Explore the best rated trails in Beavercreek, OH. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Mad River Trail and Iron Horse Trail (OH). With more than 47 trails covering 4570 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Seamlessly spanning the 35.5-mile distance between the Ohio communities of Bellefontaine and Springfield, the Simon Kenton Trail presents visitors with ample opportunities for recreation and wildlife...
The 29-mile Prairie Grass Trail is one of four rail-trails that radiate from Xenia Station, the hub of a vast, paved trail network in southwestern Ohio. The site is a former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)...
The Xenia–Jamestown Connector links these two eponymous communities and travels east beyond Jamestown to the Greene–Fayette County line at Rosemoor Road. It’s part of Ohio’s Miami River Valley trail...
The Lebanon Countryside YMCA Trail offers 8 miles of paved pathway winding through Lebanon, from downtown to a connection to the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail. The trail begins in the north near...
D Street Trailhead Park is nestled along Richmond’s waterfront on the East Fork of the Whitewater River. From the park, travelers can go north on the Cardinal Greenway (which, at 62 miles, is...
The Luther Warren Peace Path is shady 1.2-mile journey along a level paved surface, delightfully cool in summer. The trail includes two old railroad bridges, one covered and built as a local Boy Scout...
The Paint Creek Recreational Trail is the flagship pathway of a planned trail network in the Ohio counties of Fayette, Ross and Highland. Nearly 35 miles of paved trail are currently open linking the...
The Steve Whalen Boulevard Bikeway is a short neighborhood trail in East Dayton. The trail parallels the boulevard of the same name, starting at its intersection with Hamilton Avenue, and then heading...
The Tecumseh Trail Multi-use Pathway offers a pleasant route, partially on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Columbus-to-Saint Louis freight mainline. The rail route was also once used for Lincoln's...
The Stillwater River Bikeway winds through Dayton's northern suburbs, following the tree-lined eastern shore of its namesake waterway for much of the way. Two disconnected segments of trail are...
The Shaker Trace Trail forms a loop around Miami Whitewater Forest, the largest county-run park in Hamilton County. The fully-accessible, paved trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the park’s...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
The James Ranch Connecting Spur provides an important link between two major trails spiraling out of the trail hub of Xenia. On its east end, the trail connects to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which...
The paved Tecumseh Trail skirts the quaint city of New Carlisle. The trail takes users through some beautiful wooded areas along a former railroad corridor and connects to Smith Park. At the popular...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
The Great Miami River Trail is the backbone of one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks, spanning 340 miles throughout Ohio’s Miami Valley. The route connects beautiful natural areas, small...
The Fairfax Trail is 1.5 miles long and parallels the north side of Murray Ave, between Settle Street and Red Bank Road. The Murray Road portion overlaps with the Murray Road Hike/ Bike Trail. There...
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When complete, the Ohio River Trail in eastern Cincinnati will be an important 23-mile connector between downtown, riverfront parks, the city's municipal airport and many neighborhoods. Currently,...
Hydraulic Canal Run begins in picturesque French Park, where stands of mature trees provide the perfect shady spots to picnic. From here, you can also connect to Piqua City Linear Park, a rail-trail...
The Creekside Trail is part of a network of more than 340 miles of trails that travel throughout Ohio’s scenic Miami Valley. The route follows a nature-filled corridor offering many opportunities for...
The Lunken Airport Bike Path offers a 5-mile loop around Cincinnati's municipal Lunken Airport. Much of the trail sits atop the levee that protects the airport from flooding of the Little Miami River....
The James Ranch Connecting Spur provides an important link between two major trails spiraling out of the trail hub of Xenia. On its east end, the trail connects to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
The Shaker Trace Trail forms a loop around Miami Whitewater Forest, the largest county-run park in Hamilton County. The fully-accessible, paved trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the park’s...
Centerville’s Archway Trail runs adjacent to a new road on a former railroad corridor that connects downtown to a recently developed neighborhood. The wide, paved trail is one of several open...
The Towler Road Spur is a short but pleasant route in the trail hub of Xenia, Ohio. Although the paved pathway parallels the roadway, it's separated from traffic by a wide grassy median dotted with...
