cycling, amazing scenery, and dynamic fellow riders & speakers that all combine to make this charitable event exciting, informative, and fun.
Our professional Climate Ride staff takes care of all the details, so you can focus on riding your bike on carefully planned routes on scenic back roads. It’s challenging yet doable, and you have all day to make it to the next rest stop. On the road, the Climate Ride support team is always nearby to assist you, keep you happy and healthy, and make your ride worry-free and memorable.
We provide daily cycling mileage to suit all types of cyclists, including shorter options as needed. We welcome every level of athlete – what’s most important to us is to welcome you into the Climate Ride community and provide a cycling experience that will inspire you to bike for the rest of your life. This is a fully supported ride which means you can focus on pedaling and making connections with your new friends while we take care of everything from overnight details, meals, snacks, luggage transport, and much more to make your trip as enjoyable as possible. Learn more in the FAQ.
Photo Gallery
Itinerary Overview
Itinerary subject to change, your Ride Guide will include full details.
Bike ~65 or 45 miles
Climate Ride Burlington to Bar Harbor starts with a beautiful ride through the heart of Vermont. We’ll visit cute towns with general stores, and ice cream, and even have a chance to taste Vermont’s famous maple syrup. We’ll ride through the town of Craftsbury and stay at a beautiful lodge on the shore of Caspian Lake. Our ride will feature a large portion of the newly completed Lamoille Valley rail trail, the longest rail trail in Vermont.
Bike ~68 miles or 53 miles with shuttle (or less!)
Following a hearty breakfast, we’ll ride through the Northeast Kingdom and towards the White Mountains. We will ride another beautiful section of the Lamoille Valley Trail and have a chance to stop for coffee and pastries at a local bakery. We’ll cross the Connecticut river and have lunch in New Hampshire before we end our ride with a nice climb up to Crawford Notch, NH.
Bike ~61 miles or 40 miles with shuttle (or less!)
After two states, and two big rides, we’ll have a bit of a recovery day as we cross into Maine and have twice as much descending as climbing! Today we start to descend out of the White Mountains into a region of Maine that may have more loons than people. As we ride through the backwoods of Maine, there will be plenty of opportunities to stop and swim in lakes and ponds that are scattered throughout the region. We’ll sleep in cabins on a lake in an area described as the middle of nowhere.
Bike ~75 miles or 45 miles (with shuttle (or less!)
On the morning of Day 4, we start out on country roads and continue riding east through the rolling hills of southern Maine. We’ll ride through Maine’s second-largest city, Lewiston before venturing back into the woods again. We’ll stop at a locavore’s dream country store where riders will be able to taste the bountiful fruits, baked goods, beer, and wine of the region. After a few more miles, we’ll finish our ride at Lake Damirascotta where we’ll stay at Wavus camp. Wavus is one of our favorite camps that we’ve stayed at over the years and always look forward to our stay at this iconic lakeside camp.
Bike ~100 Miles! or less with a shuttle
Today is an epic century ride that takes us through the Downeast section of Maine. We’ll finally make it to the coast and experience classic port towns, lighthouses, and some of the prettiest sections of Maine. For those who aren’t up for a 100-mile ride today, we’ll have shorter options available that will still feature the best sections of the route. We end our ride in Bar Harbor and riders will be able to find dinner in town at one of many great restaurants before we have our final evening program. The trip isn’t over yet though, we still have saved the best riding for last!
Bike ~30 miles
After pedaling across 3 states to the boundary of Acadia National Park, it only makes sense to ride the scenic loop road before we call it a trip. Cycling in the park is one of the best ways to see the rocky coastline of Mount Desert Island. For those who still haven’t had enough, there is an option to climb Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the east coast in the United States. We ride in the morning, have one final picnic lunch in Bar Harbor before we load up, and shuttle back to Burlington or Boston arriving before sunset.
Ready to get started?
FAQs and More Info
Getting to and from the Ride
Our ride begins in Burlington, Vermont in the morning.
