On a weeklong cycling trip last summer through the Netherlands and Belgium, I noted the many bike-friendly elements: well-marked paths, mindful drivers, multilevel bike parking garages at train stations, even dedicated traffic signals for cyclists. How, I wondered, do U.S. cities measure up?
They’re not yet at the level of Amsterdam, no surprise. But a concerted effort by cities across the country (and in Canada) to create bike-friendly infrastructure is paying off for both residents and visitors.
As of 2025, 234 U.S. cities — up from 33 in 2019 — received a score of 50 or higher, out of a possible 100 (50 is considered the tipping point) from PeopleForBikes, a Colorado-based nonprofit. The organization annually rates the “bikeability” of thousands of communities, mostly in the United States, based on features like off-street paths, protected lanes, lower speed limits and continuous routes.
Martina Haggerty, the vice president of infrastructure for PeopleForBikes, attributes the progress largely to increased funding and support for safe cycling. Of the 99 Canadian communities the organization ranked, 44 received scores of 50 or higher.
Below are four U.S. cities, and one Canadian, that offer plenty of safe, scenic pedaling opportunities for both residents and visitors.
Seattle
Outdoors recreationists have long enjoyed Seattle’s temperate summers and waterside setting, and ongoing upgrades to the city’s bike infrastructure have only made it more welcoming. There’s even a free adaptive bike rental program, operated by the nonprofit Outdoors for All Foundation, for those with disabilities.
Since 2021, more than 20 miles of protected cycling lanes have been added, and in late 2024, voters approved a transportation tax that raised $133.5 million for biking improvements. Those upgrades mean cyclists can now seamlessly ride along Seattle’s flat downtown waterfront and connect to two primary bike lanes that traverse downtown. The waterfront itself has been revitalized with art installations, playgrounds and a new beach.
Tom Fucoloro, who runs the Seattle Bike Blog, recommends the five-mile-long Elliott Bay Trail, north to south, for a dramatic view of the city skyline and Mount Rainier.
“No visit to Seattle is complete without a spin on the Burke-Gilman Trail,” said Paul Tolmé, the media relations manager for the nonprofit Cascade Bicycle Club, which offers free group rides among its programs. The 20-mile paved route is one of the original U.S. rails-to-trails paths and goes through a variety of neighborhoods, from wooded to urban.
Plus, Seattle’s long-running Bicycle Weekends program has expanded: Every Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day (except Aug. 1 and 2), a three-mile stretch of Lake Washington Boulevard along the western lakeshore is open only to cyclists and pedestrians.
Minneapolis
Minneapolis’s bike infrastructure has taken off, thanks in part to a bike master plan instituted in 2011 and updated in 2015. The city now ranks fifth among North American cities, according to the Copenhagenize Index, which rates bike-friendly cities.
“Our downtown is laced with bike paths,” said Steve Peterson, a Minneapolis resident who rides weekly with a 40-person group of retirees.
Minneapolis’s crown jewel of bikeways is the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a 51-mile route (the bike path parallels the road of the same name) that mostly circles the city and goes by the Mississippi River, several lakes and a waterfall, as well as a one-mile riverfront section through downtown. The 9.2 miles of trail along the Mississippi, known as West River Parkway, is among the most scenic stretches in the area, according to Matt Weier, a local cyclist and wealth management adviser. “The shore line is not built up, it’s just trees and bike path, and in summer everything is green,” Mr. Weier said.
For a more urban experience, ride the six-mile Midtown Greenway Regional Trail, a rails-to-trails route in South Minneapolis that runs from the Chain of Lakes in the west to the Mississippi River on the east end. Take note of the 15 pollinator gardens along the trail; they’re designed to attract monarch butterflies and endangered rusty patched bumblebees.