The Lowe's Connector Trail parallels Lowe's Drive in Wilmington, OH, and links Rombach Avenue with Prairie Road; however, this is no sidewalk once you reach Prairie Road. The trail is best used to...
The Stillwater River Bikeway winds through Dayton's northern suburbs, following the tree-lined eastern shore of its namesake waterway for much of the way. Two disconnected segments of trail are...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
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The 7-mile Iron Horse Trail (open in two disconnected segments) utilizes approximately 2 miles of former Penn Central right-of-way, providing users a pleasant route through neighborhoods, as well as a...
The Williamsburg to Batavia Hike/Bike Trail connects its two namesake communities on a paved route that winds through East Fork Wildlife Area and along scenic William Harsha Lake. The experience is...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
The Tecumseh Trail Multi-use Pathway offers a pleasant route, partially on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Columbus-to-Saint Louis freight mainline. The rail route was also once used for Lincoln's...
The 29-mile Prairie Grass Trail is one of four rail-trails that radiate from Xenia Station, the hub of a vast, paved trail network in southwestern Ohio. The site is a former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)...
Seamlessly spanning the 35.5-mile distance between the Ohio communities of Bellefontaine and Springfield, the Simon Kenton Trail presents visitors with ample opportunities for recreation and wildlife...
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The Buck Creek Trail runs between Buck Creek State Park and Plum Street by Wittenberg University. At its eastern end in Buck Creek State Park, the trail makes a loop and heads into 2 different...
The 4C Bicentennial Trail is one of several throughout Wilmington, OH, and runs between Southeast Neighborhood Park and Fife Avenue (CR 82), just across the road from the south end of Denver Williams...
Hydraulic Canal Run begins in picturesque French Park, where stands of mature trees provide the perfect shady spots to picnic. From here, you can also connect to Piqua City Linear Park, a rail-trail...
The Lebanon Countryside YMCA Trail offers 8 miles of paved pathway winding through Lebanon, from downtown to a connection to the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail. The trail begins in the north near...
The Armleder Park Trail loops along a wide, paved route through the open meadows of the park, located east of Cincinnati. At the southeast end, you'll find an overlook of the Little Miami River....
Centerville’s Archway Trail runs adjacent to a new road on a former railroad corridor that connects downtown to a recently developed neighborhood. The wide, paved trail is one of several open...
The Paint Creek Recreational Trail is the flagship pathway of a planned trail network in the Ohio counties of Fayette, Ross and Highland. Nearly 35 miles of paved trail are currently open linking the...
The Dayton Kettering Connector combines a historic rail-trail and bike lanes, and shared road riding for 7 miles between the two municipalities. The off-road portion is 1.9 miles long and sits in the...
When complete, the Ohio River Trail in eastern Cincinnati will be an important 23-mile connector between downtown, riverfront parks, the city's municipal airport and many neighborhoods. Currently,...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Williamsburg to Batavia Hike/Bike Trail connects its two namesake communities on a paved route that winds through East Fork Wildlife Area and along scenic William Harsha Lake. The experience is...
The Tecumseh Trail Multi-use Pathway offers a pleasant route, partially on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Columbus-to-Saint Louis freight mainline. The rail route was also once used for Lincoln's...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
Opened in 2017, the Clinton-Fayette Friendship Trail, spanning 7.1 miles, is the longest rail-trail in central Ohio's Clinton County. Following a former railroad corridor, the rail-trail spans the...
The Steve Whalen Boulevard Bikeway is a short neighborhood trail in East Dayton. The trail parallels the boulevard of the same name, starting at its intersection with Hamilton Avenue, and then heading...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
The Armleder Park Trail loops along a wide, paved route through the open meadows of the park, located east of Cincinnati. At the southeast end, you'll find an overlook of the Little Miami River....
The Greenville Creek Trail is a nice, albeit short, retreat through suburban Greenville. The paved path follows its namesake creek, passing under streets and linking neighborhood parks with downtown....
