Find the top rated trails in Portage Lakes, 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 Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is an amazing trail journey that takes users from the heart of this country’s industrial might in cities like Cleveland and Akron, to some of the most beautiful...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The bucolic Headwaters Trail is a pleasant 8-mile journey through the rural landscape between Mantua and Garrettsville. The path has a crushed-stone surface and is mostly shaded. It follows the route...
Once the corridor of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, today the 11.2-mile Conotton Creek Trail offers complete immersion in a bucolic setting in northeastern Ohio. Situated in the rolling...
The short North Olmsted Walking & Bike Trail parallels Interstate 480 and provides an alternate, non-motorized route linking neighborhoods with green spaces and business districts.
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The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
For nearly 9 miles, the Mill Stream Run Reservation All Purpose Trail runs through a wooded park in Berea, a western suburb of Cleveland. Though the trail loosely parallels Valley Parkway, you will...
The Brecksville Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a pleasant paved pathway connecting the community of Brecksville with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, a well-loved 81-mile route from...
The Rocky River Reservation All Purpose Trail parallels Valley Parkway through several western suburbs of Cleveland, but this is no traditional suburban side path. Instead, the winding trail through...
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 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...
Big Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail provides a paved pathway connecting the Mill Stream Run Reservation, Big Creek Reservation, and the Fern Hill Picnic Area. At its southern end, you can connect...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
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...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
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...
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway extends 17 miles along the city's Lake Erie shoreline, between the suburbs of Euclid and Lakewood. The bikeway has on-road sections, and the route is signed. The...
The Steel Mill Trail is a 2-mile continuation of the Bridgeway Trail, which lies within the Black River Reservation, a scenic wooded park in Lorain. The Steel Mill Trail picks up at the north end of...
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 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 nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The short North Olmsted Walking & Bike Trail parallels Interstate 480 and provides an alternate, non-motorized route linking neighborhoods with green spaces and business districts.
The Newton Falls Trail, built on a former railroad bed, follows the Mahoning River as it winds its way downtown. The route provides pleasant neighborhood views of the quaint township that was...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
The bucolic Headwaters Trail is a pleasant 8-mile journey through the rural landscape between Mantua and Garrettsville. The path has a crushed-stone surface and is mostly shaded. It follows the route...
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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 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 North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
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...
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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 Gates Mills Interurban Bridge, known locally as simply The Walking Bridge, offers a pedestrian-only route over the scenic Chagrin River. The steel truss bridge was built in 1899 for the Eastern...
The Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. The...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
The Steel Mill Trail is a 2-mile continuation of the Bridgeway Trail, which lies within the Black River Reservation, a scenic wooded park in Lorain. The Steel Mill Trail picks up at the north end of...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
Zeisberger Trail and Parks group (ZTAP) is working to connect the village of Tuscarawas (Tusky) to the surrounding communities and larger regional and state recreational trails. ZTAP has already...
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,...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
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 Zoar Valley Trail winds along the Tuscarawas River for 20 miles between the village of Schoenbrunn in the south and Fort Laurens State Memorial in Bolivar in the north. The path is mixture of...
The Newton Falls Trail, built on a former railroad bed, follows the Mahoning River as it winds its way downtown. The route provides pleasant neighborhood views of the quaint township that was...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
The Rocky River Reservation All Purpose Trail parallels Valley Parkway through several western suburbs of Cleveland, but this is no traditional suburban side path. Instead, the winding trail through...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
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Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
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 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 Gates Mills Interurban Bridge, known locally as simply The Walking Bridge, offers a pedestrian-only route over the scenic Chagrin River. The steel truss bridge was built in 1899 for the Eastern...
Once the corridor of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, today the 11.2-mile Conotton Creek Trail offers complete immersion in a bucolic setting in northeastern Ohio. Situated in the rolling...
The Brideway Trail is found within the Black River Reservation, a park in Lorain County, where you can walk, jog, inline skate, cross-country ski or bike. The trail runs between Day's Dam in Lorain...
Holmes County, located in northeastern Ohio, is the heart of the state’s Amish country. Visitors to this rural enclave will find meandering country roads and bucolic natural areas, as well as the...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
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...
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 Brecksville Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a pleasant paved pathway connecting the community of Brecksville with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, a well-loved 81-mile route from...
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 Garrett Wonders Bike Trail, formerly the Warren Bikeway, is an integral component of the Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway, which will eventually link Lake Erie and the Ohio River via a multiuse,...
The North Coast Inland Trail has now been paved between Kipton and Wakeman. Enjoy it!
