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# Late Summer VT Bikepacking: Part 1 (Saint Johnsbury to Greensboro)
[[md]](/blog/2026/08/27/late-summer-vt-bikepacking/index.md "view this page as markdown")
 

> _August 27, 2026_

 

This year, we decided to move our typical fall foliage bike tour up to late summer, to better enjoy some perfect weather, swimming holes, and sun.

Because New Hampshire's bicycle infrastructure is woefully inferior to Vermont's (more on that later in this series), we decided to start in the nearest Vermont population center: Saint Johnsbury, a 20 minute drive from the Littleton Lambda Latitudinarian Headquarters. Some local friends volunteered to drop us off there in exchange for a delicious breakfast at [The Buttery](https://www.thebutteryvt.com/). But we secretly got the better end of the deal, since they loaned us a highly valuable USB-C cable that we conveniently forgot to bring with us. Tricksy shirefolk.

Anyway, our first day was a whopper: over 50 miles of biking on 90% dirt roads, over a solid mile of climbing, a couple of potential swimming holes, one delicious pizza stop, and a campsite destination with a reputation for stellar starviewing, cute animals, and crispy mornings. What more could we want?

https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=trip&id=409283040&title=VT%2026%20-%20St%20J%20to%20Greensboro&sampleGraph=true&hidePOIs=true&privacyCode=Iam2WwVoD4Llbis5fvZTRUQaQ5DDfQQg

The day began on the very easy side, with an automobile journey to Saint Johnsbury courtesy of the Smike Taxi Service. After breakfast at The Buttery, we headed to Bang Bang Bagels, only to discover that they're closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fortunately, Saint J has a plethora of excellent breakfast options, so we pivoted to picking up pastries across the street at [Boule Bakery](https://www.boulebakery.com/) instead. Perhaps our spinach artichoke pastry and almond croissant were less nutritious than a bagel with veggie cream cheese, but who's judging on a bike tour with a caloric deficit?

[![special thanks to smike taxi service](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/01.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/01.webp)
_special thanks to smike taxi service_

Once we grabbed our essential butter- and flour-based fuel, we proceeded North up the hill and transitioned to dirt roads even sooner than we thought -- easily within a half a mile. We climbed past the cemetery, along some satisfyingly pastoral farmland and trail-pocked forest, and eventually over Interstate 91, where I conveniently dropped my freshly-lubricated chain on the dustiest stretch of concrete possible. We took in the views, the vaguely-toxic scent of aerosolized tire rubber, and a hint of burning gasoline over the interstate, then happily moved onto the first major chunk of our ride: 30+ miles of rolling green country and dirt roads on our way to Glover and a promising hearty pizza lunch at [Parker Pies](https://www.parkerpie.com/).

[![friendly dogs on The Hill](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/02.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/02.webp)
_friendly dogs on The Hill_

[![breathing in that sweet sweet highway air before we switch to those nasty dirty dusty gravel roads](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/03.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/03.webp)
_breathing in that sweet sweet highway air before we switch to those nasty dirty dusty gravel roads_

I couldn't have asked for better conditions. The roads were practically empty. The views were sweeping, with much of our routing taking us past houses who clearly value the view enough to clear most neighboring trees. The sun was out and the sky was a perfect shade of Colorado blue, an indication of the surprisingly-low humidity that kept us the perfect amount of toasty in the sun, cool in the shade.

[![we saw a bear](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/04.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/04.webp)
_we saw a bear_

[![meg enjoys The Climb](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/05.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/05.webp)
_meg enjoys The Climb_

[![briefly contemplating rescuing toby from the goblin king](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/06.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/06.webp)
_briefly contemplating rescuing toby from the goblin king_

The air smelled like a typical late August in the rural Northeast: the last blooms of the latest-blooming zinnias and coneflowers, the cut-grass scent of sliced, yet not-quite-baled hay. The crisp, papery, slightly-sweet air of corn ripe enough to eat straight off the stalk.

[![dirt hills and good vibes](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/07.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/07.webp)
_dirt hills and good vibes_

[![corn; zinnias; cows](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/08.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/08.webp)
_corn; zinnias; cows_

[![obligatory oreo cows](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/09.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/09.webp)
_obligatory oreo cows_

A last-minute reroute past [Shadow Lake](https://shadowlakeassociation.org/a-bit-about-shadow-lake/) provided the first swimming hole of our journey, a beautiful place to enjoy a dried mango jerkey snack.

