Been on most parts of this trail. Lisbon part is great. Tried recently opened
section North Shore Trail In Ashtabula which connects trail to lake Erie by Walnut Beach. Right off trail you enter 4 lane share the road, I road on sidewalk for this part. Then changed to 2 lanes for cars , 2 lanes for bikes. Turns west for short juant thru a park. Then go thru all nieborhoods till you get to Bridge St., after which you must carry bike up very steep, very long cement steps with no handrail to reach Point Park. Then you ride on to Walnut Beach. I did not carry bike up steps , I turned around and started back, did not see Lake Erie. This trail is all on street other than short part thru park. Will not go again.

June 5th - my brother and myself had a wonderful day biking the Panhandle and a little of the Montour. We started at the McDonald Trail Station and on a surprising note there was a pancake breakfast benefit. We met a nice couple that was working there selling the tickets and items benefiting the trail. Were awesome to talk to. We started the trail going east. We always enjoy seeing dedications to the war hero's - there was a very nice one in Oakdale. We met folks / scouts working on the flower beds that day too. Trails always offer things to see or explore. Rennerdale - there is a place you can look for fern fossils. The best part of this trail was near the end before Walker's Mill. There is a beautiful rock quarry that is a must see. We came back to the McDonald Trail Station and had some fantastic blueberry pancakes before going west. The trail station is a museum too. A lot of oil history. Not to far west is where you are by Montour trail. We did go over the McDonald Trestle bridge on our way back. It really is a must to do. Our west trip took us as far as Joffre. In Bulgar, is another nice war memorial to those that served. What was most enjoyable is a stretch where the trail travels through a large open area where it has a slight hill climb but there are some good pictures if you like this type of scenery. The day ended with good ice-cream in McDonalds at M.A.'s Ice Cream Shop. My brother had the largest 'small' ice cream cone I ever saw.

Cycling this trail (Warren-Ashtabula-Lake Erie & back, 97 miles total) in June 2021, I found no open restrooms, not even port-a-johns! Not in Trumbull County, anyway. I checked the buildings at Garret Wonders Trailhead in Warren, at North River Rd, and at the Sunside Trailhead on Center St in Champion. Nada! All buildings locked. No information about where to find a restroom. So I ended up squatting in the woods. Come on, Trumbull County - you can do better! Sure, we're in a pandemic currently, but people still need to go! And there are hardly any local businesses to fall back on.

At north end of trail, in Ashtabula, the new North Shore Trail (mostly bike lanes) to the lake needs to be much better marked, with a map. It is very easy to miss. And it's not in Google Maps yet.

We enjoyed this trail so much! Going under highway in tunnel was neat surprise! Very well maintained trail!

I rode this trail on an exceptionally warm December day back in 2019 long before it was listed here on the TrailLink.com website. As stated in this website's trail description, this trail is at present, the most prominent piece of the planned 25 mile West Creek Greenway trail loop which will connect the Cleveland Metroparks West Creek Reservation in Parma and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the communities of Valley View, Independence, Seven Hills, Brooklyn Heights, and Cuyahoga Heights.

I parked and started at the Cleveland Clinic Business Operations Center off of Brecksville Road in Independence, Ohio. From here I headed east and downhill toward the Towpath Trail in Valley View. Unlike the trail description listed by TrailLink, I would not characterize the trail as running slightly downhill. You will drop 227 feet in elevation over the course of the first 1.5 miles, with 204 feet of that in a single half mile stretch. I mention this for two reasons. First, while many will find this type of drop exhilarating, it is unlikely that you will be able to completely cut loose as you will probably encounter quite a few pedestrians out using the trail just as I did. Secondly, since the West Creek Greenway loop is far from being completed, returning to your starting point will require that you climb back up out of the Cuyahoga Valley where the grade will reach 11% at points. Thus, in my opinion the trail is not for novice, or out-of-shape cyclists, or for young children on bikes.

