Find the top rated trails in Defiance, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Baw Beese Trail, named in honor of a former chief of the local Potawatomi population, connects the Michigan communities of Hillsdale and Jonesville. The paved trail is a model of efficient land...
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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Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
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The Kiwanis Trail occupies an old railroad bed between Adrian and the southern edge of Tecumseh. The trail is currently the only open component of a much longer proposed regional greenway trail. In...
The Fishing Line Trail will someday span 12 miles between the cities of Kendallville and Rome City, Indiana. Noble Trails, the group behind this project, is in the process of acquiring the parcels...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
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 University/Parks Trail is a wide, paved trail that extends from Toledo into its western suburbs along a former railroad corridor. More than half the trail also parallels an active freight...
The Dr. Richard D. Ruppert Rotary Trail circles International Park along the east bank of the Maumee River in East Toledo. The trail runs between the Main Street bridge and Navarre Avenue, where it...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
The Rivergreenway is a 24-mile linear park within the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven in Allen County, Indiana. The trail consists of three main branches along the banks of the St. Marys, St....
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 Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
The mileage slips by on the Slippery Elm Rail-Trail as you take in the flat, fast and scenic northwest Ohio countryside. The 13-mile paved path runs south from Bowling Green through the small town of...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector is a short, but valuable, paved route on the west end of Maumee that connects historical attractions, a popular park, and a rail-trail that spans more than 60...
For more than 4 miles, Angola's trail winds through the heart of the city, which sits in the northeast corner of Indiana, just 10 miles from the bordering states of Michigan and Ohio. The paved...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The name Pufferbelly comes from the historic nickname for a steam locomotive. This rail-trail stretches a total of 2.25 miles. There is a 1.25 mile segment from the Pentolina Grove neighborhood on...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
For more than 4 miles, Angola's trail winds through the heart of the city, which sits in the northeast corner of Indiana, just 10 miles from the bordering states of Michigan and Ohio. The paved...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
For much of its 9-mile length, the Towpath Trail traces the scenic Maumee River, paralleling US 24 (at some distance), on the southwestern outskirts of Toledo. It traverses three parks as it follows...
The Dr. Richard D. Ruppert Rotary Trail circles International Park along the east bank of the Maumee River in East Toledo. The trail runs between the Main Street bridge and Navarre Avenue, where it...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector is a short, but valuable, paved route on the west end of Maumee that connects historical attractions, a popular park, and a rail-trail that spans more than 60...
The University/Parks Trail is a wide, paved trail that extends from Toledo into its western suburbs along a former railroad corridor. More than half the trail also parallels an active freight...
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 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 Kiwanis Trail occupies an old railroad bed between Adrian and the southern edge of Tecumseh. The trail is currently the only open component of a much longer proposed regional greenway trail. In...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
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 Rivergreenway is a 24-mile linear park within the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven in Allen County, Indiana. The trail consists of three main branches along the banks of the St. Marys, St....
The Fishing Line Trail will someday span 12 miles between the cities of Kendallville and Rome City, Indiana. Noble Trails, the group behind this project, is in the process of acquiring the parcels...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
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 name Pufferbelly comes from the historic nickname for a steam locomotive. This rail-trail stretches a total of 2.25 miles. There is a 1.25 mile segment from the Pentolina Grove neighborhood on...
The Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The Rivergreenway is a 24-mile linear park within the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven in Allen County, Indiana. The trail consists of three main branches along the banks of the St. Marys, St....
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: the north fork runs east–west for 46 miles and the south fork makes up the balance of this 63-mile trail. The trails...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
For much of its 9-mile length, the Towpath Trail traces the scenic Maumee River, paralleling US 24 (at some distance), on the southwestern outskirts of Toledo. It traverses three parks as it follows...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The Dr. Richard D. Ruppert Rotary Trail circles International Park along the east bank of the Maumee River in East Toledo. The trail runs between the Main Street bridge and Navarre Avenue, where it...
The Fishing Line Trail will someday span 12 miles between the cities of Kendallville and Rome City, Indiana. Noble Trails, the group behind this project, is in the process of acquiring the parcels...
For more than 4 miles, Angola's trail winds through the heart of the city, which sits in the northeast corner of Indiana, just 10 miles from the bordering states of Michigan and Ohio. The paved...
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 Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector is a short, but valuable, paved route on the west end of Maumee that connects historical attractions, a popular park, and a rail-trail that spans more than 60...
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 University/Parks Trail is a wide, paved trail that extends from Toledo into its western suburbs along a former railroad corridor. More than half the trail also parallels an active freight...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
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 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 Kiwanis Trail occupies an old railroad bed between Adrian and the southern edge of Tecumseh. The trail is currently the only open component of a much longer proposed regional greenway trail. In...
