Route Map

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ANACORTES, WASHINGTON, TO FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA
The Sea to See Ride begins with lush forests and the Pacific Ocean in Anacortes, Washington. You’ll head eastward along the rushing Skagit River up to the top of the Rainy and Washington passes in the Cascade Mountains. Descending to the east side of the Cascades brings you into the drier part of the state and the widely known orchard country of the Okanogan Valley. Leaving this valley, you'll be climbing and descending several more passes full of ponderosa pines and finding many sleepy farming communities down along the rivers you cross. Working your way up and down you’ll find plenty of towns, rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests in eastern Washington, Idaho, and western Montana until you reach Cut Bank, on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.

Cut Bank is the beginning of the Great Plains. You'll follow the Missouri River from Havre, Montana, to New Town, North Dakota, and the plains of Montana eventually transform into the green rolling hills of western North Dakota. Sunflowers are everywhere, and they become the crop of choice as the terrain flattens out in eastern North Dakota. Fargo is located on the banks of the Red River, on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota.

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, TO MUSCATINE, IOWA
Heading east from Fargo and Moorhead in the Red River Valley, you begin to slowly leave the Great Plains. Lakes and hills become the standard scenery. The birthplace of the Mississippi River is in Lake Itasca State Park, in northern Minnesota. This area is so full of forests, lakes, and rivers that it draws many recreationalists during the summer months. The route follows the Mississippi River, until it heads east around the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding towns.  At Prescott, Wisconsin, the St. Croix joins the Mississippi, and the route again follows that river southward.  Small laid-back farm towns are abundant through Iowa. This portion of the route ends in Muscatine, an old industrial town located on the Mississippi.

MUSCATINE, IOWA, TO BAR HARBOR, MAINE
Beginning at the Mississippi River, the route traverses the large prairie farms of central Illinois and the smaller farms of Indiana and Ohio, eventually reaching the shore of Lake Erie at Huron, Ohio. Heading through busy Cleveland, you'll pass the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Science Center and its IMAX theater, a retired Great Lakes iron ore freighter, and a World War II submarine.

Along the lake shore in eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, the route passes through small towns, where tourists flock to the shore during summer. In Erie, Pennsylvania, you can explore the miles of sand beach at Presque Isle State Park and the replica of the sailing ship Niagara, Admiral Perry's flagship in the War of 1812 Battle of Lake Erie. Leaving Erie, the route enters the fruit and wine region of Pennsylvania and New York and hugs the relatively rural lake shore to the outskirts of Buffalo, New York.

The route follows one of the most scenic recreational trails in North America along the Niagara River to Niagara Falls. Heading east, the route uses the Erie Canalway Trail for 90 miles along a waterway dripping with history. At Palmyra, the route turns north to Lake Ontario, where it follows the lake shore to Sodus Bay, dips inland to Fair Haven, and then leaves the Great Lakes to cross the Adirondack Mountains and arrive at Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

After a short ferry ride over the lake, you are in New England, cycling through Vermont farmland, forested hills, and picturesque villages. In New Hampshire, the route follows the Connecticut River, passing through the villages of Orford with its ridge houses and Haverhill, a classic New England village with its fenced village commons and old homes. The route crosses the White Mountains, the backbone of New Hampshire, on the famous Kancamagus Highway. Entering Maine, you'll traverse forests and fields, arriving at Damariscotta on the coast. After crossing the Penobscot River and Acadia National Park  you’ll arrive Bar Harbor, the end of the route!

© Copyright 1997-2007 Adventure Cycling Association. Photo by Dennis Coello.