The Lake Champlain Islands offer numerous touring routes. They are an extraordinary combination of gently rolling farm fields, orchards and beautiful waterfront views.  This 27-mile long chain of islands is linked to mainland Vermont by a series of causeways.  Traffic is minimal on most island roads with the exception of the major north-south artery, US Route 2.

Get to know the five communities that make up Grand Isle County on The Lake Champlain Bikeways Network.  Five touring loops follow paved and unpaved roads that are in good-to-excellent condition. An intermediate level of cycling skill is recommended.

Stone Castles begins at the Grand Isle Ferry dock.  Tour South Hero on this 13-½ mile loop, where gardener Harry Barber created numerous miniature buildings from Vermont stone during the late 1920s until his death in 1966.  Today there are only five castles, three houses and several garden structures still in existence.  These wonderful works by Barber are on privately owned land, but can be viewed from the road.  Bring your binoculars to see detail, or to watch some of the abundant wildlife found on the island.

Highlighting history and Vermont’s natural resources, Island Life is a 12-mile tour through the heart of the island chain.  Visit the Gordon Center House, an 1824 Federal-style stone house built by the original ferry owner, Benjamin Bell.  Tour the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station with exhibits and fish runs where land-locked Atlantic salmon, brook, brown and rainbow trout, as well as lake trout and steelhead are raised to be stocked in waters statewide.  Stop by the Hyde Log Cabin, one of the oldest remaining log cabins in the United States.  Relax at the Grand Isle State Park. Take a swim, share a picnic or walk an interpretive trail to an observation platform with unbelievably beautiful views of the inland sea, Mount Mansfield and the Green Mountain Range.

Three more loops complete this network:  A Trail to Two Beaches, A Legacy of Ancient Stone, and the Liquid Elixir.  Each trail is from 6-12 miles in length. Each is special and unique.  You can see sand dunes and bogs, stop at what has been called the world’s oldest reef, visit the site of St. Anne’s Fort, or trek through one of Vermont’s Wildlife Management Areas.