The Camp Chase Trail plays a role in two of Ohio’s most exciting trail projects: it is a key piece of the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail and an integral part of the Central Ohio Greenways network...
The Lebanon Countryside YMCA Trail offers 8 miles of paved pathway winding through Lebanon, from downtown to a connection to the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail. The trail begins in the north near...
The Xenia–Jamestown Connector links these two eponymous communities and travels east beyond Jamestown to the Greene–Fayette County line at Rosemoor Road. It’s part of Ohio’s Miami River Valley trail...
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Ohio’s Miami River Valley, with 340 miles of off-road trails, is home to one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks. Heading northwest from Dayton, the Wolf Creek Trail is one piece of this...
The growing Mill Creek Greenway Trail follows one of Cincinnati’s most important urban waterways and will one day stretch 14 miles through the city's northern neighborhoods. Groundwork Cincinnati is a...
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a jewel in the crown of Ohio rail-trails, spanning just over 78 miles from the outskirts of Cincinnati to Springfield over historical bridges and through tranquil...
This is a nice railtrail mostly through farm lands in the country land of Indiana! Make sure to pack lots of water as someone else said. We took water and still didn’t have enough! Thankfully we came upon one of the trailheads that had water. My husband was not happy with the water quality though ¿¿
Looking for a tough assignment? Try this one. I might be the first reviewer to have done this trail from end to end. This is the slowest 36 miles that I have ever done.
Why do it? My interest in the Miami and Erie Canal started as a kid, as the canal was part of the backyard of my parents' house near Dayton, about an hour's drive south.
In 2019, I set out to do this trail from its beginning in Ft, Loramie Ohio to its end in Delphos Ohio. It took me three attempts.
Some facts: The entire 274 mile length of the Miami and Erie Canal started in Cincinnati and ended somewhere near Toledo. This particular "Miami and Erie Canal Trail" trail covers about 36 miles of it. Another reviewer referred to "Farnsworth" ...actually, that is a misplaced review that belongs to the "Towpath Trail" which is not this trail, but easy to be confused, as that trail also is along a more northerly section of the same Miami and Erie Canal. (BTW the Towpath Trail is much easier than this one.)
It took me three tries to finish the Miami and Erie Trail (e.g., see comment about culvert) but it's feasible to do it in one trip if you know where you are going.
While the trail is "good," as in clearly marked, and hikers have no problem, it is not easy to cycle with a few exceptions. You will need a mountain bike to take it from end to end. Forget about taking your kid along for this one - it's really rugged in spots. Some parts of the trail are hard-paved, others are graveled, but much is grassland along the edge of farmers fields. Sometimes the trail disappears and you are riding the adjacent road.
Fort Loramie - In a word: disconnected. Go to the State Park and ride along the lake's edge on the road side, and do a quick tour of the park. The lake was a feeder to the canal. It's placid and pretty. Ride the road along the canal hiking trail, then you will come to Ohio Rt 66, and realize that the bike path isn't really there...it's someone's backyard, or - across the road - a rough uncut farmers field with ground hog burrows under the uncut grass. That might be Ok for hiking, but not for bikes. If you want to make it to Minster-New Bremen, then load the bike on your car, or ride the edge of OH 66.
Minster-New Bremen - this is a nice stretch, the trail is a mix of graveled and hard-paved path and canal-side streets. Stop at the AWESOME WORLD CLASS!!! Bicycle Museum of America. On display is the world's first bicycle .. the real deal.
Going north, expect the paving to be excellent for awhile, and suddenly you are riding through rough grassland along the edge of farm fields. Get used to it and enjoy the solitude and the relaxed speed of 6 mph. Sometimes you are on tire tracks in the woods. Nice!
As you approach St. Mary's OH. you realize you are again in people's yards, so you go back onto Ohio Rt 66 for a bit. Go into Geiger Park and get back in the trail, see the canal boat in the center of town, and then,,,you might get lost (as I did), ask for directions, it's OK. Friendly locals. Suddenly, you are dead-ended at a culvert (just too small and wet to be reasonable for biker, but a hiker, hmmm) that goes under the divided highway. Later, you learn that you were supposed to go left at the culvert, and cycle on the grass along the highway, go under the bridge, and you are back on track. It gets nice with 40 acre lake.
