How to Know How Bike-friendly Your Next Travel Destination Will Be

These handy references provide rankings that can help you identify great travel destinations for city cycling.

COPENHAGENIZE INDEX

Initially developed as an internal tool for the Copenhagenize Design Co. consulting firm, this global index ranks 150 cities on their efforts toward establishing the bicycle as a feasible, practical, and accepted form of transportation. Of the top 20 featured on the Copenhagenize Index’s website there are few surprises with Amsterdam and Copenhagen both topping the list respectively.

Top ranked city: Copenhagen, Amsterdam

copenhagenize.eu/index

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS’ BICYCLE FRIENDLY LISTINGS

US states, communities, businesses, and universities are all ranked across five categories: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation and planning. Communities are awarded statuses from bronze to platinum that reflect their efforts to embrace all aspects of bicycling, including tourism.

Top ranked communities: Seattle, WA; Minneapolis, MN

bikeleague.org

BIKE SCORE

Four equally weighted components are measured to provide a Bike Score for locations on a scale from 0-100. By considering bike lanes, hills, destinations and road connectivity, and bike commuting mode share, each score is intended to provide an at-a-glance measure of an area’s bikeability. Bike Score rankings are available for many major US cities.

Top ranked city: Minneapolis, MN; San Francisco, CA

bikescore.com

ADDITIONAL BIKE-FRIENDLY RESOURCES

For adventures off the beaten path, finding a bikeability ranking can be a challenge. Local tourism boards can be useful for providing maps and guides to local cycling routes and destinations. Advocacy groups focusing on active transportation can also provide valuable tips – often firsthand experience – for navigating a new city by bike.