Connecticut River Valley

I know a small section of that area, essentially from St. Johnsbury north (my in-laws live in
Groveton, NH). The Connecticut River veers east just south of St. Johnsbury, so you have two options
when passing this way:

North on Rte. 5 to West Burke (I have not biked the part of 5 between SJ and Lyndonville, but it
looks OK), then bear right on 5A to the Derby area. Lake Willoughby is very pretty, rather like a
Scottish Loch. There are some hills, but no killers. This is more direct than following the river.

To follow the river, if that is your objective, continue east from SJ on Rte. 2 to Vermont 102 (try
the side road thru East Concord, Gilman and South Lunenburg, which rejoins 2/102). Follow 102 north
along the river ~50 miles to 114 west for a mile before crossing into Canada toward Coaticook (as
far as I've gone), and continue to Quebec from there. That route is essentially flat although there
is a long (not steep) hill between the border and Coaticook, at the top of which you are rewarded
with a very pretty view of farms and rolling hills. The section along the river has almost no stores
or gas stations. Best chance to get Gatorade or water is at the gas station in Bloomfield, or across
the river in NH.

Roads on the NH side of the river are not as scenic or as smooth, and have more trucks.

If you do a web search for "Northeast Kingdom" you may come up with some other ideas for the NE
corner of Vermont.

Mike Yankee

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