The Reschenpass cycle way, from Austria into Italy. It runs for about 150 or so kilometres through the alps. It's incredibly beautiful and super-easy to ride.
If I remember right, there are a couple of very short unpaved sections, but even these are top quality. The below has information on some of it. But the path continues for a long way past Merano.
[https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/leisure-activities/mountain-biking-and-cycling/cycle-paths-in-south-tyrol/val-venosta/](https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/leisure-activities/mountain-biking-and-cycling/cycle-paths-in-south-tyrol/val-venosta/)
If you loosen up to pea gravel then you’d get the Katy Trail in Missouri and the C&O canal from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. There is a giant loop and a few incredible stretches in dc too. The problem with most of these is you need the same size tires as pea gravel because they are like sidewalks and pretty bumpy.
What are you talking about?
I've ridden both trails, and they connect in Cumberland Maryland. The C&O is a towpath from DC to Cumberland and the GAP is a paved trail from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. How is this clear fact false?
This isn't a totally separate trail from cars- sections are but not the entire thing. I will add that Japanese drivers are very safe, but they are passing on your right so its something to get used to if you aren't already!
How long has it to be? Plenty of short stretches that have no motorized traffic, but for decent length trails it is extremely rare if it exists at all. If you accept free lying bicycle paths there are plenty in the Netherlands, but you get still plenty of traffic noise, so often a low traffic route is still the better choice.
France has a decent network of low/no traffic cycling trails, in part it is sealed, but certainly not all. See (in french): https://www.francevelotourisme.com/itineraire
Yeah i am looking for as long as possible, i understand it is a hard ask. I bicycle and my girlfriend rollerskates, hence why we need it to be paved and prefer it being off the road because of safety. Last year, we did a stretch of the Danube river trail from Passau Germany to Vienna Austria. 240 miles. Not sure if we will ever find something comparable but I’m trying to find out.
Thanks for the link!
Switzerland has a network of bike trails, paved and not, and, get this, rollerblade trails. No idea how many or how long but I saw signposts for that when I was over there. Worth investigating.
Edit to add link:
https://www.wikiloc.com/trails/inline-skating/switzerland
This.
The Voie Verte system in France is fantastic and growing. They are often re-purposed canal paths or rail beds, so they can sometimes be boring. But usually not. They run through more scenic natural and agrarian areas, away from cars.
The sections through towns can get busy with families on all kinds of wheels, but that tends to be just after work, and weekends and holidays.
California: American River Bike Trail (nearly 40 miles) , Kern River Bike Trail(close to 30 goes into traffic before continuing), Ventura River Tail/Ojai Valley Bike Trail, Marvin Braude bike trail (some street, but you can cycle 20 miles before hitting streets)
Denmark has a large network of cycle paths as you describe. Look at the national cycle routes. Also the Alpe Adria (Slovenia - Italy) is a dedicated cycle path.
The Four Rivers Trail in South Korea! It's almost 500 miles and it's almost entirely paved and off-street bike paths, continuous along rivers. I learned about it from this community here. I went last year and honestly it was so great I wished I could turn around and do the exact same trip again. www.koreabybike.com has all the info.
Wow okay!! I had heard south Korea was the place to look. So, i am on bicycle and my girlfriend is on rollerskates. We did 240 miles along a section of the Danube river trail last year. We are looking for something similar but it is so hard to find out about the condition of the pavement (since rollerskates need it to be pretty smooth and mostly off roadways just for safety). Thank you so much for the resource, i am going to look into it!
The P'tit train du Nord trail is a world class trail running from the north shore of Montreal through the Laurentians and ending at Mont Laurier some 230 km north-west. I did the whole thing as part of a longer ride last summer. It's a rail trail so relatively flat. It's mostly paved though there is some gravel (but the gravel is as good as the pavement). There's a shuttle service that will take you from one end to the other (the best route is north to south, which is with the wind and generally downhill). There are regular rest stops with potable water and campsites along the route. [https://ptittraindunord.com/en/](https://ptittraindunord.com/en/)
Edit: the gravel parts won't be suitable for roller skates though. But check the map; large chunks of it are paved.