[![snackin at shadow lake](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/10.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/10.webp)
_snackin at shadow lake_

[![beach](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/11.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/11.webp)
_beach_

We zoomed past the lake on freshly-paved roads (that sadly used to be dirt just a couple of years ago) and nearly missed our next turn: our first taste of adventure onto one of Vermont's famous (to us, at least) class IV roads. Things started tame enough with some chonky baby-head gravel and an easy water crossing. Then the trail routed seemingly straight upwards. No strangers to vertical vermont veloing, we pushed ahead, and were eventually rewarded with a transition back to a normal dirt road, yet another class IV road (this one nearly a class III road in quality), and a lengthy descent, as what goes up must inevitably come down.

[![a very fast not-quite-wooly caterpillar](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/12.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/12.webp)
_a very fast not-quite-wooly caterpillar_

[![water crossing](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/15.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/15.webp)
_water crossing_

[![dis road b chonk](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/16.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/16.webp)
_dis road b chonk_

[![us, not minding the chonk one bit](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/17.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/17.webp)
_us, not minding the chonk one bit_

The descent took us very nearly to our lunch destination in the early hours of the afternoon, with one problem: two **ROAD CLOSED** signs, one electronic, one analog. Too shy to inquire for an exception with the nearby Town of Glover employee, we consulted our map and chose to try routing West around Lake Parker. 45 minutes later, we discovered our error at a locked gate with a No Trespassing sign at the end of Philips Road, a solid half-mile before Town Highway 32 ought to begin.

[![5 minutes before the locked gate](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/14.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/14.webp)
_5 minutes before the locked gate_

With the afternoon rapidly disappearing before our eyes almost as fast as our hopes for delicious pizza, salad, and beer, we headed down the hill, where we discovered the analog sign moved off to the side of the road, but the electronic **ROAD CLOSED** sign still dissuading us. But we really had no alternative route, other than pushing our way back up multiple steep class IV roads to Shadow lake and rerouting along miles of busy (for Vermont) paved highway. Refusing to touch our tires to so much pavement, we decided to chance the possibly-not-closed road. At some point, bikes are more flexible than cars, since we can always walk along the shoulder of roadwork, so it made sense to ask for forgiveness, not permission. Turns out to have been the right attitude, since we biked all the way to West Glover without seeing a single town employee or any sign of work whatsoever. The slightly-downhill road provided idyllic views of Lake Parker, and at the end of the road, I was slightly validated -- and slightly annoyed -- to discover another set of **ROAD CLOSED** signs that had been much more helpfully relegated to the side of the road.

[![ready for pizza](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/18.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/18.webp)
_ready for pizza_

[![dat post-pizza glow](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/19.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/19.webp)
_dat post-pizza glow_

[![mandarb and sully basking in the pirate ethos of human-powered propulsion](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/20.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/20.webp)
_mandarb and sully basking in the pirate ethos of human-powered propulsion_

Our struggles were finally rewarded with a delicious Green Mountain Pizza and Dave's Salad, replete with Bayley Hazen blue cheese and candied walnuts. We relaxed our tired quads in the backyard and prepared for the last push of the day, another 15 or so miles of slightly-less-pointy dirt roads ending in Greensboro.

[![figure 21: a less-pointy dirt road](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/21.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/21.webp)
_figure 21: a less-pointy dirt road_

[![figure 22: meg enjoying a less-pointy dirt road](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/22.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/22.webp)
_figure 22: meg enjoying a less-pointy dirt road_

Compared to our hungry, desperate struggle to get to lunch, the afternoon's ride was easy. Many of the roads were obviously recently re-graded, providing that perfectly smooth dirt road ride quality that's closer to a self-sealing concrete than the dusty, rocky mess you get on neglected dirt roads. We briefly stopped in a cemetery for a water break (entertaining ourselves with a competition to find the oldest gravestone), but very few of the hills were steep enough to slow us down.

[![competition winner](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/23.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/23.webp)
_competition winner_

It wasn't long before we arrived in Greensboro, taking the opportunity to snag a photo of our campsite from a nearby ridge, and swing by the beach for yet another swim (a tradition we would uphold every day of this tour).

[![first glimpse of our five-years-running farm campsite from the ridge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/24.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/24.webp)
_first glimpse of our five-years-running farm campsite from the ridge_

[![a pre-camp swim](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/25.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/25.webp)
_a pre-camp swim_

[![got my bike, my wood, my goats](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/26.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/26.webp)
_got my bike, my wood, my goats_

[![cute curious critters](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/27.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/27.webp)
_cute curious critters_

We checked in at our campsite, set up a fire, prepared the tent, and cracked a cold one under the stars. Not a bad start to the tour.

[![cracking a cold one under the stars requires precision](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/28.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/28.webp)
_cracking a cold one under the stars requires precision_

[![the author, presumably mid-ghost story](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/thumbnails/images/2026_08_27/29.webp)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nathan-contino/images/main/reasonable-images/2026_08_27/29.webp)
_the author, presumably mid-ghost story_