Island Line Rail Trail & Burlington

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Burlington, Vermont

Day 3 (cont.) – August 5

As expected, we made some stops based on ideas from the Offbeat Attractions app, which we never travel without. They included a stop in Leicester, VT to see a 12’ tall stone gorilla holding a VW Beetle in one hand. The other was a grave with a window in New Haven, VT. Apparently, the guy in the grave was terrified of being buried alive. Before he died about 150 years ago, he had a window installed on his gravestone which allowed a view of his face so people could see if he was still alive. We saw no face, but it was still pretty creepy.

We got to our Burlington Airbnb around 7:00 P.M. We luckily scored a parking spot right in front of the house. Street parking is competitive in and around downtown Burlington, apparently. The Airbnb was in an excellent location but the room was quite small, and we shared the bathroom and shower with two other rooms on the second floor. But it did have A/C, which was imperative as it was in the high 80s and very humid the whole time we were in Burlington.

We settled in and walked about ten minutes to downtown Burlington on the Lake Champlain waterfront. Burlington was very lively, with festive lighting, and there are lots of restaurants to choose from.

We wanted to eat on the water though, so we put our name in at Splash restaurant at a large boathouse on the water and killed time walking the park along the water. We spotted the place we would pick up the bike trail the next day while on our stroll. By the time we got a seat at the restaurant, we were treated to truly remarkable sunset viewing over the lake from our outdoor table at a marina. The sunset was worth the wait, but the food was not, though our server was very friendly. After dinner, we walked around downtown a bit, then back to the room for the night.

Island Line Rail Trail

Day 4 – August 6

Today, we set out for the Island Line Rail Trail. We started with breakfast at the Burlington Bay Café. A food market, ice cream shop, deli, liquor store all rolled into one, and with indoor and outdoor patio seating overlooking the lake. This option was better than any restaurant since they were all booked solid, and this was quick with a nice view.

The Island Rail Trail is 26 miles round trip. It begins along Lake Champlain in downtown Burlington and ends on South Hero, and island town in the middle of the lake. It was in the high 80s to low 90s so we stocked up with lots of water, and hydrated well at breakfast. We also loaded beach towels into the bike pack on Emilie’s new Townie, as we anticipated taking advantage of the beaches we’d be riding by.

The trail is an outstanding ride with views of the Adirondacks to the west over the gorgeous lake, and the Green Mountains to the east. We passed lakefront parks and beaches, and lots of greenery on the partly paved and mostly crushed limestone trail. After about nine miles, we were on a narrow three-mile long, narrow causeway, that led us out across the lake. This was the highlight of the ride, and perhaps the trip. We were surrounded by water, with fantastic views all around. Once mostly across, we purchased cheap tickets to board Local Motion’s Island Line Bike Ferry to cross a 200’ gap in the trail, or “cut” as they call it, in order to continue on to South Hero Island. The cut allows boats to go between the two sides of the lake.

While waiting for the ferry to dock from its last 5-minute shuttle we were informed that the ferry needed to respond to an emergency. There was a boat fire about a mile away. We could see the smoke from the boat and then fire when the boat actually blew up!  Figuring we’d be waiting a while, we climbed the rocks of the jetty, and put our feet in the water. Luckily the ferry was back in about 20 minutes and we boarded to continue the trail to its end. But unluckily I forgot my helmet on the other side of the cut. Fortunately, it was there waiting for me when we eventually returned.

Once across we decided we would continue on for an additional 3 miles along some hilly roads to get to the Snow Farm Vineyard in South Hero. We figured that consuming some wine and cheese would be a good turnaround point activity. We stayed at the winery for about 30 minutes. Near the winery we passed along a short stretch of forest that was peppered with hundreds of colorful bird houses. We learned that this was fittingly called Birdhouse Forest. The owner of the swampy land put them up himself, along with his wooden sculpted dinosaurs for good measure…umm, interesting.

 

 

The temperature was still in the mid-90s so for the ride back we stopped and swam at one of the several Lake Champlain beaches along the rail trail. The swim at Leddy Park beach was not just refreshing and relaxing, it was LIFE SAVING! OMG was it HOT!!! We’re pretty sure we saw steam rise when we entered the water.

With the extra miles to the vineyard and back we ended up biking 32 miles. It was one of the more spectacular bike trails we’ve done.  We would do it again, even if the temps were in the 90s again.

Back at our Airbnb we soaked in the A/C which we left on before we left (smart, huh?). We showered and rested for a short while, and .then headed out to downtown Burlington for dinner. We ended up at Leunigs Bistro. Wanting to take in the active night life, we accepted very warm outdoor seating along the pedestrian-only mall downtown. The food was very good, the service not so much.

After dinner, we went to see the sunset again, but on this evening it was just too hazy, and so there was no sun to see. Oh well. Still a beautiful summer evening, though a bit too sweltering. So, we walked around just for a short while, and being beat from the bike ride, we headed back after not too long to the A/C in the room, and a somewhat early bedtime.

Next: Burlington, VT to Northampton, MA