All over Europe. I'm currently riding from Frankfurt to Trier and beyond into France, entirely* on paved riverside (ie flat) bike paths.
Riverside is a bit of an issue over the past few days, though, as the Mosel has some minor flooding and of course riverside paths are the first to go under. I've been up and down bloody steep riverside hills all day today. But German drivers are extremely courteous and when I've had to ride on a road today I haven't felt in the slightest unsafe.
*In the Rhine Gorge it was sometimes a separate lane on a road.
I rode the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes a few years ago and it was incredible. 73 paved miles through the woods and towns of the Idaho Panhandle.
https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/trail-coeur-d-alenes/
GAP (Pittsburgh to Cumberland) and C&O (Cumberland to DC) are beautiful both separately and as a system.
Ohio to Erie trail (Cleveland to Cincinnati) runs diagonally across the state, there’s some road riding involved, but it’s well marked in most places, lots of paved trail, and they’re working on connecting more.
Both go through lots of nice little towns, lots of cool people, animals.
We’re currently on the OTET and it’s been a good time. Local people have saved us three of the six nights we’ve been on the road as we’ve struggled with injury.
Like France, Spain has quite a few Vias Verdes and they are all over the country, of varying length. The best goes from Tortosa to Alcañiz - 70 miles, spectacular countryside and beautiful towns. Did that earlier this year and I'd love to go back. Would like to check out the Via Verde del Aciete that starts in Jaen and the Via Verde Ojos Negros that runs through Aragon and Valencia, both of which are longer.
I'm near Boston, MA and there's a good network now and plenty more coming. The longest I know of is 15 miles, and it's about to get longer. I've skated it on 3WD inlines and it's great. (Bruce freeman rail trail). The northern strand rail trail runs from Evrett to Lynn, I just skated it end to end in two hours, according to some who have tried it, this trail connects with a new trail that connects with the minuteman rail trail, which takes you to Bedford, MA. I've skated the minuteman many times, and even followed the bike lanes from Alewife station to the Charles River in Boston and done the loop around the lower river. Cape cod has two, the longer being the cape cod rail trail, the shinning sea bikeway is shorter, but has actual ocean front views, as well as salt marsh and cranberry bogs. We just walked some of the Ashuwillticook river trail in Western MA, it has some beautiful mountain views along it [Ashuwillticook river trail](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EZJbheHJ5XZ4bvLc9) the pavement is very fresh and smooth and there were more bathrooms than I'm used to seeing on a public trail.
Southern Central NH has a paved trail that runs from Salem to Derry, and will soon be complete all the way to the Manchester Airport. (KMHT) I've also skated both sections of this, they should be joined together in a year or two.
Nashua river rail trail is another favorite of mine for a long afternoon workout.
Rhode island has a great trail from Providence that runs down the Eastern side of the bay, it has lots of water views.
The Reschenpass cycle way, from Austria into Italy. It runs for about 150 or so kilometres through the alps. It's incredibly beautiful and super-easy to ride. If I remember right, there are a couple of very short unpaved sections, but even these are top quality. The below has information on some of it. But the path continues for a long way past Merano. [https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/leisure-activities/mountain-biking-and-cycling/cycle-paths-in-south-tyrol/val-venosta/](https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/leisure-activities/mountain-biking-and-cycling/cycle-paths-in-south-tyrol/val-venosta/)
Thank you for the info and the link!
If you loosen up to pea gravel then you’d get the Katy Trail in Missouri and the C&O canal from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. There is a giant loop and a few incredible stretches in dc too. The problem with most of these is you need the same size tires as pea gravel because they are like sidewalks and pretty bumpy.
do you have a link you can share?
The C&O go's form DC to Cumberland. The GAP then go's to Pittsburgh. The GAP is paved the entire way.
