Find the top rated trails in Dover, 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 Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
Don't let the Panhandle Passage Trail's small stature fool you, it is just the start of an incredible adventure that awaits you in Tuscarawas County and one that you will remember for years to come....
The Loudonville Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway is nestled in a scenic valley in a small town nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio." The trail begins in downtown Loudonville, crosses the Blackfork...
As closely as possible, the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail follows a historic canal where mules once pulled boats from 1827 to 1913. Currently, 81 miles of the trail are complete from Cleveland south...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a planned 320-mile route via several existing trails that span the state of Ohio from the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland to the Ohio River in Cincinnati. When complete, the...
The Conotton Creek Trail is 11.4 miles of scenic serenity in northeast Ohio. The trail models rustic beauty, and its careworn pavement covers a flat, straight route. Several particularly rough spots...
The Zane's Landing Trail—also known as the Zanesville Riverfront Bike Path—extends north from downtown Zanesville on a former railroad corridor wedged between the Muskingum River and an active rail...
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Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 6 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The 14-mile Kokosing Gap Trail travels through a landscape of ravines and farmland and passes a beautifully restored train and a cheerful wood caboose. This outstanding trail connects the towns of...
If traveling through Ohio's Amish country and sharing space with bicycles, buggies and abundant wildlife sounds like an idyllic day to you, then you will enjoy the 15-mile Holmes County Trail. A good...
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Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
The Coshocton Three Rivers Bikeway provides safe and direct access from the City of Coshocton to the Coshocton Lake Park Recreational Complex and historic Roscoe Village. Two crossings under US 36...
The Bike & Hike Trail is a rambling, rolling 33.6-mile rail-trail peppered with bridge crossings and neighborhood road riding in both a rural and suburban setting. Unlike most flat rail-trails, this...
The Lester Rail Trail in Ohio's Medina County runs 3 miles between Abbeyville Road and Lester Road in York Township. The trail passes through bucolic farmland with scattered remnants of prairie, where...
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The County Line Trail travels the path of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad between Rittman and Creston. A highlight of the trail is a former Baltimore & Ohio freight station located just west of...
The Brooke Pioneer Trail follows the east bank of the Ohio River between Wellsburg and the Brooke–Ohio County line at Short Creek. Here the Brooke Pioneer Trail continues into Ohio County as the...
The Great Guernsey Trail runs for 6 miles from the eastern edge of Cambridge to Lore City. The paved trail occupies a former CSX railroad corridor through rural wooded countryside. Because it...
Though only 2.5 miles, the National Road Bikeway features an impressive below-grade tunnel, which was built in 1902. The narrow tunnel is 532 feet long and is lighted but still gives you the...
The Wellsburg Yankee Trail is a short, paved rail-trail that spans the entire length of Wellsburg, a small city on the Ohio River in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. The community trail runs...
The Sippo Valley Trail runs nearly 10 miles, with flat, gentle grades, between Dalton and Massillon. It takes its name from Sippo Creek, which cascades along the side of the trail for nearly its...
The Bike & Hike Trail is a rambling, rolling 33.6-mile rail-trail peppered with bridge crossings and neighborhood road riding in both a rural and suburban setting. Unlike most flat rail-trails, this...
Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
The Chippewa Rail Trail runs for 2.4 miles between Chippewa Road (SR 50) in Chippewa Lake to suburban Wycliffe Drive southwest of Medina (Lafayette Township). The trail is mostly rural in feel,...
The Loudonville Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway is nestled in a scenic valley in a small town nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio." The trail begins in downtown Loudonville, crosses the Blackfork...
As closely as possible, the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail follows a historic canal where mules once pulled boats from 1827 to 1913. Currently, 81 miles of the trail are complete from Cleveland south...
Though only 2.5 miles, the National Road Bikeway features an impressive below-grade tunnel, which was built in 1902. The narrow tunnel is 532 feet long and is lighted but still gives you the...
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
The Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 6 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The Stark Electric Railway Trail runs on a former interurban rail line that linked Canton and Salem via Louisville, Alliance and Sebring from 1902 to 1939. The company was nicknamed the ‘Bachelor...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
The Sippo Valley Trail runs nearly 10 miles, with flat, gentle grades, between Dalton and Massillon. It takes its name from Sippo Creek, which cascades along the side of the trail for nearly its...
