Named after the railroad, the Island
Line Trail offers some rather unique features. Let’s start with the basics. The
trail starts at Oakledge Park in Burlington, VT. It runs about 14 miles to
South Hero Island in Lake Champlain. To reach the island, the railroad built a causeway
from the lake shore to the island. This is one of the unique features of the
trail, a 3-mile causeway to the island. Near the island the railroad left a 200-foot
gap in the causeway to allow the passage of boats. This was crossed using a
swing bridge. The bridge no longer exists. The gap is now crossed by trail users
by way of a ferry. The ferry, called Local Motion is the second unique feature
of the trail.
The trail is easily accessed from
downtown Burlington. I started at King St in downtown Burlington. I rode on a
fall weekend and found it busy with walkers, runners, and cyclists. The urban
feel gradually changed to back yards then started to have a more natural feel.
Several public parks were located adjacent to the trail including two dog parks
and one skate park. There were nice views of the lake and one portion was a
walkway with a concrete deck. This half mile walkway connected the Burlington
Bikeway to the Colchester Causeway to create the present trail. The walkway spans
the Delta Park flood plain. The trail surface varied with portions paved
asphalt and other sections crushed stone. Overall, it was a smooth surface. I
was on a hybrid but a road bike should be ok also. There was one area where the
trail was on residential streets for a few blocks, but it was very quiet. I
didn’t see a single car. If you ride a trike, I didn’t notice a any bollards.
The highlight was the causeway with
water just a few feet away on both sides. I saw herons and egrets in the water
near Law Island. Near the end of the causeway is the bike ferry that provides
another experience. You are invited (but not pressured) to make a donation if
you ride, $10 is suggested for a round trip. If you plan on traveling to ride
the trail, be sure to check the ferry schedule at the link below before you
come. Service is weekends only in spring and fall.
I was short on time after stopping to
assist a novice cyclist with a flat, so I came back after riding the ferry. I
did not get to South Hero. I have no insight into local dining and randomly
choose Vermont Pub and Brewery for lunch located at College and St Paul
streets. Food and service was very good. They also had a nice area for outdoor
dining.
Note: Although I did not have any problems I have seen media reports the there is a high number of bike thefts in Burlington.
More information about the trail is posted by American Trails
For more information about the ferry including their schedule of operations visit: Local Motion
Video of my bike ride is on my YouTube Channel: Mark's Bike Tock