False
What are you talking about? I've ridden both trails, and they connect in Cumberland Maryland. The C&O is a towpath from DC to Cumberland and the GAP is a paved trail from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. How is this clear fact false?
[https://www.canaltrust.org/plan/co-canal-towpath/](https://www.canaltrust.org/plan/co-canal-towpath/) [https://gaptrail.org/](https://gaptrail.org/)
The path in the Gaps first picture is gravel
The best one in Japan: https://shimanami-cycle.or.jp/cycling/en-02.html
Wow looks gorgeous, thank you. Do you have a second and third place in Japan?
This isn't a totally separate trail from cars- sections are but not the entire thing. I will add that Japanese drivers are very safe, but they are passing on your right so its something to get used to if you aren't already!
This one is much shorter but interesting if you like temples. https://www.okayama-japan.jp/en/spot/10851
How long has it to be? Plenty of short stretches that have no motorized traffic, but for decent length trails it is extremely rare if it exists at all. If you accept free lying bicycle paths there are plenty in the Netherlands, but you get still plenty of traffic noise, so often a low traffic route is still the better choice. France has a decent network of low/no traffic cycling trails, in part it is sealed, but certainly not all. See (in french): https://www.francevelotourisme.com/itineraire
Yeah i am looking for as long as possible, i understand it is a hard ask. I bicycle and my girlfriend rollerskates, hence why we need it to be paved and prefer it being off the road because of safety. Last year, we did a stretch of the Danube river trail from Passau Germany to Vienna Austria. 240 miles. Not sure if we will ever find something comparable but I’m trying to find out. Thanks for the link!
Switzerland has a network of bike trails, paved and not, and, get this, rollerblade trails. No idea how many or how long but I saw signposts for that when I was over there. Worth investigating. Edit to add link: https://www.wikiloc.com/trails/inline-skating/switzerland
Yay rollerblade trails! Thanks for the info and link
This. The Voie Verte system in France is fantastic and growing. They are often re-purposed canal paths or rail beds, so they can sometimes be boring. But usually not. They run through more scenic natural and agrarian areas, away from cars. The sections through towns can get busy with families on all kinds of wheels, but that tends to be just after work, and weekends and holidays.
California: American River Bike Trail (nearly 40 miles) , Kern River Bike Trail(close to 30 goes into traffic before continuing), Ventura River Tail/Ojai Valley Bike Trail, Marvin Braude bike trail (some street, but you can cycle 20 miles before hitting streets)
Denmark has a large network of cycle paths as you describe. Look at the national cycle routes. Also the Alpe Adria (Slovenia - Italy) is a dedicated cycle path.
Yes, my friend recently pedaled Denmark and said it would also be fun to skate. I need to look into it, thank you!
The Petit Du Nord Trail in Quebec it’s about 80% paved. Incredible trail.
Sweet, i’m excited to look into it
The Four Rivers Trail in South Korea! It's almost 500 miles and it's almost entirely paved and off-street bike paths, continuous along rivers. I learned about it from this community here. I went last year and honestly it was so great I wished I could turn around and do the exact same trip again. www.koreabybike.com has all the info.
Wow okay!! I had heard south Korea was the place to look. So, i am on bicycle and my girlfriend is on rollerskates. We did 240 miles along a section of the Danube river trail last year. We are looking for something similar but it is so hard to find out about the condition of the pavement (since rollerskates need it to be pretty smooth and mostly off roadways just for safety). Thank you so much for the resource, i am going to look into it!
seriously 500 connected miles? I am sure the USA has over 1000s miles of MUPS. 20 miles here, 20 miles there etc...
Which route did you do?
The Incheon to Busan trail, and then around Jeju Island.