The Olde Muskingum Trail parallels the Tuscarawas River and the Ohio & Erie Canalway between Cherry Street in Canal Fulton and Forty Corners Road just north of Massillon. The 6-mile scenic trail has a...
Beginning just east of downtown Newark, the T. J. Evans Panhandle Trail runs parallel to active tracks of the Ohio Central Railroad, making this trail a nice example of rail-with-trail. Built and...
The Brooke Pioneer Trail follows the east bank of the Ohio River between Wellsburg and the Brooke–Ohio County line at Short Creek. Here the Brooke Pioneer Trail continues into Ohio County as the...
The Panhandle Trail is another jewel in the Pittsburgh metro area trail system. A Conrail line, known as the Panhandle Railroad, once connected Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis on this...
The Great Guernsey Trail runs for 6 miles from the eastern edge of Cambridge to Lore City. The paved trail occupies a former CSX railroad corridor through rural wooded countryside. Because it...
The Conotton Creek Trail is 11.4 miles of scenic serenity in northeast Ohio. The trail models rustic beauty, and its careworn pavement covers a flat, straight route. Several particularly rough spots...
The Coshocton Three Rivers Bikeway provides safe and direct access from the City of Coshocton to the Coshocton Lake Park Recreational Complex and historic Roscoe Village. Two crossings under US 36...
The Wellsburg Yankee Trail is a short, paved rail-trail that spans the entire length of Wellsburg, a small city on the Ohio River in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. The community trail runs...
The Coshocton Three Rivers Bikeway provides safe and direct access from the City of Coshocton to the Coshocton Lake Park Recreational Complex and historic Roscoe Village. Two crossings under US 36...
If traveling through Ohio's Amish country and sharing space with bicycles, buggies and abundant wildlife sounds like an idyllic day to you, then you will enjoy the 15-mile Holmes County Trail. A good...
Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
The Lester Rail Trail in Ohio's Medina County runs 3 miles between Abbeyville Road and Lester Road in York Township. The trail passes through bucolic farmland with scattered remnants of prairie, where...
Beginning just east of downtown Newark, the T. J. Evans Panhandle Trail runs parallel to active tracks of the Ohio Central Railroad, making this trail a nice example of rail-with-trail. Built and...
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
The Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
The Sippo Valley Trail runs nearly 10 miles, with flat, gentle grades, between Dalton and Massillon. It takes its name from Sippo Creek, which cascades along the side of the trail for nearly its...
The Bike & Hike Trail is a rambling, rolling 33.6-mile rail-trail peppered with bridge crossings and neighborhood road riding in both a rural and suburban setting. Unlike most flat rail-trails, this...
The Mohican Valley Trail runs for nearly 5 miles along an abandoned right-of-way of the old Penn Central Railroad on the eastern edge of Knox County, between Brinkhaven and Danville. The trail...
The Zane's Landing Trail—also known as the Zanesville Riverfront Bike Path—extends north from downtown Zanesville on a former railroad corridor wedged between the Muskingum River and an active rail...
The well-designed MetroParks Bikeway between Canfield Township and Austintown is an 11-mile paved corridor that passes through both suburbs and countryside in northeastern Ohio. Traveling north from...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a planned 320-mile route via several existing trails that span the state of Ohio from the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland to the Ohio River in Cincinnati. When complete, the...
The Stark Electric Railway Trail runs on a former interurban rail line that linked Canton and Salem via Louisville, Alliance and Sebring from 1902 to 1939. The company was nicknamed the ‘Bachelor...
The 14-mile Kokosing Gap Trail travels through a landscape of ravines and farmland and passes a beautifully restored train and a cheerful wood caboose. This outstanding trail connects the towns of...
The Muskingum Recreation Trail runs for 4.5 miles along a ballast trail between Main Street in Dresden and Rock Cut Road. The trail offers views of the Muskingum River, with impressive rock...
The Loudonville Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway is nestled in a scenic valley in a small town nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio." The trail begins in downtown Loudonville, crosses the Blackfork...
The County Line Trail travels the path of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad between Rittman and Creston. A highlight of the trail is a former Baltimore & Ohio freight station located just west of...