When you head east out of Cleveland Clinic Business Operations parking lot, you enter wooded terrain that follows Hemlock Creek as it descends toward the Cuyahoga River. The trail surface is predominantly asphalt with concrete on many of the bridge surfaces. Since the trail opened in September 2019, the surface was smooth as glass when I rode in December of that year. The trail passes through the remnants of the millionaire William H. Hunt's estate, Terraced Lakes, which was created out of a historic mining landscape that created the foundation stones for many of Cleveland's first buildings. On your way you will cross over five bridges including a 200 foot span over the Cuyahoga before you reach the Towpath Trail at the eastern end of the trail. On the western end, the trail continues past the Cleveland Clinic Business Center and crosses over Brecksville Road, where it runs along Selig Boulevard passing Independence City Hall and then ends in Elmwood Park. In the future, this western end of the Hemlock Creek Trail will connect further westward toward the Seven Hills Recreation Center as some part of the West Creek Greenway.

This is a beautiful trail, and a great start to the larger West Creek Greenway. It's worthy of at least 4 stars but the climb out of the Cuyahoga Valley isn't a friendly one for everyone. Perhaps as this trail connects to future links in the West Creek Greenway then my rating of 3 stars will need to be re-evaluated.

This pretty trail is less than ideal for only a few reasons: 1) parts are gravel and parts paved, which frustrates riders who crave pave 2) it can be quite hot on a warm day, with too little shade for long stretches, 3) it does not parallel a stream or river, for those who prefer to bike along waterways, and 4) if you want to do the whole trail from PA to WVA in one day, stay overnight, and come back the next, the good news is that there are at least 3 motels near the trail's end in Weirton. The bad news is that they're over 1 mile straight up a long hill from the trail's end, requiring bikers to ride on the berm of busy Rte. 22 (or take the longer Cove Rd.) to the lodging options at Three Springs Drive. For those who might want to travel from Weirton to Pittsburgh and stay over, I know of no lodging w/i 3 miles of the Walker's Mill endpoint.

We have rode this trail on our bikes from start to finish multiple times this year and love it! Great path with great scenery! Plenty of parking on either end.

Rode today from Orwell to end of Trail near Warren. Nice ride. Note the trail at the “Highlight of the WRG” the stone arch bridge over Baughman creek is closed. (Can be ridden around). Looks like hillside has slipped into creek and taken a bit of the trail with it

May 10 2021. My ride started at the Greenway Corridor on Girdled Rd. Went down 18.6 miles to downtown Middlefield and back. I cannot speak for anything south of Kinsman Rd/ SR 87. This entire stretch is well paved the entire way. If you're planning your trip via Google Maps, take comfort in knowing the section cutting through Chardon is fully complete. There is no road riding required detours from Girdled to Kinsman. About 2 miles in, the trail runs next SR 44 and it isn't great here. It's a rather long steep climb in the wind and sun with not much pleasant to look at with traffic going by. Don't let that discourage you though. Think of the ride back and how much easier it will be on the return. Stop at any of the many benches for a breather if need be. Get past this hill, and back into the wooded area, and you're rewarded with shade and a decline to get your groove back. This one section you will not like upon your return, but it's not going to ruin your day. From here on, it's smooth sailing and mostly flat for most of the trail. A natural setting for a minute until you get closer to downtown Chardon. A couple road crossings in downtown may be busy depending on the time of day. Some crosswalks have lights. If you need last minute supplies of any kind, get them here before you get past the baseball field. Of which does have working water fountains and restrooms. There's fast food, small stores, and taverns if need be. Last you will see for a while. Once past the city, it's the heart of the trail. Good long stretches of scenery, wilderness, and some covered bridges. Some interesting parks like Claridon Woodlands, and Headwaters Park along the route. Still plenty of benches along the entire way for pitstops. Not many sources of water that I saw, but enough restrooms or port-a-pots. South of Headwaters park, you may end up sharing the trail with horse and buggies. Mind trail etiquette and right of ways. Watch out for road apples. Arrive in downtown Middlefield and back into civilization, taverns, & stores. This trail is a gem. What's great is it's length and long, (mostly flat) stretches of quiet nature. I drove about an hour to visit this trail, and It's worth it. This was on a Monday afternoon in May. 55 degrees, partly cloudy. Not much foot traffic. At some points miles between seeing anyone at all.