After St, Mary's comes Kossuth, then Spencerville - lots of grass pedaling until you reach the adjacent gravel pit, where the the trail is paved with stone chips. Nice!
Then continue onto Delphos, which is quizzical. What do they have in mind as they newly pave the trail (in process as I write this) but come to a dead-halt in someone's backyard?
Overall, a tough and sometimes confusing path combined with the world class bicycle museum. Glad to have done it.
On July 30 I rode from Richmond to Economy return. It was a glorious ride! Loved it! Safe and shady most of the way. However, beware the Oak Mites! The next morning I woke up with welts all over my forehead, neck and shoulders. I had even showered immediately after my ride but I had a severe allergic reaction. I am not from this region and had never heard of these critters that can flourish in July and August especially in years when locusts also flourish. But the trail is so great I would do it again but take more precautions.
We use this trail many times a year to get into downtown Dayton. It is scenic and well marked.
In recent years dirt has built up on parts of the trail. PLEASE be careful after rain when the dirt turns to mud. Piqua to Peterson Road and Taylorsville Park to Rip Rap Road Park are sections that can be very muddy.
We are in our 60's and prefer paved trails, like this one. We rode from a great b&b just south of Xenia, only a few tenths of a mile from the trail, approx. 40 miles to Loveland. Then hired the Ohio Trail Shuttle to bring us back. Trail is mostly shady, wonderful scenery, wildlife, downhill to Loveland. Not many services available near the trail on this segment, except Corwin, a convenience store right next to the trail. Well maintained right of way, through pretty country. And when we got to Loveland, some great restaurants right along the trail. Certainly more folks on trail as you get closer to Cincinnati. Highly recommend this trail and thanks to all who maintain it! We also rode a small segment of the trail north from Yellow Springs but rain was threatening. YS is a cute college town with lots of amenities just west of the trail downtown. Make sure you check out the brewery along the trail just north of YS, and Youngs Dairy about 1/2 mi east of the trail for some ice cream. We will likely come back to explore other trails that cross in Xenia.
As far as the Dayton-Kettering Connector goes it is a pretty easy trail to ride. Trail may be an exaggeration, it is more like a route. Most of the this trail is an on-road route using sharrows or bike lanes with a 2 mile rail trail in the middle. The rail trail portion heads south from the University of Dayton's RecPlex and ends at Wiltshire Blvd. in Kettering. The route continues further south on residential streets and connects with other bike routes but most specifically with the Iron Horse Trail.
The Miami Valley Trails organization says that the Dayton-Kettering Connector (DKC) is an ideal commuting route for individuals working in downtown Dayton while the rail trail portion provides a gentle climb into the south suburbs, not found on any of the roadways heading the same way. I found the 1.9 mile rail trail section is a climb but not a strain. There was one additional sustained climb up Ackerman Blvd. beside climbing the rail trail when heading south. The trail is well signed with frequent bike route signs with direction arrows at turns and every other sign seemed to have the bike route number at the top of them. In this case the Dayton-Kettering Connector is Bike Route 19.
When I reached the Iron Horse Trail in Kettering I turned around and rode the back the same way I came but continued through the University of Dayton campus and followed the bike lanes on Brown and Jefferson Streets to RiverScape Metropark along the Miami River in downtown Dayton. It seems that the Dayton public has a more enlightened attitude about sharing the road with cyclists. I felt safe in the bike lanes, although I was not riding in them during rush hour. Getting back to the UD campus from RiverScape MetroPark is a bit tricky because there is no southbound bike lane on the roads you just traveled on to reach RiverScape. I suggest returning to the UD campus by traveling on the Great Miami River Recreational Trail until it rises from the river at W. Stewart Street. From there you can take a bike lane that runs parallel to Stewart Street back to Brown Street and then into campus where you need to go.