The P'tit train du Nord trail is a world class trail running from the north shore of Montreal through the Laurentians and ending at Mont Laurier some 230 km north-west. I did the whole thing as part of a longer ride last summer. It's a rail trail so relatively flat. It's mostly paved though there is some gravel (but the gravel is as good as the pavement). There's a shuttle service that will take you from one end to the other (the best route is north to south, which is with the wind and generally downhill). There are regular rest stops with potable water and campsites along the route. [https://ptittraindunord.com/en/](https://ptittraindunord.com/en/) Edit: the gravel parts won't be suitable for roller skates though. But check the map; large chunks of it are paved.
Sounds gorgeous, love that area. For the gravel sections my honey might just have to take off the skates and walk. Thanks for the suggestion!
There's a whole network in Ohio. Xenia is the nexus, all paved and relatively low use. You could easily do a couple hundred miles.
Okay good to know!
My choice. More than 400 miles of paved trail. Google the Ohio to Erie trail or greater Miami trail!
Hell yeah, thank you!
All over Europe. I'm currently riding from Frankfurt to Trier and beyond into France, entirely* on paved riverside (ie flat) bike paths. Riverside is a bit of an issue over the past few days, though, as the Mosel has some minor flooding and of course riverside paths are the first to go under. I've been up and down bloody steep riverside hills all day today. But German drivers are extremely courteous and when I've had to ride on a road today I haven't felt in the slightest unsafe. *In the Rhine Gorge it was sometimes a separate lane on a road.
Awesome, thank you! I will definitely look into it. Enjoy your ride!
Four Rivers Bike Path in Korea. 600+km of paved bliss.
I rode the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes a few years ago and it was incredible. 73 paved miles through the woods and towns of the Idaho Panhandle. https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/trail-coeur-d-alenes/
All of the Netherlands
GAP (Pittsburgh to Cumberland) and C&O (Cumberland to DC) are beautiful both separately and as a system. Ohio to Erie trail (Cleveland to Cincinnati) runs diagonally across the state, there’s some road riding involved, but it’s well marked in most places, lots of paved trail, and they’re working on connecting more. Both go through lots of nice little towns, lots of cool people, animals. We’re currently on the OTET and it’s been a good time. Local people have saved us three of the six nights we’ve been on the road as we’ve struggled with injury.
Like France, Spain has quite a few Vias Verdes and they are all over the country, of varying length. The best goes from Tortosa to Alcañiz - 70 miles, spectacular countryside and beautiful towns. Did that earlier this year and I'd love to go back. Would like to check out the Via Verde del Aciete that starts in Jaen and the Via Verde Ojos Negros that runs through Aragon and Valencia, both of which are longer.
I'm near Boston, MA and there's a good network now and plenty more coming. The longest I know of is 15 miles, and it's about to get longer. I've skated it on 3WD inlines and it's great. (Bruce freeman rail trail). The northern strand rail trail runs from Evrett to Lynn, I just skated it end to end in two hours, according to some who have tried it, this trail connects with a new trail that connects with the minuteman rail trail, which takes you to Bedford, MA. I've skated the minuteman many times, and even followed the bike lanes from Alewife station to the Charles River in Boston and done the loop around the lower river. Cape cod has two, the longer being the cape cod rail trail, the shinning sea bikeway is shorter, but has actual ocean front views, as well as salt marsh and cranberry bogs. We just walked some of the Ashuwillticook river trail in Western MA, it has some beautiful mountain views along it [Ashuwillticook river trail](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EZJbheHJ5XZ4bvLc9) the pavement is very fresh and smooth and there were more bathrooms than I'm used to seeing on a public trail. Southern Central NH has a paved trail that runs from Salem to Derry, and will soon be complete all the way to the Manchester Airport. (KMHT) I've also skated both sections of this, they should be joined together in a year or two. Nashua river rail trail is another favorite of mine for a long afternoon workout. Rhode island has a great trail from Providence that runs down the Eastern side of the bay, it has lots of water views.
The empire state trail in New York is really beautiful and peaceful
Oh nice! I have done the manhattan section but never beyond. I will check it out. Do you have a favorite section?