On the afternoon prior, Climate Ride will offer a from the Boston area to Burlington, VT. Riders will need to provide their own accommodations for that evening if they take the shuttle.
The ride ends in Bar Harbor. At this point, riders will have a few options:
- Take our shuttle back to Burlington, VT. Riders will be able to leave vehicles for the week at our ride-start location.
- Take our shuttle to the Boston area. The exact location is to be determined.
- Stay in Bar Harbor and arrange your own transport.
Accommodations & Meals
On this trip, we’ll stay at a variety of lodges, summer camps, and inns. Accommodations range from hotel-style rooms to cabins, and bunkhouses. Many of the accommodations are shared or double occupancy. There will be a limited number of single supplement options available at an additional cost for those that prefer a private sleeping space. Tent camping is available on some nights of the trip but not all. Some accommodations will have linens but for 2 nights, riders will need to provide a sleeping bag.
Night 1: Vermont Inn: Accommodations include multi-room cabins and hotel-style rooms. Linens are provided but there will be a limited number of single rooms. In some cases, we will be able to provide some privacy by putting two people in a two-room cabin with a shared bathroom. No camping is available.
Night 2: AMC Highland Center: Accommodations range from private rooms with private bathrooms to 2-6 bed shared bunk rooms with shared bathrooms. Euro-style mountain hut kind of accommodations. Some single supplement rooms will be available. No camping is available.
Night 3: Camp Waziyatah: Basic cabins either shared or private for a single supplement fee. Linens are provided, and camping is available.
Night4: Wavus Camp: Shared camper-style bunkhouses with shared bathrooms. A limited number of cottages with linens are available for a single supplement fee. Camping is available.
Night 5: Hotels in Bar Harbor. Rooms are double occupancy but a single occupancy room is available for an additional fee.
There will be two lunches and one dinner on your own to allow riders to experience the cuisine of the area. Climate Ride will provide all other meals starting with lunch on September 10th and ending with lunch on September 15th.
On Climate Ride, camp becomes a traveling village and dynamic community. Each evening after dinner, we’ll gather to hear from local speakers, have roundtable discussions, or simply socialize with new friends. Cycling in New England doesn’t get better than on Climate Ride!
What type of bike should I bring and what are the roads like?
This is a road bike ride and the route is mostly paved with some sections of smooth dirt roads, rail trails, and multi-use bike paths. Due to the remote location of some of our camps and the rural nature of the route, some roads will be unpaved and some rail trails will be smooth crushed gravel. While a road bike is preferred for the route, 28c or larger tires would be ideal for some of the unpaved sections.
A gravel or hybrid bike is also fine. We do not recommend mountain bikes for long mileage on roads, but if you are most comfortable on a mountain bike, it is your choice!
If you plan to ride an E-bike on this trip, we recommend bringing a backup battery that you can keep on your bicycle. Most E-bikes will not be able to complete the daily mileage on a single charge. Participants with E-bikes will be responsible for adequately charging their bikes each night.
Transporting Your Bike or Bike Rental
More information on traveling with your bike or where to rent a bike for this charitable event will be made available once registered. Please email us if you have questions!
Fundraising Beneficiaries
Cyclists can choose from the more than 100 incredible beneficiary organizations in our network! One of the things that make Climate Ride such an effective charitable event is that you can select the organization(s) you wish to benefit through the Climate Ride grants program. Our beneficiaries were selected for their work on the environment, conservation, sustainability, climate education, and active transportation advocacy. At the end of the year, Climate Ride grants the proceeds from our events to these hard-working organizations.
Can I rent a bike for this trip?
If you’d like to rent a bike for this trip, we’ll work with a bike shop partner in Burlington Vermont. Climate Ride will not be able to pick up or return rental bikes for participants, so folks will need to make these arrangements on their own. More information about bike rentals will be provided in the ride guide sent to participants after they register.
Fundraising and Transfer Deadlines | Important Dates
Fundraising Deadlines:
TBD
Transfer Deadline:
TBD
More Questions?
Be sure to review our general FAQ and policies or contact us!