Explore the best rated trails in Bellefontaine, OH, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Triplett Pathway and Hoover Scenic Trail . With more than 55 trails covering 4649 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.
I rode a total of 6.8 miles on two out & back rides on the two sections of the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway in Bluffton, Ohio. I first rode 4.61 miles on an out and back ride on the eastern section of the Lions Way Pathway. I later rode an additionalI 2.19 miles out-and-back on the western portion of the trail, labeled as the Augsburger Path.
I started near the center of the trail. I parked at the Village Arboretum on Lake Street next to Cobb Lake. I first headed east on the trail toward Commerce Lane. This portion of the trail leads to a commercial area next to Bluffton’s I-75 exit. Here you will find the Bluffton Inn & Suites Motel, a couple of gas stations along with several fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. TrailLink.com maps show the trail ending before it reaches Jefferson Street, the main drag, where the exits of I-75 connect. However, this end of the trail now has been extended out to Jefferson Street where an additional trail section has been built along Jefferson toward the center of town. It seems to extend to the end of this commercial area where it crosses over Jefferson. I’m not sure where it goes after crossing Jefferson St. as I chose not to explore the parts not documented here at TrailLink.
Next, I rode back to Cobb Lake and then started riding the trail toward the Bluffton University. At Cobb Lake the trail is actually Lake Street so you may encounter an occasional car as you ride along here. When you reach N. Main Street you will come to a street crossing that leads to a parking lot for Buckeye Lake. This is another park. The city pool and the local YMCA is located next to this lake. If you follow the trail around the lake you will reach Spring Street. There is no indication that the trail/bike route continues from here, but if you head west on Spring Street you will eventually arrive at the Bluffton University Campus.
TrailLink's current map for Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway shows Rosenberger Road crossing through the Bluffton University's campus. I was looking for this street as it would lead to the western portion of the trail known as the Augsburger Path which runs along Augsburger Road. Unfortunately, there is no longer a drive through the Bluffton U. campus as the addition of Lincoln Hall has removed that through street. Ultimately, after trying to find an alternate on-street route on my battery drained phone forced me to return to Cobb Lake, recharge my phone, and find a parking lot along the Augsburger Path in order to ride that segment. When I eventually rode that segment I found it somewhat disappointing it seems to be mostly a commuter route connecting residential areas to the university campus with few interesting things to see.
It appears that the main purpose of the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway is to connect Bluffton University students and Bluffton residents with the village's parks, restaurants (mostly fast food), and other village locations. The off-road portions of the trail are fairly new and are in very rideable shape. The on-road portions of this trail are on lightly trafficked streets, but are not well-marked with signs. If you plan on riding this trail having a map app would be helpful to find your way should you get lost.
With the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway and the Triplett Pathway the Village of Bluffton seems to be creating a multi-use trail loop that will connect Bluffton students and residents with the village's amenities. I would like to return to Bluffton again, to see if I could complete this potential trail loop.
I rode a total of 2.84 miles on two out & back rides on the two sections of the Triplett Pathway in Bluffton, Ohio. I started by riding the southern portion of Triplett Pathway that runs out of Bluffton Village Park which passes under Interstate 75 along the edge of Riley Creek, and enters into a residential neighborhood at East College Avenue where the trail actually ends. To connect to the northern section of the pathway you would have to ride on some residential streets but the route was not marked with a sign at the E. College Ave. intersection. Thus, I had to drive to the northern section trailhead located at the Village Arboretum next to Cobb Lake in order to ride from there to see if I could find the street route to this southern portion of the trail. Riding from the arboretum, the trail and the on-road route is better signed and was easy to connect to the section leading to Bluffton Village Park.
It appears that with the Triplett Pathway and the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway the Village of Bluffton is creating a multi-use loop that will connect Bluffton University students and Bluffton residents with the village's parks, restaurants (mostly fast food), and other village amenities. The off-road portions of the trail are fairly new and are in very rideable shape. The on-road portions of these trails are on lightly trafficked streets, but are not necessarily well-marked with signs so at this time having a map app would be a must to find your way should you get lost. I would like to return to Bluffton again, to see if I could complete this potential trail loop.
This path is located on the eastern shore of Grand Lake in Grand Lake St Marys State Park. The trail parallels the East Bank Parkway which features 3 picnic shelters with water and parking lots and great views of this large lake. Personally I think this path was created to keep joggers and cyclists off the parkway during the shelters’ busiest times – weekends and holidays during the summer.
The pathway is in fair shape but functional. There are quite a number of spots where wide cracks run across the entire width of the trail. Patching or resurfacing the trail would improve the ride. I could see this trail becoming a part of a larger network of trails that would encircle Grand Lake. Coupled with the Franklin Township Greenway Trail and the West Bank Trail the potential network is about half complete. Since I’m not a resident of the area perhaps there is a feeling that the loop around Grand Lake is already complete. However, several of the roads around Grand Lake carry cars at high speeds and do not have wide shoulders or bike lanes which makes an out-of-towner such as myself hesitant to ride them.
