Explore the best rated trails in Bellefontaine, OH. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Hoover Scenic Trail and Mad River Trail. With more than 51 trails covering 4614 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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The Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
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...
For visitors and locals alike, the Olentangy Trail is the ideal way to explore Columbus, the dynamic capital of Ohio, as well as the surrounding communities. Named after the eponymous river it follows...
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 Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
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 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 Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
The Alum Creek Greenway Trail takes you through a scenic landscape from Westerville through Columbus to Groveport, with easy access to adjoining neighborhoods and a multitude of public parks to enjoy....
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 Westerville B&W (Bike & Walk Route) is an extensive system of paved multi-use paths throughout the Columbus suburb, stretching from Hoover Reservoir on the east to as far west as Worthington Road....
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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...
Celina's West Bank Trail follows the shoreline of the Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio's largest inland lake, and offers beautiful views of the lake and Rotary Lighthouse, as well as providing access to...
The East Bank Path sits, as its name suggests, on the east shoreline of Grand Lake St. Marys, a whopping 13,500 acre man-made reservoir that is Ohio's largest. The trail travels 1.4 miles south from...
The Roberts Pass Trail runs from downtown London, Ohio, to rural Fairfield Township. The trail passes through farmland for 6.5 miles, although dense tree cover shades the route at all...
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 North Lewisburg Trail lies about 40 miles northwest of Columbus in the Village of North Lewisburg. The trail runs northeast from the community park in a wooded corridor that once housed train...
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 Lima Rotary Riverwalk trail follows the southeast bank of the meandering Ottowa River between Heritage Park southwest of Lima and Schoonover Park northeast of city center. At its north end, the...
The Sawmill Parkway Trail is a shared use path running the length of the parkway from Delaware to Powell. The trail is paved and mostly sits on the west side of the road. Along the trail are...
The Hellbranch Trail offers a paved route of just over 5 miles in the northwestern Columbus suburb of Hilliard. The pathway connects residential neighborhoods and schools with recreational parks, a...
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 East Bank Path sits, as its name suggests, on the east shoreline of Grand Lake St. Marys, a whopping 13,500 acre man-made reservoir that is Ohio's largest. The trail travels 1.4 miles south from...
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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 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 Marion Tallgrass Trail is a developing rail-trail which will extend from Marion westward on a former Erie Lackawanna Railway corridor. The line was part of the Erie Lackawanna’s main line that...
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 Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Bikeway runs from South Street in downtown Fairborn, along the north side of Kauffman Avenue adjacent to an active rail line, to National Road. At that point, the...
The North Lewisburg Trail lies about 40 miles northwest of Columbus in the Village of North Lewisburg. The trail runs northeast from the community park in a wooded corridor that once housed train...
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 Mad River Trail offers a paved route connecting a handful of parks along its namesake river in northeastern Dayton. The scenic pathway is also part of one of the nation's largest network of paved,...
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 Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
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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 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 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...
For visitors and locals alike, the Olentangy Trail is the ideal way to explore Columbus, the dynamic capital of Ohio, as well as the surrounding communities. Named after the eponymous river it follows...
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 Thomas W. Hopper Legacy Trail follows a former rail bed from the Blackhawk golf course to Miller Park, which offers a small playground. Of historical significance is the nearby Galena Shale and...
The Darby Creek Trail is currently available in two disconnected segments that parallel Big Darby Creek, a State and National Scenic River on the western outskirts of Columbus. The northern 3.5...
The Lima Rotary Riverwalk trail follows the southeast bank of the meandering Ottowa River between Heritage Park southwest of Lima and Schoonover Park northeast of city center. At its north end, the...
More than half of the smooth, flat, 6.1-mile Heritage Rail-Trail has a parallel 4-mile horse trail. The equestrian corridor starts at Hayden Run Road and continues northwest to the Cemetery Pike...
The developing Big Walnut Trail follows its namesake creek through Columbus and its eastern suburbs of Westerville, Gahanna, and Whitehall. Several segments of the paved pathway are open, though...
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
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Columbus’ Downtown Connector Trail provides a vital link between neighborhoods and schools on the city’s east side and the downtown area. On its east end, the paved pathway begins adjacent to I-670...
The North Lewisburg Trail lies about 40 miles northwest of Columbus in the Village of North Lewisburg. The trail runs northeast from the community park in a wooded corridor that once housed train...
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 Scioto Greenway Trail is an urban greenway at its best. A segment of the Central Ohio Greenways trail network that covers more than 120 miles throughout the state, the 12.2-mile multiuse trail...
The Hellbranch Trail offers a paved route of just over 5 miles in the northwestern Columbus suburb of Hilliard. The pathway connects residential neighborhoods and schools with recreational parks, a...
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 Jim Simmons Trail is a multipurpose trail in Marysville, north of Columbus, Ohio. The trail starts near Northwood Elementary and heads south along the creek, cutting a tree-lined path through Mill...
