Bethel Mountain Road & Woodstock

A loop through central Vermont: from Rochester you cross the mountain on Bethel Mountain Road to Bethel, run down VT-12 through Barnard to Woodstock, head back west on US-4 through Bridgewater Corners and Killington, and ride VT-100 north through Pittsfield to Rochester. It's 70 miles of mountain climb, valleys and postcard villages. Note: a little over a mile from the Rochester green, Bethel Mountain Road turns 90° to the right; go straight and you're on dirt. Fuel in Woodstock or Killington.

Bethel Mountain Road climbs from VT-100 in Rochester over the ridge to VT-12 near Bethel, topping out above 2,000 feet. It's paved, but the turn that matters comes early: a little over a mile from the Rochester green the road bends 90 degrees to the right, and the road straight ahead is dirt. From Bethel, VT-12 runs south through Barnard, where the general store has served the town since 1832 and is now owned by a community trust, across the road from Silver Lake.

Woodstock is the classic stop: the Middle Covered Bridge, built in 1969 and pulled across the Ottauquechee by a team of oxen, crosses the river in the village, and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is on the edge of the village. Heading west on US-4, Long Trail Brewing in Bridgewater Corners has a pub at the corner of US-4 and VT-100A. The return climbs past Killington and runs up VT-100 through Pittsfield. There's fuel in Woodstock and Killington.