Key Takeaways
- Seattle, San Francisco, and Miami are the most bike-friendly scenic cities to explore.
- The cities with the most road biking trails are Houston, TX (36), and Portland, OR (31).
- Portland, OR, and Minneapolis, MN, have the best bikeability score (83 out of 100).
Find Your Next Biking Adventure
We analyzed Instagram hashtags, bike-related Google search volume, bikeability ratings, the number of road biking trails, and average yearly sunshine for 100 U.S. cities. Explore our detailed rankings below to find your next cycling adventure.
100 Most Scenic Cities by Bike
There are many beautiful places in the U.S., but how many are easily accessible by bike? We ranked 100 cities by both beauty and bikeability to find cycling-friendly cities that will take your breath away. Use our interactive chart below to explore our rankings.
Combining bike-friendly infrastructure with beautiful scenery, Seattle emerged as the most scenic U.S. city to explore by bike. It topped our scenic scores with the most sightseeing and bike touring Instagram hashtags per 100,000 residents and came in third for bikeability.
Coming in second, San Francisco had the most bike-related Google searches per 100,000 residents and tied with Denver and Chicago for the No. 2 spot for bikeability. Following the Golden Gate City, Miami ranked third overall and earned second place for its scenic score.
At the bottom of the rankings, Laredo, TX, and the North Carolina cities of Winston-Salem and Greensboro came in last. With few scenic posts and some of the worst bikeability ratings, you may want to leave your bike at home when exploring these cities.
Easy Riding on Road Trails
Whether on a traditional or electric bike, cycling can be physically demanding. Some cities, however, are easier to navigate with more even terrain and extensive biking infrastructure. In addition, many cities offer road biking trails for easier and more scenic cycling. Let’s see which cities make it easy to explore by bike.
To determine each city’s bikeability rating, we used Bike Score data that scores cities from 0 to 100 based on cycling infrastructure, the number of hills, access to amenities, and the number of cyclists sharing the road. We also looked at the number of road biking trails in each city. Road biking trails are designated for cyclists (and sometimes pedestrians) and offer smoothly paved surfaces that weave through a city, away from the danger of busy roads.
With bikeability scores of 83, Portland, OR, and Minneapolis, MN, were the most bikeable cities of the 100 we researched. These cities boast excellent bike infrastructure and a cyclist-friendly environment. Portland also stood out with an impressive 31 road biking trails, whereas Minneapolis only had seven. San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago tied for the second most bikeable city, each with a score of 72.
Despite earning a low bikeability score of 49, Houston topped the road biking trails ranking with an impressive 36 trails. Also paving the way for cycling success, San Antonio had 30 trails, and New York City had a surprising 28, tying with Albuquerque.
On the other hand, Winston-Salem, NC, had the lowest bikeability score at 29 and only 6 road biking trails. Also in North Carolina, the city of Charlotte earned a low 31 for bikeability but boasted an impressive 20 road biking trails, indicating the city might be great for exploration but not everyday commuting.
Best Biking by the Numbers
Next, we’ll consider which cities rise to the top of the list based on a breakdown of five categories.
Topping the charts with a whopping 1,003 Instagram hashtags per 100,000 residents, Seattle’s cycling popularity made it the indisputable most scenic city by bike. Almost 400 hashtags behind, the Florida cities of Miami and St. Petersburg came in second and third, respectively.
Interestingly, none of the most scenic cities ranked in the top three for biking-related searches. Instead, San Francisco came first with over 23,000 searches per 100,000 residents, followed by Orlando (21,252) and Minneapolis (19,997). Residents and visitors of these cities are eagerly searching for recreational biking opportunities, which should be rather easy to find as they each made the top 10 most scenic cities to explore on a bike.
If you prefer to take in the scenery beneath sunny skies, pedal to Arizona. Six cities in the state tied for best weather, with an average of 85% sunshine throughout the year. Seattle, on the other hand, was practically a stranger to sunshine, with only 37% throughout an average year. But you don’t always need sun to have fun; biking through the rain or snow can be an equally exciting adventure.
Embark on Your Next Cycling Journey
The U.S. is home to many bike-friendly cities with numerous trails and picturesque views. From the forested hills of Portland to the sunny beaches of Miami, stunning cities across the country are available to explore. So get your bike ready, strap on your helmet, and hit the scenic road.
Methodology
We created a unique metascore based on the following five metrics to determine which cities were the most scenic for biking:
- Scenic Score — based on the total number of Instagram hashtags per 100K residents (30%)
- #(city name)sights
- #(city name)sightseeing
- #biking(city name)
- #(city name)bybike
- #cycle(city name)
- Bike-related searches score — based on Google Trends data for total bike search volume per 100K residents (20%)
- “Bike rentals” searches per 100K
- “Bike trails near me” searches per 100K
- “Scenic bike trails near me” searches per 100k
- Bikeability score (20%)
- Number of road biking trails (20%)
- Weather (percent average sunshine) (10%)
About eBikes.org
At eBikes.org, we are passionate about revolutionizing the way people commute and explore their surroundings. As a leading provider of electric bicycles, we offer eco-friendly transportation solutions that combine style, convenience, and sustainability, empowering individuals to embrace a greener lifestyle while enjoying the thrill of effortless riding.
Fair Use Statement
If you want to encourage others to bike through these beautiful cities, feel free to share our article for noncommercial purposes. Please provide a link back to this page so readers can explore our full findings.
