From a wildflower-lined path along the California coast to the tree tunnels of a rail trail in New York, you can see a lot of America’s most beautiful places on a bike.
These five rides, all 25 miles or less, offer a variety of landscapes and difficulty levels. Four are paved, one is gravel, and all are car-free. Some don’t even require a vehicle to get to the beginning.
Many of these trails also offer opportunities for camping, wildlife viewing, bird watching and swimming, so you might want to plan for frequent rest stops.
California
Pacific Grove to Fort Ord Dunes State Park
This paved 20-mile out-and-back ride along the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail winds among the landmarks and rugged shorelines of the Monterey Peninsula. From Lovers Point Park, you’ll pass Monterey Bay Aquarium; Cannery Row, the former sardine-canning waterfront district famous from John Steinbeck’s 1945 novel of the same name; and Old Fisherman’s Wharf, where sea lions sunbathe in the fishy air. Views of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary commingle with cypress trees and birdsong. As you sweep around the bay, the path offers flourishes of purple lupines, beach primrose and Indian paintbrush, and bluff-top overlooks of Monterey State Beach and Fort Ord Dunes State Park. As you revel in the laid-back California vibe, you may find yourself pondering this line from “Cannery Row”: “Being at ease with himself put him at ease with the world.”
Wyoming
Moose to Jenny Lake
Some rides make you work for an epic view, but this one delivers jaw-dropping mountain vistas with only a gentle incline. From the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center, half a mile from the main Moose Entrance station at Grand Teton National Park, follow the paved multiuse Grand Teton Pathway for about eight miles. As you pedal through a glacier-carved valley with alpine meadows and sagebrush flats, the jagged Teton Range remains your constant companion. At the Jenny Lake Visitor Center, consider parking your bike and taking a boat across the lake.
Colorado
Frisco to Vail Pass
Colorado excels at dreamy high-altitude rides, and this paved, 24-mile out-and-back excursion with 1,500 feet of elevation gain is sure to leave its imprint on you. This classic high-country trip heads out from Frisco on the Ten Mile Recreational Pathway, offering a visual feast with a Tour de France-caliber climb. Through Copper Mountain and up the east side of Vail Pass, take in the quaking aspens and whispering streams. But stay alert for e-bikers and wildlife like marmots and mountain goats. The path gets steep after Copper Mountain, with the average grade reaching around 7 percent on some final switchbacks up to the Vail Pass summit, at 10,662 feet. If you’d rather skip the ascent, Pioneer Sports and Rebel Sports, in Frisco, offer shuttle service (and bike rentals) to the top of the pass, so you can coast down instead. Whatever you do, the best postride reward is a Final Summit saison at Outer Range Brewing Co in Frisco.
New York
Millerton to Copake Falls
Rolling north from the village of Millerton on this paved, 25-mile out-and-back section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, you’ll quickly find yourself immersed in purple phlox, marshlands, farms, forests and the curves of the Taconic Range. First imagined in the mid-1980s on the abandoned bed of the Harlem Railroad, the trail features tree tunnels, basking water snakes, turtles and busy beavers. Benches offer rest stops where you can let the sweet sounds of catbirds, American redstarts and yellow warblers carry you away. At Taconic State Park, cool off with a swim in a pond or hike to a waterfall. Download the HVRT app to see trail conditions, a map with bathrooms and parking, and a plant guide. Metro-North will take you as far as Wassaic, about 11 miles south of Millerton.
Maine
Acadia Carriage Road Loop From Jordan Pond House
This 13.5-mile gravel loop in Acadia National Park follows a trail created by the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. as part of a 45-mile network of carriage roads to give visitors to Mount Desert Island peaceful motor-free byways. Start from the Jordan Pond House, and soon you’ll be climbing next to the pond (most of the route’s 1,000 feet of total climbing is front-loaded), over hand-hewn stone bridges and alongside waterfalls. Much of the rest of the ride winds among dense forests and lakes (at times so close you can see a snapping turtle’s nose rising above the crystal water). End back at the Jordan Pond House for its famous popovers, a blueberry lemonade and views of the Bubbles, the park’s iconic twin peaks, bathed in light worthy of a landscape painting. Riders can take the free Bicycle Express shuttle (no e-bikes) from Bar Harbor to the Eagle Lake Carriage Road Trail entrance and start there.
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