Start the nearly 5 mile trek to the Winooski River Bridge on the Burlington Bike Path. This path runs along the entire waterfront, but the most popular pick-up location for the bike trail is right across from the ECHO Center and Creemee stand (quick pre-bike snack possibly). Follow this beautiful trail down passed the kids joking around at the skate park, passed the old train cabin, and passed the folks tanning on North Beach (maybe not so much anymore). Just a few pedals passed North Beach, you will reach the Ice Arena and Leddy Park. Here, you can take a small set of stairs down to a secluded beach and have a quick mid-ride snack and water break. Once refilled and back on the bike, you will head straight on the bike path, but be alert here as the path begins to cross some neighborhood roads, and cars frequently drive by. After the fourth street crossing, you will almost be to the destination. Normally, this section of the bike path is fairly quite seeing as most of the family attractions are closer to North Beach or Leddy Park.
You will know you have arrived once the trail turns from pavement to wooden planks and the tree cover gives away to a beautiful 360˚ view of Lake Champlain and the mouth of the Winooksi River. In the fall, the red rusted color of the bridge blends in perfectly with the orange, yellow, and red leaves of the surrounding foliage. Here, people move a little slower, taking more time to appreciate the surreal views all around them. Standing on top of the bridge helps you to notice everything around you that much more. Last time I visited, I watched a dog play fetch with his owner while a family paddled underneath the bridge in a small canoe and the crisp scent of fall filled the air. The place also offers a sense of community to all bikers who travel along it. The runners and casual day-walkers usually turn around before reaching this bridge, so the majority of people who cross this bridge are fellow bikers. As you stand taking in all of the views, passing bikers will slow down and give a polite wave or even a hello. Yesterday when I visited, a woman was already stopped looking out over the water. When I pulled my bike up next to her, we sparked up a conversation originally stemming from a shared love of fixie bikes, but later turned into a crazy story of how we both lived in the same neighborhood in DC.
I hope you can all get out on your bikes this fall and take a trip to this beautiful place before the weather gets too chilly. In total, I would say you should crave out a nice 3 hour chunk of time for your first visit, but normally it is a quick 1 hour and a half visit.
Field Observations:
- fewer people are on the bike trail, and the ones that are this far out are mainly bikers
- the trees have all started to change
- more leaves in the water and on the ground than last time I visited
- more animal activity, ie. squrriels constantly running around and collecting nuts
- the weather is changing more rapidly (it was sunny and clear when I began my bike ride but quickly turned cloudy)