The Panhandle Trail is another jewel in the Pittsburgh metro area trail system. A Conrail line, known as the Panhandle Railroad, once connected Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis on this...
This was our first trip on this trail. We found signage in the town of Dresden to be confusing. We finally found parking and hopped on the trail. The trail is tree lined which keeps you out of the sun. It also left the trail littered with tree debris, including some small trees lying on the trail. The trail does not seem to be heavily used. We encountered only two other cyclists. You can glimpse the Muskingum river through the trees. It's quiet and serene. I would have appreciated restrooms at the end of the 4 mile ride, but there weren't any. Still, we will be returning to this nice little trail.
I rode (bicycle) this trail by way of the Brooke County Pioneer Trail (which comes from the North). The majority of the Pioneer Trail's paved surface is in great shape. Wish I could say the same for this trail.
This trail, starting from the Pike Island Locks, is in desperate need of repair. Conservatively, I'd estimate that 75% of this trail is full of large, jarring cracks. And, they come one right after the other. They're the worst right by the locks, but there's miles upon miles of them. They subside once you get close to Wheeling. But, that's the minority of the ride.
If the cracks were filled, I'd give this trail 5 stars. I found the scenery nice, and the trail itself is quite level. However, in it's current state, I don't think I'll be making a return visit.
A friend and I rode this route in May 2017, from South to North. Signage is excellent in Cincinnati and as far as Columbus. Once we hit the waterfront in downtown Columbus signage was sparse, and we ended up missing the turn onto Neil Rd, which takes you to the area near the Arena, and instead rode several miles along the Scioto River trail before we realized our mistake.
Signage was also sparse (nonexistent) at the Cleveland end. We ended up following signs for the Towpath, which took us through a questionable part of town, and eventually reconnected with the end of the trail, off of Franklin. Signage even after we returned to the route was nonexistent all the way to the end at Edgewater Park.
I will say that the recent maps, issued in February 2017, are excellent and now include designations for bike shops, definitely a plus.
The route was for the most part fabulous riding. We were self-contained and did fairly short days, taking about 10 days to complete the route. We also did a spur up to Springboro, which was gorgeous horse country riding, and although on roads, fairly low traffic. We especially enjoyed riding around Millersburg and sharing the trail with buggies. All the trails were in very good shape, and even the crushed limestone (the Northernmost two days) was well maintained and relatively smooth to ride.
The State of Ohio definitely deserves kudos for what they’ve put together. It’s amazing to be able to ride across a state almost entirely on bike path. We came from California just to ride this route, and it was well worth it.
Rode Fredericksburg to Holmesville and back. Very nice. GoPro vids here https://youtu.be/FcX_jUiahSY
We have ridden all the sections before but decided to ride it end-to-end and make a century ride out of it.
We parked a vehicle at Ft. Laurens near Bolivar and a friend drove us up to Lock 39 trailhead off Rockside Road in Independence. From there we rode north to the end of the path at Harvard Road. The route continues north with short sections of bike path intermixed with city streets but we opted to stay off the streets. Turning and heading south the bike path is paved for 6 miles until it enters the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
A couple of recent developments: The section in Akron between memorial park and Mustill Store is closed for construction of the Interceptor Tunnel (a MASSIVE sewer project). The detour is well marked but it goes up a very steep (but short) hill from N-S.
Between Exchange and Cedar in downtown Akron the path is open even though there is a signed detour but it is one lane so ride slow.
There is a new section of path to get off SR212 coming into Bolivar. You have to ride about 0.3 miles on SR212 from McConnel trailhead to reach the new path at the ballfields.
From Ft. Laurens down to SR800 the path is well graded with a fine crushed stone surface. It is narrow in many places - ranging from 3-5' wide. I would recommend riding the old bridge over the Tuscarawas River to Zoar Village (about 0.6 miles each way. Its a historic distric that was a communal village in the 1800's with many original structures.
At SR800 it is possible to pick up the Zoar Valley Trail to continue to Dover/New Philadelphia. There are bike lanes on either sides with crossing flashers which were recently installed. The Zoar Valley Trail is about 0.3 miles east of the OETP. However the trail is a loose river gravel surface better suited to hiking or mountain biking. We decided to ride a few hundred yards on this trail and turn around at the Zoarsville Station Bridge and return to our car at Ft. Laurens instead of struggling on to the Dover Dam.
