Roamer: The Best Bike Rides in Waitsfield, VT

July 2025 | Waitsfield, VT

Proudly explored, loved and recommended by Riders Outpost in Waitsfield, VT

July 2025 | Waitsfield, VT

Proudly explored, loved and recommended by Riders Outpost in Waitsfield, VT

Mountain Bike Riding in Waitsfield, VT

Waitsfield, Vermont is the perfect summer town. Lovingly referred to as “the Valley,” it sits right at the base of the Green Mountains.

The Mad River snakes through town, offering refreshing swimming holes and picturesque covered bridges. Even though Richmond is located on the other side of the mountains, we all find ourselves spending numerous days in Waitsfield every summer and can’t help feeling jealous of Lily whose home base is there. It’s the kind of place where you can’t spend just one day, there are simply too many activities to get done in 24 hours. It has anything you could ask for, from Green Mountain views to mountain bike trails to creemee stands.

When spending the night in Waitsfield, Madbush Falls is the place to stay and begin all your adventures from. Located three miles south of town, it has everything you need to complete the perfect weekend: the option to sleep in a hotel room, private cabin, or tent, locally sourced breakfast, lunch, and dinner, running, riding, and swimming right out the door, and their very own bike shop, Riders Outpost.

The Mad River snakes through town, offering refreshing swimming holes and picturesque covered bridges. Even though Richmond is located on the other side of the mountains, we all find ourselves spending numerous days in Waitsfield every summer and can’t help feeling jealous of Lily whose home base is there. It’s the kind of place where you can’t spend just one day, there are simply too many activities to get done in 24 hours. It has anything you could ask for, from Green Mountain views to mountain bike trails to creemee stands.

When spending the night in Waitsfield, Madbush Falls is the place to stay and begin all your adventures from. Located three miles south of town, it has everything you need to complete the perfect weekend: the option to sleep in a hotel room, private cabin, or tent, locally sourced breakfast, lunch, and dinner, running, riding, and swimming right out the door, and their very own bike shop, Riders Outpost.

But even if you are staying at Madbush Falls, you don’t want to miss out on the pure Vermont vibes in the town of Waitsfield.

A pre-ride coffee and breakfast burrito from Three Mountain Cafe will fuel you until you need a burger and a creemee from Canteen Creemee. If you don’t know of the VT classic that is a creemee, your life is about to be changed. (Picture soft serve ice cream but creamier and way way better.) The taproom at Lawsons Finest Liquids is truly the finest way to end your day with world class VT beer and food for everyone to enjoy.

We paired up with Riders Outpost to get their favorite mountain bike ride recommendations for Waitsfield, and honestly they are making me want to stop writing this, grab my bike, hop in the car, and hit the trails in the Valley.

But - I’ll push through so that you can get the ride deets too.

A pre-ride coffee and breakfast burrito from Three Mountain Cafe will fuel you until you need a burger and a creemee from Canteen Creemee. If you don’t know of the VT classic that is a creemee, your life is about to be changed. (Picture soft serve ice cream but creamier and way way better.) The taproom at Lawsons Finest Liquids is truly the finest way to end your day with world class VT beer and food for everyone to enjoy.

We paired up with Riders Outpost to get their favorite mountain bike ride recommendations for Waitsfield, and honestly they are making me want to stop writing this, grab my bike, hop in the car, and hit the trails in the Valley.

But - I’ll push through so that you can get the ride deets too.

The Rides:

Person mountain biking on a rocky trail in a forest

Ride 1: Good Night Irene Lunch Lap

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks

Ride 1: Good Night Irene Lunch Lap

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks

Ride 1: Good Night Irene Lunch Lap

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks

Waitsfield, VT // Mountain Bike

4.7 mi / +900 ft

Ride info from Riders Outpost: It’s a great quick lap that can showcase what the Mad River Valley trails are all about. Challenging tech, climbing, amazing wilderness, and some of the coolest and most creative downhill trails around. It somehow manages to blend the raw and rugged nature of the valley with some high speed flow without ever feeling disjointed.

Start from the shop and a short pedal up Butternut Hill road until you hit Butter Up which is a smooth switchbacky climb up the hill. Next you connect onto Clinic which is a techy challenging traverse for a short bit until reaching GS which is a techy climb up to Dana Hill Rd (class 4 road used to connect a lot of the network. Pedal along Dana Hill for a short bit and enter into Busternut which is all tight berms and finally Reach Good Night Irene! This trail is an awesome mix of tech, flow, sick features, and, if you pay really close attention, some really fun local lines leading to some other cool features and gaps you'd otherwise miss. This spits you out onto Butternut Hill road to pedal back to the shop to fix your bike and grab a post ride beer and a dip in the waterfall!

Download: Strava - Trailforks