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 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...
For visitors and locals alike, the Olentangy Trail is the ideal way to explore Columbus, the dynamic capital of Ohio, as well as the surrounding communities. Named after the eponymous river it follows...
The Westerville B&W (Bike & Walk Route) is an extensive system of paved multi-use paths throughout the Columbus suburb, stretching from Hoover Reservoir on the east to as far west as Worthington Road....
The Oakwoods Trail system runs through a 155-acre nature preserve bordering Interstate 75 southwest of downtown Findlay. The preserve features a small lake, woodlands and meadows. The trails form...
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 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 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...
Celina's West Bank Trail follows the shoreline of the Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio's largest inland lake, and offers beautiful views of the lake and Rotary Lighthouse, as well as providing access to...
This trail is amazing!! You can get more miles if it’s taken from Plumb road past Groveport.
I had ridden part of the Scioto Greenway several times as it is a critical link in the Ohio to Erie Trail (OTET) route. This time, I chose to ride Scioto Greenway Trail to see what the other sections of this trail had to offer.
I chose to start at the center of the trail. I parked at the Boat House Restaurant & Event Center found at Confluence Park. Confluence Park is a peninsula that is formed at the intersection of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers. The Boat House has a large parking lot which sits at the intersection of the Scioto Greenway and Olentangy Trails. This makes parking here very convenient for cyclists.
From the Boat House, I chose to ride west first. What I was most curious about in this portion of the trail was what was worth being seen beyond the Hilltop Connector Trail as I had never gone beyond that point when riding the OTET. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much to see. While a good part of the trail west of Confluence Park does follow the Scioto River you don’t see much of the water as the trees and undergrowth only give up small glimpses of the river. The eventually crosses over Dublin Road (US-33) and travels along this road until it reaches West 5th Avenue. If you were to skip a section of the Scioto Greenway, this western section should be the one you drop.
After I peddled back to Confluence Park and then headed east toward downtown Columbus. This section of the trail is absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed the trail views of the Scioto River, the downtown skyscrapers, and the many bridges that crossed the river. The section from Confluence Park to when the trail passes under Interstate 70 is one of my favorite sections of trail from throughout Ohio. It is definitely a parklike setting with well manicured lawns, improved landscaping, picnic areas, and memorial statues. You view all this with a backdrop of downtown’s tall buildings. This section of the Scioto Greenway, on both sides of the river, is definitely worth a trip to check it out.
When you pass under I-70 you enter into Scioto Audubon Metro Park. The 120-acre park provides active recreation activities to the community. Activities such as hiking, biking, jogging, inline skating, kayaking, and fishing can be enjoyed here. I found that this was the busiest area along the route on the Saturday afternoon that I rode the trail. The natural areas of this section were quite a contrast to the commercial west and the manicured downtown areas. When you reach the southeast corner of Scioto Audubon, you find yourself at the boat (kayak/canoe) launch area to Greenlawn Avenue Low Head Reservoir. At first, I thought that I had reached the end of the trail, however, the trail does continue along West Whittier St. up to the Columbus’ Brewery District, a section of German Village. Once you reach Front Street in the Brewery District the trail leads to Greenlawn Avenue and its bridge where the street and trail cross back over the river. Once you come off of the bridge you loop back underneath it, and the trail follows the Scioto again for a little over 1.5 miles while it passes by the athletic fields of Berliner Park. The trail just dead ends right before reaching OH-104. This is probably the most wooded portion of the entire trail.
After backtracking back to the downtown section of the trail, I crossed from the East Bank to the West Bank of the Scioto River. I crossed using the Main Street Bridge which has a raised bike and pedestrian deck separated from the bridge’s traffic deck. On the West Bank of the Scioto River you will pass by and have access to COSI, the Ohio Center of Science and Industry, and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. After passing the Veteran’s Memorial Grove, you will pass under two railroad bridges and OH-315 before you reach North Souder Avenue Bridge where the bike lane will take you back over the Scioto River one more time into Confluence Park and the Boat House Restaurant and Event Center parking lot.
I really enjoyed this trail. There is a lot to see and a wide variety of sights along the way. I would highly recommend checking it out. I’m somewhat curious to find out how well lit the downtown section of the trail is at night because I think that if it is well lit it would be a great place for an evening ride.
The Hellbranch Trail is a greenway that I would describe as a commuter path. It runs predominantly in a North-South direction through the western portion of Hilliard, Ohio. It connects the Hilliard neighborhoods of Hoffman Farms, Colonial Lanes, Heritage Lakes, Lakewood, Westbriar, and Brookfield Village to local parks such as Homestead Metro Park, Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park, the Hilliard Family Aquatic Center, Franks Park, Clover Groff Natural Area, Spindler Dog Park, and Spindler Sports Complex.
