We used to put our bike gear away for the winter, but with the invention of fat biking, now we swap out our gravel bikes for fat bikes and keep the pedals turning in Montpelier all year long! Fat bikes have soared in popularity in the last few years, and the Montpelier Area Mountain Bike Association, Montpelier Parks, and private landowners have jumped on the trend and enabled trail access and grooming on 15 connected miles of trails for public use. 

Onion River Outdoors in downtown Montpelier has fat bike rentals so you can join in the fun. Fat bikes get their name from the wide tires: Regular mountain bike tires are around 2–3”, while fat bike tires are 4–5”, and you typically don’t inflate them as much, which keeps the tires soft. The extra width and squishiness helps riders float on top of the snow without sinking and getting stuck (most of the time!). Now you’ve got even another way to stay active in Montpelier in the winter—go enjoy that snow!

The local spots

Hubbard Park, North Branch Park

Just outside town

Millstone, Perry Hill, Cady Hill

Day tripping

Kingdom Trails, Woodstock Inn, Grafton