Adding to what smk wrote in the preceding review: The trail is indeed closed a short distance south of Kirk Rd. because of construction on a new I-76 underpass. Going south, the detour around this closure is: West on Kirk Rd, south on Turner Rd., east on Herbert Rd. While the extra distance due to this detour is not much, I gave up on it because Turner road is narrow, shoulderless, and hilly. There is no visibility over hilltops, and a car speeding over one is too likely to knock down a cyclist on the other side. Unsafe, in my opinion. So the remedy was to ride back to the northern trail end, put the bike on the car, drive to the southern trail end, and ride north to the closure point. This interruption spoiled an otherwise nice ride. Based on the work crew I saw (just two guys), this construction job could take a long time.
I just did the newest section, Brinkhaven to Glenmont, today, and it was totally beautiful. Very isolated, very quiet. Two warnings, however. First, there are a few tiny bollards, about 18" high, designed to keep the Amish buggies from using one side of the trail. There aren't too many of them, but they are very solid looking. I wouldn't want to hit one. Second, this trail is a mighty climb for about half its length (then a mighty descent). First time I have needed the granny gear on a Rails-to-Trails. This must have been a REALLY challenging railroad! There are a lot of nice picnic tables along the way for you to rest, and the whole trip is definitely worth the sweat.
Nice trail, but note that it is closed at mile 5 (from the north). Work being done on highway overpasse
Labor Day Weekend we biked 31 miles. Parked at Sunside Trailhead in Champion and headed North to Orwell, and back. Makes for a nice 30+ mile trek. It's 15 1/2 miles from Champion to Orwell. Newly repaved section near Orwell. While passing the Wildlife viewing area we noticed the observation deck/platform has been removed. It's been falling apart so this is probably a good thing.
The Central section is 8.3 miles of Asphalt Pavement. Newly paved is most of the South section from Headwaters Park to Middlefield Square, which is 6.5 miles. The trail does continue on the other side of Middlefield Square. It's not paved.
Two new Trailheads with shelters and maps and beautiful flower gardens. At Headwaters Park Trailhead there is a new shelter. A completely new trailhead is at Tare Creek Road which offers a shelter and plenty of parking.
Along the Central Section is the newly constructed Claridon Woodlands Park featuring 3 separate paved trails totaling 2.2 miles. Also Recreation areas including a ropes course, pump track/single mountain bike track, boulder wall and a Nature-based playground.
There is an uphill grade from Headwaters Park towards Chardon.
A great trail now is 12 miles of asphalt pavement and has five covered bridges.
Nice trail but very poor signage in Middlefield, can go several different ways and not marked if you do not know the area. One route takes you through a parking lot which is not safe.
Loved this trail. Not crowded and nice and flat. I am a new rider and actually made the full ride. 12 miles and mostly shady.
2-day trip planned from Western PA to bike one way and ride train back. Drove pike to Route 21 (area) but somehow could not relate to directions to Canal Towpath. Found Brecksville train station to park and cycled to and into Cleveland (Port of Cleve) and returned with 34 miles of enjoyable riding even with fear of getting lost in Cleve. city streets. Could not locate North Akron train station so followed directions to Berlin. During a previous search I had found Ft. Laurens park and trail entrance but did not realize that it is in fact the Zoar trail and resembles canal towpath but not Ohio & Erie. Rode south to Route 800 and across biker friendly river bridge, but could not convince myself to search trail signs any further. Rode into and North of Berlin to find the much improved trail and enjoyed yet another 27 miles of towpath riding. Having been born and raised in Southern Tusc. County, I will hope to search out the Zoar trailhead and explore much more as only an 81 year old rider can do.
I think this should probably be renamed the “Cleveland LakeNear Bikeway”. We rode it from the northern end and it starts in a beautiful park with a marina and beach but quickly dead ends in a parking lot behind a highrise. We probably missed a sign but it’s pretty easy to find the continuation on a very busy section of Lakeshore Blvd that does have a marked bike lane but requires vigilant urban riding skills. After a couple miles it becomes much less trafficked going by beautiful homes and gardens. It then gets pretty ugly again for a few miles approaching downtown when you’re still on road sandwiched between noisy I-90, a mostly industrial area, and an airport.
We didn’t bother to continue past downtown because the ride was so disappointing.
The trail is well marked, relatively flat, and well paved but mostly on the road.
There are rare glimpses of the lake. If you’re looking for a family friendly ride this is definitely not for you.
This is a smooth, flat, clean trail which is in excellent condition. The locals love it. In the summers when I ride, I always see people of all ages walking, skating and bicycling. There is one section where you have to go out into a country road for about a mile. It’s my least favorite part of the trail, but I suppose the residents did not authorize their backyards to be used for the trail. There is ample parking at either end of the trail, as well as in strategic points along the way. The railroad is very active, providing an element of loud excitement for the whole family. At the Rittman end of the trail is a quaint little restaurant called The Depot, situated in a former train station. It’s a great place for a meal as part of your riding day. We absolutely love this trail.
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