R88

My wife and I travel to different cities for bicycle vacations. We'll get a cheap hotel and spend our days bicycling around town. We ride about 50-60 miles a day and look for cities with good paved bike paths separated from traffic. We've been to Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, & L.A. All these cities have phenomenal bike paths. Does anyone have any suggestions for other cities that are notable for their bike friendliness?
We've been to Portland and were a little disappointed, it didn't seem to live up to it's reputation, lots of bike lanes but the paths were limited in miles and repair.
Also, when you get to a new city it's very easy to miss some very good routes. Without local knowledge you often over look a path because every time it crosses from one city or county to another it will change it's name. What looks like short individual trails is actually one seamless 30 mile ride.

late

There are lots and lots of places to go.

Sounds like you're a long ways from New England, but I've done a lot of touring around here.

Just pick some place that appeals to you and your family, and then do a couple of posts asking
for help.

goagain

A long way from the cities you mentioned, but Hilton Head Island, SC, has lots of bike paths.

DieselDan

You beat me to HHI. I work there in a bike shop. You can ride on the beach at low tide, as the sand packs down to a pavement hardness surface. You will have to spend some time cleaning and lubing the bikes. There are plenty of places to rent bikes, even bikes with shifting. (Not plugging my company)

Just outside of HHI plenty of pathways and bikes lanes have been added with new roads and road improvement projects. You and the wife can get a decent ride in Bluffton, SC going into Palmetto Bluff, if bike lanes and shoulders don't scare you.

PM me if you'd like if you'd like to visit. HHI even has a commercial airport (HHH) with flights to and from Charlotte (CLT).

ncbikers

We are also looking for trails/paths to ride. We don't like the cars on the roads. To get some suggestions go to Traillink.com which is the site for Rails-To-Trails Conservancy. Click on Explore Trails and then either search by city or state or try "Top Cities". They tell you a lot of the connecting trails. We agree there should be a better listing but so far you need to find who owns the trails. You can also try searching on "paths in (you supply either a state or city)". Some searches work better than others. Good luck!

ncbikers

Another option might be something like the Erie Canal Path in NY. It is 400 mile flat path along the old Erie Canal. There is a mass organized ride once a year. There are several smaller groups that do it with support and there is a guide book that shows you things to see and do along the path if you want to do it by yourself. Another one similar in nature is the C&O Canal path that starts in DC and goes to Cumberland MD. You can then continue on to Pittsburgh PA on the GAP trail. Wider tires are suggested for most of these.

rm -rf

Google Maps shows bike trails in dark green when you select Bicycling from the pull-down map list. (If you are zoomed way out to a mult-state view, it won't show the trails.) Bike lanes are light green, and recommended roads are dotted green.

Pick one, then zoom way in on a trail to see it's name repeated along the trail.

For instance, the local SW Ohio trails are all on this map: (Google Map Link), from the short ones within a park to the 78 mile Little Miami Scenic Trail


So, pick a city or area you like, and see what kind of trails they have.