Urban Rides, Bike Trails & Weekend Getaways
Free Bike Maps and Self-guided Bike Rides
Taste and wander your way by bike with Bikabout's collection of the best bike rides in North America.
Chicago's motto is "Urbs in Horto" and this ride will take you by a variety of parks and public spaces used for a variety of purposes. Each space is great for people watching and most feature great juxtaposition of city and green space. You'll see playgrounds and gardens, community dog parks, historic buildings, our new skate park, and awesome skyline views. Stop anywhere along the way to explore, play, or observe, or complete the route in just about one hour.
The Boston Brewing Company (Sam Adams) put Boston on the beer map in the late 1980s, and regional powerhouse Long Trail followed not long after. Lesser known Cambridge Brewing Company also started in the late 1980s, and went on to influence countless local startups such as Vermont darlings Hill Farmstead. And while the Boston beer scene largely languished during the the late 90s and 2000s, it has once again awoken and begun to flourish, with vibrant and daring beers coming from downtown and the immediate north.
Boulder has been synonymous with craft brewing for as long as the industry has existed. In fact, we’re the home to Colorado’s first craft brewery as well as the American Homebrewer’s Association and the Brewers Association. Whether you’re into refreshing IPAs, rich stouts, or even something a bit more adventurous, you can bet we brew it in Boulder. Here are a few of my favorite breweries, and why I love them. I’ve picked locations near B-cycle bike share stations in order to highlight the value of one-way trips: Just because you biked to these breweries doesn’t mean you have to bike home.
This route is designed to give you a taste of Inner North Portland; one of three quadrants on Portland's east side. Along this route, you pass many vibrant commercial districts (Williams Ave, Mississippi Ave) city parks (Overlook Park, Peninsula Park) vistas (the Skidmore Bluffs) and historic residential neighborhoods (Overlook, King, Sabin).
The gem of Vancouver’s public space, and our best recreational bike route by far, is the seawall. Construction around the Stanley Park portion began in 1917 and now at 22km provides a continuous public space separated from vehicle traffic along almost all of central Vancouver’s waterfront. It’s pretty impressive — so good one wonders if it’s the reason Vancouver doesn’t have a central plaza or any pedestrian streets, but that’s another matter. In recent years Vancouver has also made great strides in building 8 to 80 (safe for 8 to 80 year olds) accessible separated bicycle infrastructure throughout city streets. This tour aims to give a taste of the seawall and recent separate bike paths, along with a healthy dose of some of my favourite pieces of public art, cafés and watering holes. Oh, and there’s a first rate gelato shop and amazing Chinese garden.
You've heard of Boston. But across the river is Cambridge and Somerville, Boston's "Left Bank." Of course that name references Paris' Left Bank or Rive Gauche which refers to the southern bank of the Seine. But more importantly the Left Bank of Paris was the Paris of artists, writers, philosophers, and more. Similarly, there is a high number of artists and writers in Cambridge and Somerville. This route will be a tour of the artistic side of the city.
Minneapolis is home to so many culinary, cultural, and scenic marvels, it's seems that around every corner you'll find another, oh, I've gotta go there sometime! So how about it? This route is perfect for a weekend meander, or a day you didn't know what to do with. Enjoy a day of exploring some of the best that the city has to offer. Hop off your bike to explore a great restaurant, shop one of the city's many fantastic boutiques, see a show, or take in a view. And when you're all done, raise a glass and toast a great day in a cozy Scandinavian speakeasy. You deserve it.
A family friendly bike tour of the Minneapolis trails system that includes several craft breweries (with the option to add more), as well as a series of iconic Minneapolis landmarks along the Mississippi River – including Saint Anthony Main, the Stone Arch Bridge, the Mill City Museum, the Guthrie Theatre, and the University of Minnesota.
The Wisconsin School Garden Initiative encourages you to grab a camera and hop on your bike for this picturesque ride featuring youth gardens on Madison's north side. In addition to being great scenery, youth gardens offer a host of benefits. They provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables, create opportunities to be active outside, and introduce children to ecological principles. This route highlights three youth gardens: Gompers Elementary, Lake View Elementary, and the Troy Kids' Garden that all combine produce, education, and fun!
Artabout is a curated arts route exploring art museums, artist studios, and art events around Minneapolis. The route takes you on a scenic ride starting along the Mississippi River where you'll cross the renowned Stone Arch Bridge, see part of the University of Minnesota campus, ride through popular neighborhoods such as Uptown and Northeast, and experience parts of our lovely Midtown Greenway and Cedar Lake bike trail. Along the route, you'll explore a variety of arts stops ranging from renovated warehouse buildings converted into galleries and artist studios to an outdoor arts sculpture garden. I enjoy each of the highlighted stops for their uniqueness in the Minneapolis arts scene and I volunteer at a few of the organizations which is a fun opportunity to meet like-minded people and help support the arts community.
This bike route along the Charles River in Cambridge and Boston features 15 scenic miles and stops at our favorite bakery, a historic cemetery with a tower affording the best view of Boston, a river bike path, the USS Constitution, playgrounds galore, picnicking opportunities and our favorite places to grab a beer and a bite to eat.
