Aim <p>Skeletal muscle blood volume responds to the metabolic demands of exercise and augmented microvasculature reactivity. We sought to&#xa0;explore the effects of exercise intensity (maximal vs. submaximal) on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-derived blood volume and microvascular reactivity in the acute post-exercise timeframe.</p> Methods <p>Healthy individuals (<i>N</i> = 18) between 18 and 35&#xa0;years completed a vascular occlusion test (VOT) followed by a maximal cycling test. A second VOT was performed 15-min post-exercise. One week later, the protocol was repeated before and after a submaximal bout of cycling (60% VO₂ peak). NIRS was used to assess total hemoglobin (tHb) (i.e., blood volume) before, during, and after exercise, as well as muscle oxygen consumption (mVO₂) and microvascular reactivity (StO₂% s⁻¹) pre- and post-exercise.</p> Results <p>Compared with pre-exercise, tHb was elevated at the end of exercise (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and remained elevated 15-min post-exercise (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) regardless of trial (combined means pre: 5.39 ± 0.82, during: 14.01 ± 1.73, and post-exercise: 10.89 ± 1.24 O.D.). mVO₂ was greater post-exercise in the max vs. submax trial (−&#xa0;0.36 ± 0.12 vs. −&#xa0;0.22 ± 0.11% s⁻¹; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Compared with pre-exercise, microvascular reactivity was unchanged following the max trial (1.91 ± 0.61 vs. 1.71 ± 0.61% s⁻¹; <i>p</i> = 0.079) but was greater following the submax trial (1.72 ± 0.43 vs. 1.98 ± 0.59; <i>p</i> = 0.007).</p> Conclusion <p>Cycling at a submaximal, but not maximal, intensity results in augmented post-exercise microvascular reactivity, while post-exercise increases in skeletal muscle blood volume were found regardless of exercise intensity.</p>