About the only truly flat place to run in the Mad River Valley is Rt 100, which tends to have narrow shoulders and heavy traffic, but on the plus side, frequent swimming holes. There is a path alongside the river, which has been under development for some time – I don’t know how far it goes continuously yet. Probably the best bet for a longer “out and back” run with (by Vermont standards at least) moderate ups and downs might be something connecting the North Road (shown as N road on google maps) which runs parallel to Rt 100 on the east side of the river to the north of town. Heading south,this will climb up to the Common Road, which connects to the East Warren Road. While this route has a few “dip and climbs”, it pretty continuously follows the side of the hill with great views west, and has light traffic – let me know if you like it.

I am heading to the Mad River Valley next week for mini vacation. It is my first time there and super excited! I am currently training for a marathon in October and I need to do a long 20 mile run while I am there to stick with my training plan. Do you know of any good routes? I am happy to make a couple loops to get the distance in. Or is there a run group in the area that goes out on weekends? Also, I’m from Chicago…so the flatter the better if possible! Thanks for any help you could offer me!