The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past. Beginning at Gordon Park, where the trail links with the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway, it follows Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard south through historic Rockefeller Park and its many cultural gardens. The path is on both sides of the road, offering trail users many sights of fascinating historic gardens, elegant arched bridges and Victorian houses.
At E. 105th Street, the bikeway becomes a winding path through the University Circle area until it reaches Case Western Reserve University near the Cedar-University station on RTA Rapid Transit’s Red Line. At Euclid Avenue, trail users can trek a short distance to the east to reach the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and many other cultural attractions in the immediate area.
Trail users can extend their journey even further by taking the Lake-to-Lakes Trail, which begins just across the street from the end of the bikeway on Carnegie Avenue, and continues south and east to parks and lakes in the charming suburb of Shaker Heights.
Visitors can find parking at the Cleveland Lakefront State Park, approximately 0.2 mile from the north terminus of the trail. Follow the signs from the parking area to the trailhead. Near the south terminus of the trail, parking can be found just north of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and E. 105th Street intersection at the Rockefeller Park Lagoon.
Short and sweet with beautiful views of the cultural gardens. If you want a longer/challenging ride take the lakeshore afterward
The Harrison Dillard Bikeway is not a rail trail but is listed in the TrailLink App and website. The bike path travels beside Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive through Rockefeller Park from University Circle to the Lake Erie Lakefront where it connects to the 17 mile Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway. The trail measures at 3.75 miles if you do the whole thing, but while the southern end is located at Stearns Road where it meets Carnegie Avenue, traveling south beyond Martin Luther King Drive toward Chester Avenue is tricky as you have to cross some of the busiest main traffic arteries that move cars in and out of Cleveland. In addition, the directions to parking in TravelLink indicate parking to be at 7 MLK, Jr. Drive, across from the Rockefeller Park Lagoon, next to the park's tennis courts, however, the driveway into this parking lot is off of East Avenue. This is an interesting ride as you travel through the cultural heart of Cleveland -- from Case Western Reserve University, the museums around Wade Oval, the cultural gardens in Rockefeller Park to the Lakefront Nature Preserve on the shore of Lake Erie. While the trail is not particularly long, you will want to check out statuary in the cultural gardens and probably take lots of pictures. I rode this trail in mid-April, but the gardens probably would be more spectacular starting in May.
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