A couple of other interesting things - There are lots of places to eat and more importantly get ice cream along the trail. The fruit sundae at Szalays Farm Market on Bolanz Road is my favorite. Plus several bike shops. The visitor centers and gift shops of the Cuyahoga Valley NP give you a chance to stretch your legs. I always lock my bike when its out of sight so I make it a habit to always take my lock.
This trail also passes Wastewater Treatment plants in Cleveland, Akron, Barberton, and Massillon so thats just one more bonus.
Wildlife is plentiful depending on the season. Bald Eagles, deer, turtles (sliders and snappers), woodchucks, otters, mink, beaver Canada Geese (with their fuzzlings this time of spring), ducks, great blue herons (who have a rookery off Bath Road). A few years ago semi-professional Bigfoot Hunters were setting wildlife cameras for Grassman - Ohios variation so you may get lucky with a Bigfoot spotting.
Check into the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR which offers a Bike Aboard service to let you and your bike ride one way for a few dollars.
Rode this trail for the 1st time today on my recumbent trike. Of the 15 or so paved trails I've ridden in Ohio, this trail is by far the bumpiest, but not bad enough to keep me from returning. Of course, my trike has small, high-pressure tires and no suspension, which enhances bumpiness. The trail offers gorgeous scenery, 4 covered bridges, lots of rest spots, and several port-a-pottys along the way. I saw more than a dozen different kinds of birds and a fox ran across the trail about 20 feet ahead of me.
Wonderful view of the Ohio River and nicely paved trail. Hubby and I walked it today from Wellsburg, 4 miles out and 4 miles back. Plenty of benches and historical markers. But, NO PORTAPOTTY OR RESTROOM!!! Kinda ruined it for me!
What is so nice about these trails is you can take a short walk around the lake or head into the woods and make it longer, and I can take my son in his wheel chair and the paths are great. We don't have a lot of places to go that are this nice. I wish there was a web sight that told handicap people about these gems.
Went to Elm Grove to get a ride in with two of my Boy Scouts who are working towards their merit badges. Loved the ride! The road markings around WVNCC are somewhat faded and the return route by the Boury Loft project is blocked by construction equipment and debris. Overall, the trail is in good shape. Several signs were defaced and there are no mileage markers on the Elm Grove section, but it was a beautiful day with good company. Did 15.2 miles on an up-and-back route, using Elm Grove as our terminus.
While this trail crosses a few low-traffic back roads here and there, overall it's a secluded and scenic ride. You'll pop in and out of nature and small town civilization, bit that's kind of par for the course on rail trails.
While nothing spectacular, you do get a few extras on this trail such as Towner's Woods park, where you can park and the short hikes are all worth it. The trail also gets you really close to the trail near downtown Kent (not sure of the name but it starts at Tannery Park). If you are willing to do a bit of street riding you can connect to that trail, and follow it out to the Freedom Trail near Middlebury Road. That will take you all the way out beyond Tallmadge.
And the nearby Franklin Connector section (not near rails) is a good ride and will connect you to the Summit Bike & Hike Trail. Most will want to drive to get to Franklin Connector, but it's reachable by bike for sure.
Now that the Portage has been fully paved, it really makes it a great casual ride. Very little in the way of elevation, and as mentioned very little cross-street traffic to worry about.
For what it is — a great local bike trail — it's top notch.
Rails to Trails of Wayne County deserves to be commended for their decision to convert the old Erie Lackawanna right of way into a trail - it parallels the CSX ex-B&O mainline for much of its length between Creston and Rittman. Since I found the trail in late 2013, I have visited it many times and seen countless trains, but one really stands out. On August 8th, 2016, while I was sitting in my car at the Kauffman Avenue parking lot, a CSX freight went past me... with Norfolk Southern SD70ACe 1071 (Central of New Jersey heritage) trailing the leading CSX diesel! On two occasions, I spent an entire day in Sterling watching and recording trains on my Sony HandyCam. Over in Rittman, there is a restaurant in the old Erie depot at the east end of the trail. They serve good food, but they aren't open past 3pm (2pm on Saturday). If you're a railfan from Wayne or Medina County, I recommend that you visit this trail!
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