This trail primarily connects the athletic fields in Findlay, Ohio's Swale Park to nearby neighborhoods. However, a map displayed at the River Landings playground parking lot on Fox Street indicated that there was a lot more to this greenway on both sides of the Blanchard River. The maps here at TrailLink.com identify the trail on the opposite side of the Blanchard River from Swale Park as the Heritage Trail (OH) rather than the Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail.
Supposedly once you reached the corner of West High and North Main Streets you could ride down N. Main St. to connect to the Findlay Downtown Riverwalk where you could connect to “trails” on both sides of the river. Since I was riding this trail during the afternoon rush hour, I found North Main Street to have too much traffic to my liking, and it did not include a designated bike lane or use sharrows. It appeared that North Cory Street may have been a better route to connect to the trail on the other side of the Blanchard River because it was less trafficked and had sharrows. The trail surface for this trail was in good condition with the exception of the spur that ran out of Swale park to the corner of Broad and Howard Streets. There was a 15 yard or so break in the asphalt somewhere between Bolton and Fox Streets that looked as though somebody decided that there should no longer be a connection to Swale Park. Maybe this was just an area where a repair was hastily completed.
While this trail is probably useful for Findlay residents, it is not one that I recommend to riders from outside the area to seek out for a ride.
Been riding this trail for decades and have noticed that sections between Franklin and Dayton have pavement cracks every 30-50 ft that are 2-4 inches in width. It looks like at in the past they were filled in with asphalt, now the asphalt has sunk down in. Yesterday was a jarring and unsettling ride, probably will start in downtown Dayton and ride north until they fix these cracks.
Left Xenia Station and headed to this trail (Ohio Trail #4). Directions to the trail not obvious from the station. Had to go about 1+ blocks on Washington St. to enter. Once on the trail, it was smooth, brand new asphalt. Nice canopy of trees and lots of farmland to view heading to Jamestown. As of today, could only ride to Stringtown Rd. as they are laying new pavement east of there. Will be a great ride once finished.
We rode this trail for the second time on a perfect day in May. In summer 2022 it really had been “the trail to nowhere” so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the trail has been extended by about 3 miles, taking you under I-71 to the village of Octa, where we found a picnic shelter and portalets (note: no running water). It was the middle of a weekday and we encountered only 8 other cyclists in total on the route out from Xenia and back.
The bike path leading to Huffman Prairie offers a scenic journey, albeit with minimal shade, so lather up on sunscreen. Its gentle terrain makes for an easy ride, perfect for cyclists of all levels. As you pedal through, you're reminded of the profound historical connection between bicycles and the Wright brothers, who honed their flying skills on these very grounds. It's not just a bike path; it's a ride through history.
I have ran this trail from top to bottom twice. This included the portion that is known as Canal Feeder Trail in Sidney (not labeled on this map, but said to be part of the trail) and also includes the last little bit from Hamilton to Fairfield.
Last year when i ran it, it was labeled as being 99 miles, however, this year they have it marked as being 87 miles...not sure where the other 12 miles went from the year before...but I measured it out to be 95.72 miles. This includes any and all spurs or any branches off from the main trail. Canal feeder trail is 4.66 miles (this includes the whole trail, across Vandemark Rd where the trail extends and dead ends in the woods with no place to go but back to the Vandemark Rd parking lot). Then starting at Swift Run in Piqua and ending at Trenton (including Canal Feeder) measures 84.55 miles. The last little bit from Reigart Road in Hamilton to Groh Ln in Fairfield measures 11.17 miles.
I frequently run the portions running from Piqua to Vandalia. This portion is mostly wooded and protected. Once it gets in to Dayton it gets a little tricky with more flood bank runs and city views. The run from Marina Drive to Miami St is a little boring but not as boring as the path from Carmody to Trenton that measures 6.2 miles in distance.
I have this trail broke down in to miles pretty good with landmarks. If anyone ever wants to know distance measures, I'm your gal.
The last leg of the map runs Hamilton to Fairfield, and honestly may be the best part through heavy woods and beautiful landscapes.
Enjoy!
A wonderful trail that slowly climbs out of Xenia. It begins with a canopy of trees and later turns to fields. An Inn on the trail in Cedarville warmly welcomes cyclists for a rest stop. It saved us from a passing thunderstorm.
Five Stars. We rode 51 miles.
Xenia is a casual cyclist's version of heaven. Five trails radiate out of this town. "Xenia Station" is the nucleus. Find yourselves a nice bed and breakfast and spend the week.
This is a great warm up trial. Nicely maintained. We did 42 miles in May 2024 to start our week.
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