I rode this trail on a Sunday afternoon and was looking forward to a nice round-trip from Washington CH to Chilicothe. I took me three different tries and about half an hour to figure out what "roads" to travel on in order to make it to the actual trail. I parked at Christman Memorial Park and attempted to make my way from there. Thankfully I had my phone and was able to look up the map to find my way. It stormed most of the afternoon so I decided to bag the trip once I got a few miles into the trail, but I would definitely like to give it another shot. Next time I will just park at the actual trail head and skip the ride through the Washington CH industrial park.

Cheers.

Having ridden the longer 38.6-mile (round trip) section between Austin and Chillicothe in April (see my review below) I returned today to ride the shorter 10.6-mile (round trip) western section near Washington Court House. I parked in the dirt lot at the eastern end of the trail near the Shaw Wetlands and rode east and then west. This section of the trail was entirely along a railroad bed with lots of old wooden railroad ties strewn to either side of the trail which, in my opinion, added to the railroading ambience. The trail is completely level except for several dips where it crosses the backroads and is only about 10% shaded. But what is shaded is very nice. At first the trail runs behind a few properties and then eventually gets out into the country. Overall, an average ride right now but it will add a very nice extension to an already excellent main trail. I will return to ride this trail again once the unpaved section connecting these two segments is finished.

I also rode the main trail again after riding the shorter section above. As one reviewer pointed out below, at one point the trail stops across the street from a Marathon gas station and picks up behind it. There you will find the best whoop-di-do on any trail and I leave you with this challenge: If you can start from behind the Marathon station, go down the whoop-di-do, and coast all the way out to the road where that section ends, post a review. I couldn't quite do it but am sure that someone can.

More pictures posted.

Trail Jogger

I have ridden 1,200 miles of Ohio rails-to-trails and the Tri-County Trail is, in my opinion, an excellent paved trail. The main stretch of the trail runs from Austin, OH (N39-26.207, W083-13.343) at the western end where paved dedicated parking is available through Frankfort, OH (N39-23.985, W083-11.019) where paved parking in a park by the trail is available, to Chillicothe, OH (N39-20.642, W082-57.338) where parking is plentiful in Yoctangee Park and the eastern end. The distance of this section is 19.3 miles one way or 38.6 miles round trip. The eastern extremis of the trail is a loop in Chillicothe where the floodwall meets SR-23. It’ll be very evident when you reach it and it’s within a stone’s throw of SR-23. The western extremis is in Austin. I parked in a little park next to the trail in Frankfort. The land in this area slopes about 2 degrees downhill from Washington Courthouse down to the Scioto River in Chillicothe for the trail follows Paint Creek down to the Scioto and then follows the Scioto through town. About 90% of the trail slopes down so it would be best to park in Yoctangee Park in Chillicothe, ride uphill 19.3 miles to Austin, then back down, with the wind, to Chillicothe. The last few miles are along the top of the floodwall with Sand Hill clearly visible to the north. West of Austin, the trail as of this entry is unfinished crushed limestone and even with 6” shocks front and rear, is a nuisance to ride. I don't advise doing it. The 5.29-mile unpaved section extends from Austin west to Fairview Road (N39-28.790, W083-18.256) and from there it is paved for 5.33 miles to Robinson Road (N39-31.467, W083-23.135). At that point, there is a dirt clearing for parking. There is absolutely no other parking along this shorter segment. This trail is excellent for its length, scenery, shade, creek crossings, and solitude. While the mileage is clearly marked on placards every half mile, there are nearly no direction arrows at all. Once direction signs are in place and the unpaved section is completed, this will be an outstanding trail. Familiarize yourself with this trail on Googlemaps and with other rider's reviews before the ride to see where the turns are because the trail ends in places and then picks up down the road and around the bend so you won’t always see the next section of trail from where one section ends, but it's worth doing this. Make this trail a must-do on your ride list. In my opinion, it is similar to the Hockhocking-Adena Trail, the TJ Evans Trail, and the Conotton Trail. I'll upload some pictures that I took today.
~ Trail Jogger ~

NOTES:

If you don't want any crushed limestone you will have to start out at the Austin trail head located just 1-mile south of Old St. Rt. 35 on St. Rt. 138 (once past 35, 138 will slowly begin to descend and the trail is more or less at the bottom of the decent directly on your left (Austin grainery will be right beside the trail head).

First, outside of the "trail rules" signs, there are NONE to guide you -- YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. RTC needs to post signs, because otherwise the trail keeps coming to an end and you have NO CLUE as to which way to turn.

BUMPS: beware of the bumps along the way, the path is rippled with creased asphalt in places and you could trash your nice road bike in a heart beat -- be careful though and you will be just fine.

As you head out South (down hill 2%) on the trail it will take you all the way to Chillicothe right by the river. Coming back is around a 2% upgrade all the way back to Austin. Wind can be a big factor in the open areas of the trail.

Scenery: I am sure, when the trees are full, it will look a lot nicer than it did in early April. This trail does traverse along side the river and has some bench stops and overlooks on the bridges as well.

In summation, I will ride the trail again -- don't ask me why, I just will. I presume the some of the wavy upgrades on the trail in place caught my interest? I encourage everyone to call RTC and tell them they NEED TO POST SIGNS SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE TRAIL IN ITS' ENTIRETY WITHOUT GETTING LOST.

CHEERS!

P.S.
Oh, you may wish to know at least two little hints -- "when the trail stops at a gas station, it will pick back up directly behind the gas station. Next, when you see a tunnel, go under it, and stay on it, this will take you to this gas station. That's about all I can say. Good luck.

"You can see much of the diversity of southern Ohio on this nice, mostly flat trail. Watch out, though: The slightly uphill return trip to Frankfort can get ya!"