The bike is the best way to travel for those who love exploring every inch. Do you like taking photos as you go, sitting in the coffee houses on the village square chatting with locals, and getting recipes at delicious stops? It's a wonderful time for the bike and for this kind of trip…
Our favourite season is here! To pedal with wonderful views, discover our country's nature, history and local cultures, and taste good food along the way, we researched autumn bike routes near Istanbul. For oh-so-lovely pedalling routes for weekend getaways, let's take you this way:
ECO-ROUTE – THE ULUS KÜRE ROUTE
Küre Mountains National Park is on the borders of Kastamonu and Bartın provinces. The park, a wonder of nature that came under protection with 'National Park' status in 2000, offers us, as far as we could see, a well-kept and calm forest/mountain route that can still be called unspoilt. We ride through untouched forests among trees like pine, oak, beech, hornbeam, yew and plane. We store up plenty of oxygen and peace.Join our discovery before it gets spoilt, so hurry up!
A 212-kilometre route awaits you, following Bartın, Kozcağız, Kumluca, Abdipaşa, Ulus, Aşağıçerçi Village, Kirazcık Village, Ulukaya Waterfall and Canyon, Kozanlı Village, Yukarıdere Village, Şirinler Village, Uluyayla, Eldeş Village, Ulus and Bartın.
Bartın-Ulus 65.5 km Ulus-Şirinler Village 54.5 km Şirinler Village-Ulus 53.7 km Ulus-Bartın 38.5 km
THE KARABÜK YENİCE FORESTS ROUTE
The Yenice Forests, known as Turkey's largest block forests, have a habitat that stands out with its wild animals and different plant species, and they also have wonderful trails for us cyclists. The area, declared a protected area by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), is made up entirely of a riot of colour. Stopping a while after setting off on the route to look at the monumental trees and diving into the very well-preserved plant cover you can't witness anywhere else may disrupt your pedalling, but it's all worth this oxygen paradise. Along the route there are ponds where you can take a break.
In the Yenice Forests there are separate trails for both hiking and cycling. The mountain bike routes reach up to 292 kilometres in total.
A 42-kilometre route awaits you, following Seyir Tepe, Şeker Canyon, Yenice town centre, Fındıkaltı Forest House, Güney Village, Yazı Village and Seyir Tepe.
THE YEDİGÖLLER – BOLU ROUTE
One of the essential autumn stops for both cyclists and nature lovers is the Yedigöller route. The whole route is inside the forest, and that being the case, the magnificent riot of colour that autumn brings, yellow, green, brown and red, greets us here too.
The route we'll recommend to you offers an enjoyable journey with the green texture of the huge forest and the blue of the sky. This route too, like the two Western Black Sea routes I mentioned, is both very close to Istanbul and among Turkey's most beautiful routes for autumn.
In Yığılca, where our route starts, the Hasanlar Dam, Saklıkent Waterfall and the Sarıkaya and Gökçekaya Caves are among the district's natural beauties.
A 76-kilometre route awaits you, from Yığılca town centre, the Yığılca exit in the Upper Melendere basin, joining the road coming from Mengen. The route has a total of 2.7 kilometres of climbing.
THE LAKE İZNİK ROUTE
Lake İznik, the largest natural lake in the Marmara Region, is within the borders of Bursa province. İznik, a freshwater lake, looks like an ellipse on the map. The lake, stretching east-west, is 12 km wide with a circumference of 85 km, and offers us a wonderful route.The day bike route starts from the town of İznik and draws a wide circle back to the starting point. The route, almost all of which runs along the lake shore, has no notable climb. It can easily be reached from Istanbul too with İDO ferries.
An 84-kilometre route awaits you, following İznik, Çakırca, Boyalıca, Keramet Hot Spring, Gölyaka, Dutluca, Sölöz, Paşapınar, Narlıca, Çınaraltı and İznik. The highest point of the route, which starts at sea level, rises in places to an altitude of 200 metres. Along the northern shores there are picnic areas, tourist facilities and fish restaurants where you can enjoy catfish and carp. On the southern shores there are charming villages, among the first settlements of the Ottoman Beylik. Two-storey wooden houses with bay windows reflect the traditional architecture.
THE LAKE SAPANCA ROUTE
You can add to your enjoyment by touring Sapanca, which enchants its guests with its natural beauty and where you can go in all 4 seasons, by bike. Since the area around Lake Sapanca is surrounded by forests and high hills, cycling around the lake is very enjoyable. At the restaurants along the shore you can taste fresh trout. Discover Lake Sapanca, one of the best-known nearest weekend getaways for Istanbulites, by bike too! If you're tired of the classic lakeside restaurants, you can take a mini picnic basket with you like us.
A 50-kilometre route awaits you, following Sapanca Shore, Arifiye, Serdivan, Yeni Eşme, Seka Camp Picnic Area, Kırkpınar Shore and Sapanca Shore.
For my other bike route experiences: Bartın Bike Festival I'm leaving the links to my post here, and to my İpsala-Alexandroupoli-Enez bike tour from last year.