The trail is extremely flat with very little change in elevation. The trail has a combination of trail surfaces: asphalt, widened cement sidewalks and crushed stone. My biggest complaint about this so-called trail is a lack of signage. For a named trail or route there was absolutely no signs to indicate where this route went. In a bicycle friendly city such as Hilliard that can be a problem. There are a lot of separated bike paths that parallel the roads of the city. Due to a lack of trail signs, if you are trying to follow a specific route, when you come to a road intersection many times you're not sure whether you should cross the street to continue in the same direction or make a turn. If I had not used the TrailLink app on my phone I would probably have made a number of wrong turns on my outward leg of my out-and-back ride of this trail.
If you live outside of Hilliard, I would suggest following TrailLink's recommendation to park at the Spindler Sports Complex and ride north. I think that if you ride in this direction the trail's path will be a little more clear (since there are no trail signs) than if you choose to ride from the north. Since this trail travels through quite a few residential neighborhoods there are not a lot of trailheads along the way, but Spindler Sports Complex in the south, Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park in the center, and Homestead Metro Park off of the connected Heritage Rail-Trail in the north are areas with plenty of parking.
I enjoyed this trail. It was a very pleasant ride. It has a lot of utility to connect the citizens Hilliard to their city's parks, but I don't think it is a must ride/walk Ohio trail for people outside of Hilliard. I do think that it is a significant enough route for the city's residents that it would be worthwhile for the city to mark the trail route with signs and distances to the different city facilities along the way.
This was a pleasant trail through the woods and meadow. The surface is mainly wood chips, dirt and grass, which would be more suitable for wider tires, rather than a road bike with skinny tires. I used a touring bike with 28 mm tires and didn't have a problem. It might be harder if the trail was wet. Just depends on how comfortable you are on those types of trails. Definitely a good trail to hike. I biked a few of the loops and did 3 miles total, which didn't take that long. I did not go in the Discovery Center since it was closed at the time.
This is a nice trail through the trees, especially in the Fall when the leaves were turning yellow. The road crossings in the southern portion weren't bad when using the signals. The trail surface was in good shape.
I biked the trail on October 17, 2020. Many sections in the lower portion were newly paved and most curb transitions between trail and road were also new. The orange cones were still in place. There is not any crushed stone as the description mentions. I could tell that the grass had been cut back from the trail, which brought it back to intended width. So the comments of a previous reviewer who said the path was narrow, sections torn up by development and bumpy, no longer apply. The few sections that had some grass growing in the cracks were not a problem. The one section where the trail was blocked crossing the new road by a new development looked like it was ready for cement. It was not an issue for me to go around it. It is true that there isn't any shade, but trees are planted. So many many years from now, some of the trail might be in the shade. :-). I did register 9 miles, not 7.8 miles, from the parking lot by Mac Donald's on the corner of Attucks and Sawmill Parkway to the north where it hits Rt 42. Lots of parking by businesses and restaurants at the southern end point. There are many road crossings, but I still managed to get over 13 mph between the roundabouts. Overall a nice trail for the business and residential/subdivision areas.
My wife and I read the reviews before starting out in Bellefontaine and were pleasantly surprised at how smooth the chip & seal trail was. The first few miles the scenery is nothing exceptional but once you get away from town and closer to West Liberty it opens up to beautiful rolling farm fields and woods which is spectacular in the fall. I would recommend starting out in West Liberty (there is a parking lot for access to the trail off SR 245) and riding the 10 miles to Urbana. The Depot Coffee shop is right off the trail as you enter Urbana and a welcome stop before continuing south or the return trip to West Liberty. We're looking forward to completing the ride from Urbana to Springfield on our next trip! My wife and I are in our 60's and healthy but not avid cyclists. The trail is flat and rides easily. It's a hidden gem and a wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.
I’m glad I tried this trail. I was looking for a short ride so I went down and back on this trail for about 7.5 miles. Lots of turns, beautiful scenery, and several parking areas with access to the trail. It would be ideal for children because of the distance and since there is a nice playground at one of the parking area.
A lovely autumn afternoon biking on the trail with my bride of 20+ years. Autumn leaving changing before us, a well maintained trail, with very few others taking advantage of a 75 degree October day. We biked out and back 9 miles each for a total of 18 miles and enjoyed every moment. The trail is largely well screened helping buffer us from the breezy winds today. Great fun to see all of the farmers out in their fields harvesting. We did not experience any of the concerns highlighted in other’s reviews, nor did were we able to see the Bald Eagles.
Great trail but ultra crowded during OSU school months.
No way is this trail 22.5 miles. Not even 17.5. I have ridden this trail for many years - I get 13 miles and change from trailhead at Worthington Hills to downtown at Scioto Trail intersection.
The mosquitoes were horrible this evening. Never seen anything like it before!
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