Atlanta
Born out of a Georgia Tech grad student’s 1999 master’s thesis, the Atlanta Beltline trail has become the backbone of the city’s biking infrastructure. Opening as individually named segments starting in 2008, the 22-mile (almost) loop links 45 neighborhoods, with dozens of restaurants, bars and shops now serving trail users. Ponce City Market, a former Sears facility built in 1926, is now a huge trailside food hall and mall. In April, a new 1.2-mile segment completed the Beltline’s Southeast Trail. The full loop is slated for completion by 2030.
“There’s been a real evolution,” said Randy Agnew, 65, a resident. “When I was growing up, I would never have thought about biking around Atlanta. Now you see everybody taking their kids to school on bikes.”
The Beltline also has green spaces alongside it, including the 200-acre Piedmont Park, which borders the city’s botanical garden. Just don’t expect to ride fast; especially on weekends, the Eastside Trail is packed with people on foot, bikes, skateboards and in-line skates. Instead, consider the less busy Westside Trail, which leads through some of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods.
See more of the city and learn about its history on Bicycle Tours of Atlanta’s daily Fall in Love With Atlanta tour. The 2.5-hour ride ($75 per person, including bike rental and snacks) visits historic neighborhoods (including Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace), parks and art installations.
Montreal
Montreal created bike paths as early as 1874, and the Montreal Bicycle Club, Canada’s first such group, formed in 1878. It’s no surprise, then, that Montreal rates as the top city for biking in North America on the Copenhagenize Index, with 673 miles of paths and lanes, including the newer Express Bike Network, and more being built.
The city’s bikeshare program, Bixi, was among the world’s first when it started in 2009. There are also nine so-called bike routes, streets where cyclists can take up as much room as cars, instead of being restricted to a bike lane, and where drivers must adjust their speed when behind cyclists. A recently announced, 38-kilometer bike path will connect light-rail stations across Montreal.
For waterfront riding, cycle the recently repaved, 8.7-mile Promenade Fluviale du Grand Montreal, which runs along the top of a dike on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. (Part of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships cycling races, Montreal’s biggest sporting event since the 1976 Summer Olympics, will follow this route.) Detour to Nun’s Island so you can bike across the river on the 1.25-mile-long Estacade, a low-lying bridge built to control ice flow in winter. At its northern end, the Promenade trail skirts part of Parc Jean-Drapeau, home to the Biosphere environmental museum and other attractions.
Another waterside ride traverses almost nine miles alongside the Lachine Canal, passing through several vibrant neighborhoods. Stop along the way to stock up on snacks at the Atwater Market and to admire the 51 works of contemporary art at the Lachine sculpture garden.
Brooklyn
The most bike-friendly U.S. urban area, according to PeopleForBikes? Brooklyn. (In 2025, the organization started separately scoring each New York City borough.) Marc Urselli, a Brooklyn producer and audio engineer, said he’d seen many improvements over his 20 years of riding in the city, including the proliferation of lanes. “We are still a ways away from being Amsterdam, but we are definitely on the right path,” he said.
In fact, according to PeopleForBikes, Brooklyn has more bike lanes than any other borough. Additionally, New York City’s new greenway master plan, released last August, will fill in gaps (for example, by connecting disparate segments of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway to make one continuous route from Greenpoint to Sheepshead Bay) and add new greenways.
One of the most scenic rides is also one of the oldest: the Ocean Parkway Trail, created in 1894. The route starts near Prospect Park — where cyclists can also zoom around the 3.3-mile Park Drive loop — and runs for five miles to Coney Island. (Watch out for tree roots that have cracked the pavement.)
The city skyline fades as you ride by salt marshes and ponds along the Jamaica Bay Greenway, a 28-mile loop in southern Brooklyn and Queens that goes through part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, including one of the city’s best bird-watching venues, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (the loop’s southern end includes a stretch of road). The greenway also passes by Shirley Chisholm State Park, which juts out into the bay. Bikes are available for free checkout, Thursdays to Sundays, for up to two hours of riding on the park’s 10 miles of paths.
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