I parked in the lot at Rocky's in Nelsonville, the trail head is well marked and easy to locate. Starting off you have to ride behind some run down apartments then on to Hocking Technical College which was very busy with pedestrian traffic and cars in and out of the parking lot, slow going. From there it is a nice ride through the country along side the Hocking river, you will have to cross several back roads but they are well marked with stop signs. Coming into the Plains there is a trailer park with some abandoned trailers with graffiti which could be cleaned up but not a hindrance to the bike path. Since I was riding on a Monday the restaurant in the Plains was closed. Getting closer to Athens I passed some ball parks on the left, which were well taken care of. There is one busy street coming into Athens at the Habitat House that I had to wait for several minutes for traffic to clear before crossing. The trail continues to be in great shape until you reach the Field House at OU then it becomes fairly rough. I exited at the library so I could stop at Bob Evans for a quick bite to eat. The ride back was fast and furious since the rain clouds were moving in, the last 8 miles north to Nelsonville were in the rain which wasn't too bad since the temp was in the mid 70's.
Back at Rocky's I met with some friend for a late lunch
This is a great trail and I will definitely ride it again.
Thanks Ohio for another great trail.

I rode this trail today, April 23, 2011, and found it to be an excellent ride. There is a small and convenient gravel parking lot adjacent to the Ohio University campus on E. Stimson Avenue and the trailhead is across the road. From here, cyclists can ride along the southern edge of the campus along the Hocking River to reach the Habitat for Humanity. Across West Union Street from this small building is a park with ample paved parking adjacent to the trail. As of this date, there is a cement barricade across the road into the park with a Bike Trail Closed banner across it. However, there is also a well-worn trail around the barricade so I really think that it is mainly to keep cars out of the park but to allow cyclists to ride the trail. I rode around the barricade and then rode the entire length of the trail and found no problems at all, including no bridges under repair or any high water. There were dozens of other cyclists as well. The trail was an excellent ride. It is a mild upgrade while riding north and a complementary downslope riding south. For this reason I recommend parking near Ohio University even though there is plenty of parking at the train station trailhead in Nelsonville. Be advised, though, that the train station in Nelsonville offers scenic train rides north to Logan so, on event days, parking can become scarce. As it was a nice spring day I took hundreds of pictures all along the route. The last time that I rode this trail in May 2008 the trail ended at Hocking College. Since then it has been cleared and paved and now continues north into Nelsonville. It is along this short section that riders will be treated to a collection of old log cabins, a monument to the Star Brick Company, a railroad and bikeway bridge, dozens of old train cars in a railroad cemetery, and, if you're lucky, you'll be able to watch the train pulling out of Nelsonville. Round trip today was 34.6 miles of scenic riding. I've ridden just about every rails-to-trails in Ohio and this is one of the best ones!

In the small town of Chauncey is a log cabin thato is across the road from the trail. It is at the end of the road near the cabin that the Survey Marker Trail starts. That is a dirt trail meant for hikers and mountain bikes.

~ Trail Jogger ~

My 6 year old and I rode this trail in March 2010. She has a tag-along bike that is attached to mine and we so enjoyed the flat, paved trail.

We started at Rocky's Sporting Goods in Nelsonville and rode about 10 miles. It was so well marked and we loved the scenery along the way. Even though it goes behind apartment complexes and houses, it was still a great ride. Riding along side the train tracks was fun for her and seeing the train cars made the ride even more enjoyable.

We will return and ride the entire trail this fall. I know the changing leaves will be spectacular to see.