Find the top rated running trails in Carey, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Flat, well maintained, and beautiful trail. You cannot escape tree root heave but these trail caretakers did well in that most of them are ground flattening them some and eliminating the sharpness. It also helps you see them coming.
Love camping at the GPAA campsite between Belleville and Butler I always bring my e bike with me! Lots of walkers and other people biking on it so be mindful when passing.
Its very nice in the spring summer and fall, very well maintained throughout and if you do not want to do the whole trail you can drive to a parking area along it and park!
This was a fairly decent trail, if you like straight paths and wide open spaces. I ran this trail in February 2024. I divided it up in to 7 days and started in Springfield. The first mile or so is road side and there is a specific lane to stay in. This turns to some wooded areas and over some busy roads while in town. The path from lagonda to Eagle City was probably the most scenic part of the trail, crossing over the Buck Creek trail. Once past Eagle City soccer fields the terrain seems to be newly paved but there are a lot of little dips that I was very aware of since I was on foot and not on a bike. Coming in to Urbana there were some wooded areas and I am sure in the early spring and summer there may be more to look at, but it wasn't very scenic in February. There was little to no signage other than the SKT mile markers noted sporadically along the trail. It seems like once you get past Railroad street in Urbana there isn't much to look at other than railroad tracks. This is also where the trail changes from asphalt to the chip and seal. I hadn't ran this kind of terrain but was pleasantly surprised how smooth it was. I was concerned about flipping bits of stone in to my shoes but that didn't happen. There is another segment of roads to run and again, there is no signage to direct you on the right path. I did see bike signs, which to most of you reading this will take as signage, however, I would like to see signs of the actual trail listed. The map listed here on trailink shows the red line to insinuate the trail, however, when looking at it more closely, there is more route around a park in Urbana that was missed. Again, after Railroad rd in Urbana the path is straight and there is no place to stop for rest or parking and that makes for a lengthy run/ride for anyone on the trail. There is always a safety concern in this regard too. Overall, the trail is decent, however, I wouldn't run it again...maybe the part from Lagonda to Eagle City...but that's it. This was trail #35 for me, and I would say it wouldn't make the top 10 for me.
I rode the entire trail on 02/04/2024. The temperature was in the low 30s to start and mid 40s at the end, sunny and little to no wind. I parked just off of I-70 near a dog park. The parking lot was in the open and lots of people were visiting the dog park so I felt comfortable about where I parked. From there I headed south to Butler and then up to the north end at Mansfield. As mentioned in other reviews, the trail is a mixture of open and tree lined and rural and less rural and I would really like to ride this trail again when the leaves are on the trees. In general the trail runs up hill from Butler and for the most part has a shallow grade. The only time that I really noticed the grade was after turning around at Mansfield. From there to around mile 15 or 16 (from Butler and the highest point on the trail) the grade was noticeably steeper. The trail is entirely paved and I found it to be fairly well maintained. As mentioned in other reviews there are stretches where roots have damaged the pavement...nothing severe but enough that I kept a firm grip on the handlebars when I encountered these stretches. For whatever reason, I found the northern part of the trail to be more inviting than the southern end. The northern end is also where I encountered the vast majority of other people using the trail. Sadly, I only passed by a couple dozen people during my ride and all but one were pedestrians. For a trail as nice as this one, I would have expected to see hundreds of people.
On the negative side, there are approximately two dozen road crossings. Most are small roads and appeared to be not frequently traveled. However, three or four were busier roads with vehicles traveling at highway speeds.
Overall, I definitely recommend this trail.
Baseline:
I am a male in my 60s and typically together with my wife (she was otherwise engaged that day) frequently ride rail trails. Our home trails are Buffalo Valley and Pine Creek and our favorite trail relatively close to us is the Northwest Lancaster.
I like this trail. You can ride and park to OSU football games, Crew soccer games, Red, White and Boom, and any festival in the Columbus city. But there is also wildlife- hawks, Eagle sightings, deer, beaver, muskrats, owls, etc. You can find picnic benches as well to use all year. There is a frisbee golf course up in Worthington along with Antium lake. It has a bit going for it in my opinion but at times a bit crowded around Whetstone Park and OSU campus. I just chill around these areas and go very slow. This is also something I wish the serious speed bikers would do considering it is a multi-use trail.
Fremont to Bellevue section. Trail is flat and paved in good condition. Biked to Bellevue to lunch and back for a 25 mile round trip. Not much shade, goes through mostly farmlands. In the 12 miles from Fremont to Bellevue, 21 road crossings! Most of them there wasn't much traffic but you still had to stop, once you got going. In the past biked from Elmore to Fremont, found it to be more scenic.
We rode this trail, round trip, on 09/21/23. The weather was dry and in the low 70s. At this time of year, the trail is shaded enough to not be hot, very comfortable with shorts and a t-shirts.
The trail is fairly flat, being an old railroad, you'd expect that of course. There are several road crossings to negotiate, don't be in a hurry. Much of the trail has root damage, but that's been was ground down flat, so the ride is smoother. Some of the trail goes past industrial and commercial areas. Hills off in the distance are very scenic, it's good thing we didn't have to go up them!
There are several points along the way you can get on and off the trail, even stop for ice cream. Learn more about the trail at http://www.richlandbandotrail.com/
Love this trail, very peaceful, scenic and clean. The last few walks I have taken (at end of Sept 2023), the mosquitos have been abundant (I walk between 97 & Lexington). Be sure you're prepared.
Drove down from Norwalk to ride this trail today and enjoyed it very much.
The trail is mostly really nice with great scenery along the entire thing. West of Norwalk, you will run into few issues, with the dip just to the West of the trailhead having some ruts due to runoff. Going East from Norwalk has some beautiful farmland, but you would be wise to keep an eye down at the trail itself. From ruts and potholes formed to attempts to fill these with sand, along with smelly evidence of horses, there are plenty of things that could quickly wreck your day if you aren't paying close attention. I've tried submitting a review previously, but maybe negative reviews are not authorized? Makes me wonder if any reviews are worth their salt on here honestly.
What a relaxing ride! This was my first “big” ride on my Recumbent bike. It was easy to navigate, smooth and well marked. There’s several distance options you can choose from to ride, walk or jog. I would recommend the Slippery Elm for families or just soloists.
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