Explore the best rated trails in Defiance, OH, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the University/Parks Trail and Triplett Pathway . With more than 28 trails covering 289 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’m not sure how this trail is a 5 star trail? The surface is mediocre with fragments, roots, and bumps. It’s confusing with multiple turns and trail closures. It’s unsafe with crossings at busy intersections and sections running along side busy roads. My husband and I used our road bikes. We were disappointed with the section we rode. Maybe other sections are better? We will not be returning or recommending this trail to others for biking.
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.
We bike this nearly every day. Easy access from our home. Great shad and wind block with only a few hills.
Very well kept and comfortable trail. Effective July '24 extends an additional mile or so beyond what's indicated here, along the Sylvan Lake dam on the west end.
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.
Not a real good pick. Very rundown, overgrown plants, Graffiti. We went at dusk on a Friday night and the parking lot by the bay had a lot of people and unsafe looking. Would not recommend.
I live close to Fallen Timbers and pick up both the north and south paths often and I have road the whole south trail a couple times. I ride both a full suspension and no suspension mountain bikes from the early 2000s. Either is adequate for the parts of the trail I’ve road on. I find the trail beautiful. I’d like to make it out to Montpelier but have only made it just past the detour between Delta and Wauseon. The posted detour has you going about 4-5 miles on county roads. This is very dangerous. I would not recommend as the traffic is very fast and if cars come from both directions you have to get off and the off often ends up in a ditch and not easy. I’ve found it better to just continue on the path and avoid the detour. But this places you along the railroad tracks and it’s very difficult to ride. They are active tracks also and trains will come by. Riding on the trail though the detour is possible but rough and the part that goes over the tracks and along them is not marked well. It took some exploring to figure it out. I can’t speak for the trail after wauseon to Montpelier as I haven’t made it that far but the parts I’ve road are a great path for all day riding. You will have to cross streets along the way so you will have starting stopping.
Nice paved trail along the river; across a railroad bridge; thru town; around Hospital and several lakes/ponds.
The length of the Pufferbelly Trail should be updated to somewhere between eight and 9 miles now that the northern section is complete all the way to Fitch Rd.,
What a relaxing ride! This was my first “big” ride on my Recumbent bike. It was easy to navigate, smooth and well marked. There’s several distance options you can choose from to ride, walk or jog. I would recommend the Slippery Elm for families or just soloists.
Short little straight stretch that is very nicely paved. Not much on the scenery unless you like cornfields. I supplemented the trail by riding around in the sleepy lil town of Ohio City. It’s very much a little town… Not a city. Ohio City. Them folks must’ve stayed up all night to think of that one.
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