bike-map-cover-100pxIt doesn’t get much better than bicycling on the Kitsap Peninsula. The scenery is gorgeous. There’s always a shady spot to rest. And with more than 370 miles of shoreline, there are plenty of places to dip your toes in the water when you need to cool off.

To help plan your trip, check out our new VKP Visitor Guide & Outdoor Recreation-Bike Map with 14 popular bike routes on the Kitsap Peninsula. You can pick one up at REI in Silverdale, Seattle and Tacoma, visitor centers, the WA State Ferry and other locations. Click here for more locations and to view a PDF. Click here for links to routes featured in the Bike map.

bike-loops-190We asked Dave Brumsickle, a local cycling guru and owner of Silverdale Cyclery, about his favorite Kitsap rides and here’s what he had to say:

Classic Easy/ Family Ride – Big Valley Road in Poulsbo – It’s quite flat with reasonable shoulders and low traffic volume.  You can leave your car at the Chevron station at the corner of Big Valley and WA 3. The out-and-back ride is about 5 miles each way.

Most Scenic – Beach Drive between downtown Port Orchard and Southworth – It’s pretty flat, but has narrow shoulders and is safer at low-traffic hours (middle of a weekday or early on a weekend day). It’s around 13 miles each way. There is a beautiful stop along the water at Manchester State Park.

Beautiful but Demanding – Seabeck to Holly to Gold Creek Road – It’s a loop of about 40 miles with plenty of hills and very little traffic on wide-open roads in tree farm country. You can usually count on seeing a few deer.

Local Favorite – Silverdale, along Chico Road, to Northlake Way, around Kitsap Lake, and back on Austin Drive to Chico – We often add a loop around Erland’s Point. It’s about 19 miles and only has one big hill, on the back side of Kitsap Lake. We always end the ride with a stop at Monica’s Waterfront Bakery & Café.

Route for Cycling Tourists – They are usually headed north or south through Kitsap. From the Hood Canal Bridge, take WA 3 south (decent shoulders), turn toward Kitsap Memorial State Park and go through Lofall. That pops out onto Clear Creek Road, which is pretty flat with modest to low traffic. Clear Creek goes all the way to Silverdale, or you can go onto Old Frontier, which becomes Provost and will drop out onto Chico Way. Chico will become Kitsap Way to Bremerton or take the Old Belfair Highway to Belfair State Park.

Advice – The important thing to remember about Kitsap is that cycling is pretty easy going north-south. Any east-west riding involves climbing over a series of ridges and is much more strenuous. For example, a loop ride to Seabeck from Silverdale and around Holly Road (about 20 miles) has about 3,000 feet of climbing.

To plan your cycling trip and find out about upcoming group rides and events, visit us at VisitKitsap.com/cycling.