Three Stallion Inn
Randolph, Vermont

By Katie Arnold

It's no surprise that Randolph is fast becoming the Moab of New England. The white-steepled hamlet, surrounded by 360 acres of Green Mountain National Forest and 265 mapped miles of logging roads and winding singletrack, boasts the Northeast's largest network of mountain-bike trails. The hub for local fat-tire fanatics is the Three Stallion Inn, an 18th-century Victorian farmhouse-turned-country lodge with 25 miles of trail in the backyard and hosting rights to the four-year-old New England Mountain Biking Festival. When the maples turn fiery red and summer crowds begin to dwindle in October, it's the perfect time to book a room and spend the weekend pedaling the leaf-strewn trails.

At the Inn: Fuel up on a breakfast of banana-bread French toast. Then head across the dewy field for a few warm-up loops on the NORBA-sanctioned, six-mile Race Trail.

Out the Front Door: Advanced riders with workhorse quads should tackle the 22.5-mile Mount Cushman Ridge Loop. Climbing steeply out of downtown Randolph to the 2,750-foot summit, the trail then snakes along a wooded ridgetop. Also starting from town are the 9.3-mile Maple Ridge Sheep Farm Loop and the 12-mile Mud Pond Loop, both patchworks of dirt roads, singletrack, and pavement.

Getting There: The Three Stallion Inn is two miles off I-89, a two-hour drive from Boston and five from New York.

Staying There: Fall rates range from $81 to $112. Call 800-424-5358. At nearby Bicycle Express (802-728-5568), rentals cost $20 per day.