Cycling Vermont Route 100
This bike camping tour took
us from the hill towns of western Masschusetts to Newport Vermont on
the Quebec border on one of the "must do" bike rides in New England,
Vermont Route 100.
Start: Worthington , MA . We drove to Worthington , MA and stayed for the night at the very nice Worthington Inn on Rt. 143 just a block away from the center of town. Rt. 100 Actually starts in Readsboro , VT , just north of the Berkshires, but this gave us a chance to ride through the isolated hill towns between the touristy Berkshires and the more populated Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. Worthington is one of the highest communities in the state at 1433 ft.
Day
1: Worthington , MA to Wilmington , VT . In the
morning we took Rt. 143 a short distance to Old Cummington Rd.
That connected us to a quiet section isolated section of Rt. 112, and
a great downhill ride to the Cummington General Store at the intersection
of Rt. 112 and Rt. 9. From there, you can take Plainfield Rd.
to connect to Rt. 116 in Plainfield , then continue north, and take
Rt. 8A on to Charlemont. You've enjoyed a lot of downhills, but
we suggest getting lunch in Charlemont. Rt. 8a climbs out of town
along a nice mountain stream, eventually connecting to Rt. 112 and then
Rt. 100 in Jacksonville , Vt. It's a short ride from there
to Wilmington , which is a popular ski town near Mount Snow .
We stayed at the Viking Motel, which was inexpensive, but
you can certainly find better in this town. Today's ride
was about 45 miles.
Alternative Day 1 start: To do all of route 100, begin this tour in North Adams, MA. From there you can ride up Rt. 8 through Clarksburg into Vermont, at which point Rt. 100 starts and joins Rt. 8 for 7.7 miles to Heartwellville. Rt. 8 then turns left, and continue on Rt. 100 through Readsboro. At 22 miles from the Rt. 100 start, you will reach Jacksonville. Continue on Rt. 100 from here to Wilmington, a total of 26 miles from the Rt. 100 south starting point. We recommend Clarksburg State Forest (27 mile ride) for camping, and Jae's Inn in North Adams (31 mile ride) for lodging.
Day
2: Wilmington , VT to Ludlow , VT
Today Route 100 took us from Wilmington to Ludlow , Vt. , a quiet but
attractive small community, where we found clean and affordable lodging
at the Ludlow Village Inn
. The toughest part of today's ride was the
1000 ft., 10% grade climb that went on for two miles at
Terrible Mountain Traffic in this section of Rt. 100 is very light,
so on the awesome fast downhills, we felt comfortable moving out into
the road, away from the rougher paved edges. Today's ride
was 55 miles.
Day 2 map
Day 3: Ludlow , VT to Waitsfield , VT Today's ride was one of the most beautiful in Vermont . It took us up an enjoyable climb in the Green Mountains through Moss Glenn Falls., and a worthwhile detour on old Rt. 100 into charming Warren . We continued on to Waitsfield at the intersection of Route 100 and Rt. 17. You'll find a lot of inns on Rt. 17 as it ascends to the 2356' pass called Appalachian Gap near Mad River Glen ski area. Today's ride was 65 miles. Day 3 map
Day
4: Waitsfield , VT to Newport , VT
Today was a long day with a great mix of things to do. There are
a lot of good downhill stretches on the way to Waterbury , where our
first stop for the day was a visit to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream
factory. Before we reached Stowe, we climbed the steep hill
to the Van Trapp Resort, and then a great descent into trendy downtown.
. We found Route 100 from Stowe to Morrisville quite heavy
with traffic, so we took the Old Stagecoach road, which has killer climbs
but very little traffic. Morrisville didn't offer much to
see, and the heavy traffic continued for a while. But as we continued
north, the countryside opened up with marvelous vistas, long easy
climb stretches, and much less traffic. It was as much fun to
ride as it was beautiful. There are very few stores and
even less inns in this area. One option is to leave Rt.
100 in Troy and head up Rt. 101 to North Troy and the Canadian border.
We made it to Newport , and found it to be a real gem. We stayed
at the Newport City Motel,
which despite it's dated appearance is clean and run very professionally.
Don't miss dinner at Lago Trattoria
and lunch at the Newport Natural Foods and Bakery.
Today's ride was 72 miles.
Day 4 map
Description by Gordon Harris
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