Looking for the best trails around Napoleon?

Explore the best rated trails in Napoleon, 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 27 trails covering 246 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.

Recent Trail Reviews

Jerry Russell Trail

Decent but short

October, 2024 by clonetrooper5373

This brief trail is a mix of a brief segment of nature that quickly gives over to an urban setting, linking with the Baw Beese trail. The trail is mostly smooth, with a few plant roots breaking through the asphalt. It's best used as a walking trail, as it ends too quickly on a bike, unless you head down the Baw Beese trail as well.

Wabash Cannonball Trail

Wabash Cannonball Trail

October, 2024 by jaded1

On recumbent trikes, we recently rode about 15 miles of the North Fork; 5 non-paved miles on the far west end, and 10 paved miles on the eastern end. We did not ride the middle section around Wauseon. We also rode the 10 paved miles of the South Fork. The unpaved west end of the North Fork was in very good shape, much better than many parts of the C&O Canal Trail. Any bike with wider tires should be able to enjoy it.

No one has commented on the number of road crossings on all the trail sections. In the 62 miles of trail, there are more than 75 road crossings! Just when you get pedaling up to speed, you come to a road crossing. Some road crossings are very busy, with lots of cars coming fast. Others are not. You have to slow for each one to be sure.

A very nice trail and very worth riding.

North Coast Inland Trail (Sandusky and Ottawa Counties)

Great trail

October, 2024 by tyoakum

Started at the beginning of the trail in Bellevue and rode to the end in Genoa. Round trip was 68.5 miles, so each way about 34 miles. This is a great trail - flat and smooth, with minimal uprooting. Two things to mention: 1. There are several road crossings, and 2. Have to ride on streets in one of the passing towns (route signs are visible, though).

Accordion

Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector

Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector

September, 2024 by rgvzfydhk7

It was a very short trail but good..

Wabash Cannonball Trail Connector

cannonball connecter trail

September, 2024 by rgvzfydhk7

It was nice seen some wildlife ate few bugs! Overall I wouldn’t come back it’s too short for me! But good for title kids with parents!!

Slippery Elm Trail

We rode the whole trail, and it was nicely groomed.Wonderful rest areas, and restrooms. Beautiful scenery, and a few shady areas. Thank you for all the work that everyone does to keep this trail looking good. No litter anywhere.

September, 2024 by debnrhojee

We rode the whole trail, and it was nicely groomed.Wonderful rest areas, and restrooms. Beautiful scenery, and a few shady areas. Thank you for all the work that everyone does to keep this trail looking good. No litter anywhere.

Lima Rotary Riverwalk

The trail is blacktop, very well maintained.Shaded in evening, with lots of wooded areas along the river. Wildflowers too.The bathrooms in Heritage West Park, appear to be very nice.

August, 2024 by debnrhojee

The trail is blacktop, very well maintained.Shaded in evening, with lots of wooded areas along the river. Wildflowers too.The bathrooms in Heritage West Park, appear to be very nice.

Slippery Elm Trail

Worth Driving To from Indiana

August, 2024 by ebhostetler

We love this trail for all the reasons the other reviewers mentioned. If you start in Bowling Green, put Rosenbloom Cylinders in your gps. The bike parking lot is on S Maple Street behind the factory. Flush toilets. All close to smoothies on Wooster St. when you finish. Worth the drive.

DeKalb County Trail

The trail is getting widened so it will no longer be a glorified sidewalk. The surface will be asphalt. I can't wait to give it another chance!

August, 2024 by nordmann781

The trail is getting widened so it will no longer be a glorified sidewalk. The surface will be asphalt. I can't wait to give it another chance!

North Coast Inland Trail (Sandusky and Ottawa Counties)

August 2024 Ride

August, 2024 by vicki1960

Annual "we travel 150+ miles to get to this one" ride. Staying nearby and adding other outdoor activities as well while in the area.

Always a great ride on this trail! We parked in Fremont and headed West towards Elmore. Very little shade between Fremont and Elmore, some shade towards the Fremont end, otherwise, once you get moving, heading West, it's farmlands after farmlands and fields of crops including corn and soybeans. Wide open fields, a beautiful area.

Lindsey is the first small old railroad town. Parking, picnic shelter, playground and a bike self repair fix-it station. Lindsey is the home of Luckey Farms.

There was a detour between Lindsey and Elmore where the trail goes under the Ohio turnpike. Follow the easy detour on back country roads. The only traffic was a tractor with a brush hog.

Elmore is the next old railroad town. Parking at Orly Park, and old historic log cabin, picnic tables and playground. Across from the trail is a bike shop and an ice cream stand. We actually found 3 places to eat in Elmore, and one offered outdoor seating. We ate where the outdoor seating was and got our water bottles refilled as well.

Heading west, we weren't sure how far the trail went since the last time we turned around at Elmore. Just out of Elmore the trail crosses the Portage River. Down below there we several large rocks and a dead log and we must of counted 30 turtles basking in the sun.

We continued out of Elmore through more open farmlands and about one tree offering shade. The trail ended at South Martin Williston Road but continued as part of the trail. Less than a mile on that road, not much traffic, and it comes out onto Route 51. Very new, perhaps less than a year old, a trail along side of Route 51 and winds through another field you can see the Genoa water tower. Follow this new section for a few miles into Genoa. The trail actually ends there on Washington Street, There isn't much in Genoa. But outside of town on the main highway there is a fast food restaurant.

Genoa is another old historic town. At the end of the trail was an ice cream stand. Parking at the Genoa end at the Veterans Park. There was also a bike repair stand, picnic areas and a rest room (seasonal). The trail sign in Genoa read "Elmore 5 miles, Fremont 18".

All in all, a great ride from Fremont to Genoa and back, 36 mile round trip. Trail surface is asphalt paved in very good condition.

We took a side trip up to Lake Erie and visited Marblehead Lighthouse across from Cedar Point. Marblehead is the oldest working lighthouse on all of the Great Lakes. The tower is open for climbing, seasonal, but the park is open year around.

Angola Trail

If you want nature this is not the trail for you. Spent most of the trail crossing roads and watching out for cars.

August, 2024 by daisyblueand2

If you want nature this is not the trail for you. Spent most of the trail crossing roads and watching out for cars.

Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway

Lions Way Pathway Connects University Students to Village Points of Interest

July, 2024 by orangedoug

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.

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Accordion

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