The only reason I sought out this trail was because it was listed as one of Ohio’s trails listed on TrailLink.com and it is my goal to ride every Ohio trail listed there. This trail at this point can only be considered a commuter or local recreational trail. It is only 0.7 miles long and parallels Steve Whalen Boulevard between Wyoming Street and Hamilton Avenue. I started at Highland Park off of Wyoming Street. There is parking there but it doesn’t much look like a parking lot, so be warned. The asphalt trail surface was in good shape as this trail can't be very old. However, like many urban trails there were several areas where their was broken class on the trail which could have punctured my tires.
I don’t know if this is phase one of a much larger planned pathway or route (similar to others in the Dayton area), but at this point this is such a short trail I say leave it to the local residents.
This paved rail trail probably gets its name because it follows Shawnee Creek out of Xenia, crosses the Little Miami River around Trebein, parallels the Little Beaver Creek in Beavercreek and eventually meets up with the Mad River in Eastwood Metropark. There are quite a few areas of shade along this route but it is not a constant canopy of shade like many rail trails. In particular, you will find little shade when the trail parallels U.S. Rt. 35. This trail is fairly flat — typical of a rail trail. It is wide and well maintained with very few problems in the pavement like tree root uplifting or undermining erosion.
This trail connects to many other trails in the region. In Xenia, you can connect to the Little Miami Scenic Trail as well as the Prairie Grass Trail both part of the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail Route. There is also the Xenia-Jamestown Connector that starts at Xenia Station. In addition, there are two lesser local spurs, the Towler Road Spur and the James Ranch Connection Spur, that connect to a local park and the Greene County Fairgrounds, respectfully. As you get closer to the Eastwood Metropark in Riverside, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, you can connect to the Iron Horse Trail, a Dayton recreational trail. In the Eastwood MetroPark you run into the Mad River Trail which will take you into downtown Dayton (and to many other trail connections) or out to Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the United States Air Force Museum.
I have only two minor complaints about this trail. First, there are 4 road crossings in quick succession as you leave Xenia Station over roads where caution is required. Secondly, I would also suggest making sure that you have plenty to drink on hot summer days as there are few places to find or buy something to drink without going off the trail. There is water and Gatorade available through vending machines at Beavercreek Station (pretty much at the trail’s midpoint) but half the selections in the vending machines there were sold out when I was there early in the day. I’m not sure how often those machines are serviced, so be prepared on really hot days.
Very nice first time bike ride for the person who is just getting into riding and trying out a bike
Another Ohio TrailLink.com-listed trail checked off my list. This time a 3.2 mile round trip on the Fairfax Bike Trail between Mariemont and Madisonville in the Cincinnati area of Ohio. This is not much of a trail right now and appears to me as being something a commercial/retail developer threw in in order to sweeten a deal with the city in order to develop a particular piece of land. Apparently there are plans to connect the Fairfax Trail to another trail planned to run between Cincinnati and Cleveland. Could that other trail be the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which is part of the Ohio to Erie Trail route? There are several other biking trails in the area: the Little Miami Scenic Trail, the Armleder Park Trail, The Ohio River Trail, the Lunken Airport Trail, and Wasson Way. This trail could be a part of a much wider developing trail network, but at present I see no signs of this trail being expanded any time soon nor any reason for you to go out of your way to seek this trail out. Definitely a trail for just the local residents.
I rode this trail in my ongoing quest to ride all of the Ohio trails listed at TrailLink.com. This trail was listed late in 2018 after I had thought I had ridden all of the TrailLink.com-listed trails in the Cincinnati area.
This 0.6 miles of trail is the first phase of a trail designed to run about 7.2 miles from Xavier University east toward and connecting to the Little Miami Scenic Trail (part of the Ohio to Erie Trail route.). The trail stretches from Madison Road near the Rookwood Commons & Pavilion shopping plaza to Tamarack Avenue near the Withrow High School Athletic Fields. Phase 2 of this trail is currently under construction which will feature a bridge over I-71 and head west, hopefully to its final destination of Xavier University. If phase 3 is to expand eastward, the first obstacle to be overcome will be navigating through the traffic on Madison Road which seems very busy.
At this point I don’t think this trail is worth a trip to walk or ride until more phases of the trail are complete, or unless you live in this neighborhood.
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