Lake Willoughby · VT-5A

A loop around Vermont's most dramatic lake: from Lyndonville you ride up to West Burke, take VT-5A along the shore of Lake Willoughby, between the cliffs of Mt Pisgah and Mt Hor, and come back on VT-16 to Barton and through Glover and Sheffield to Lyndonville. It's 47 miles of Northeast Kingdom farm country with the lake as the main event. Along the lake there are about five miles with no shoulder: stop the pack at the north and south beaches, not on the road. Fuel in Lyndonville.

Lake Willoughby sits in a deep notch between Mount Pisgah on the east and Mount Hor on the west, carved by glacial ice into the bedrock, and at around 300 feet it is one of the deepest lakes in Vermont. The pair of mountains is known as Willoughby Gap, and the Lake Willoughby Natural Area around it was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967. VT-5A runs right along the eastern shore, under the cliffs of Pisgah, with a beach at each end of the lake.

Along the lake the road has about five miles without a shoulder, so plan your stops at the north and south beaches rather than on the road. On the way back, VT-16 passes Crystal Lake State Park in Barton, another beach with a lot right off the highway, and the loop rolls through the farm country of Glover and Sheffield. In Lyndonville, near the start, there are covered bridges a few steps off the route. There's fuel in Lyndonville and Barton.