The mileage slips by on the Slippery Elm Rail-Trail as you take in the flat, fast and scenic northwest Ohio countryside. The 13-mile paved path runs south from Bowling Green through the small town of...
The Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
My family and I are a bit biased, we live less than a half mile from the Slippery Elm, and bike, run and walk it frequently. But we've ridden bucket-list trails in many places around the US, and they often fall short of our humble Slippery-Elm in many ways.
This trail is wide, flat, and smooth. It is well maintained by the county parks, and local volunteers. It is calm, peaceful, quaint, charming, and beautiful. It can be ridden at a relaxed pace to observe the scenery and wildlife, or rocketed along and a fast pace. Road racers however will find the sections very short, but that can make for great interval training.
My wife and I ride a tandem, and pull our two boys in a tag-along. The whole family loves to ride this trail. My wife says that I claim each section is my favorite, and a short ride often goes several miles extra, because "the next section is my favorite". The trail ranges from woods to swamps and prairies, to fields, and if observed carefully they all are interesting and beautiful.
Mid-day can get very hot on this trail, as long sections are in the open, but morning and evening are usually nice. Pay attention to the wind and plan your ride around it! We like to plan our trips to go out into the head-wind, and then ride a tail-wind home.
I have only ridden the Oak Openings to Maumee so far. Flat, clean and safe. Wooded areas, farm and houses. Black top this entire section. I look forward to riding the entire trail this summer.
The Montessori school does not allow parking weekdays while school is in session. Drive to wal-Mart to park. Trail is only 1/4 mi from parking lot. Pleasant paved path. Trail ends in North Baltimore and has men's and women's restrooms along with places to sit. Many benches along entire route. Mile markers also.
We rode from the parking lot across from McDonald's in Jonesville to Union St in Hillsdale and back this afternoon. There is a nice stretch through the woods and beside the St Joseph River in Jonesville and again in Hillsdale. Most of the route between the two towns parallel s M99 and is, therefore, not scenic. We still enjoyed the ride and plan to ride this trail again sometime starting at the lake in Hillsdale.
The path was well paved and the signs were visible. It was cool to go through downtown Ft. Wayne and see the historic fort. It was also nice to see the biking depot and some beautiful homes along the trail.
My son and I use this trail when I come home to see my mom in Ottawa Hills. Perfect for a brisk walk any time of the year. The residents/walkers/joggers/bikers are very courteous of one another. Anyone living along this trail are really blessed to have it.
Stayed at Holiday Inn Express across from Allen County Indoor Arena.Ran across pedestrian bridge over St Joseph River towards IUPFW campus.Initially went South towards downtown but trail eventually followed city road after about 3/4 mile.Turned around and went North past bridge through campus.Gorgeous route there!Leaves were peaking during visit.Would advise crossing bridge and just running through campus trail rather than going South from bridge.Enjoyed this run in Fort Wayne.
You can ride this trail non-stop for miles and miles with no stop signs. (There are a couple yield signs to warn of a private driveways to property between the old canal and the river.)That was really fun to be able to just keep riding and riding.
The trail is marked every quarter mile, with several places to rest or observe nature on park benches. Map displays are also frequent, with a convenient "you are here" arrow. There are nice restrooms at both ends of the trail, with a latrine in the middle of the trail at Bend View. There is a trail bypass to go around the park building at Bend View, if you don't want to slow down.
The trail was dry and very hard today, and we observed several folks on road bikes with skinny racing tires, although they may have had to use caution over a couple springtime washouts repaired with larger gravel.
I've lived in the area for many years but rode the trail for the first time last weekend. I was on a recumbent with fat tires and the conditions were dry. It was wonderful! Only the center section was a little 'rough' - even when muddy, it would be trivial on a mountain bike.
I started at Farnsworth Park and headed south. There are many photo ops and a couple of rest stops with benches and rest rooms along the way. At the southern terminus in Providence Park you can tour the mill or take a ride on a mule-drawn canal boat through one of the original locks on the Miami Erie canal. The trail (unofficially) continues south about a half a mile to Providence dam where there is a shelter house, a playground and, yet another, scenic view. The whole thing is just dripping with history.
If this 18/20 mile round trip is not enough, you can do the 30 mile loop on the fully paved Wabash Cannonball Trail located virtually right around the corner.
I ride this trail often taking the link to it out of Wildwoods metropark. It is a great trail with nice surroundings despite being in a well populated area. This is a trail that can be enjoyed as a leisurely ride or can be taken at a fair rate of speed and effort to enhance the cardio effect. This trail is a real gem in the Metroparks and University of Toledo fold. Most folks you meet on this trail are friendly and smiling which just makes it more fun to ride.
Other than about .25 miles under construction the path was awesome, very smooth and not a lot of elevation sorry and easy ride for the whole family.
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