Explore the best rated trails in Portsmouth, OH, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Paint Creek Recreation Trail and Wellston Bike Path . With more than 3 trails covering 47 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.
We love to explore these trails on bicycles, it is has many spots to rest and plenty of beautiful to relax and take in the landscape. We love to pack a lunch and make a day of it. The trail is fairly easy to navigate, a few spots wind on and off the roadway,but no heavy traffic. ( Follow the signs)I would recommend packing your sunscreen,extra water and a light jacket. Very peaceful and relaxing, and great exercise.
First bridge on trail from parking lot by Thomas do it center. Bridge is rotting on the edge on both sides of bridge. Its dangerous because weeds are growing hiding some of the rotten areas of bridge. Also the trail from thomas do it center to 4th avenue needs to repaved or repaired. I ride my bike on trail and it is a very bumpy ride. If I am riding from spring valley to town I usually ride 160 to town and bike trail back to spring valley. One trip riding on the trail is enough for me.
Austin Mill Brewing Co now open on Paint Creek Trail just north of Frankfort.
We started at Mile Marker .5 in Chillicothe on a delightful ride through South Eastern Ohio. We stopped after 19 miles at Austin next to a new establishment (Austin Mill) selling beverages and food. This trail is fabulous! We were thrilled to see how well the trail is being maintained; finding the trail quite smooth with normal asphalt separations that had been filled. Yes, there are occasional root bumps; nothing to worry about as the tree canopy provides great shade. Yes, there are a couple of places where the big arrows had faded to direct us but trail sense kept us on trail. Thank you to the three Ohio counties teaming up to make/maintain the memorable bike trail.
During a busy workweek this was my go-to ride. I ride it twice and add some riding around town in order to get at least 10 miles in. There is lots of shade on the trail. I would have two points of caution: The deer are heavy. I’ve had several cross in front of me and sustained a minor injury when I had to slam on my brakes. Secondly, there is a lack of trail etiquette from pedestrians. I put a bell on my bike but it hasn’t helped. Use caution on this trail, especially when crossing Route 93.
Almost skipped this trail because of the bad reviews. Glad I didn’t. Looks like they fixed the worst spots. Most of the remaining bad ones marked with white paint. Still have a few unmarked bumps that will get your attention. I didn’t think they were too bad on my hybrid at my leisurely 12mph pace.
Rode from Hopewell Mounds MM9 to Shaw Wetlands MM30. Nice peaceful, quiet, secluded ride. Saw only 2 people in 4 hours! Even though SR35 is visible to the north for about half the ride, I didn’t hear any road noise until about MM29. Crossed about 15 bridges. Some cool old wood piling ones. My favorite part was Hopewell to Frankfort - curves along creek and big bridges. I think my least favorite was about MM23.5 to MM25.5. Open with farm fields on both sides.
Looked like they blew the leaves off in Ross County. Fayette County was totally leaf covered in spots. Made it hard to see the buckeyes.
If you can handle some root bumps, go enjoy this secluded ride….bikin-Mike…Oct 2023
This trail is not bad but it could be so much better. It’s not in the best condition and the section from Bidwell to Kerr was completely unkept & unridable as far as I could tell. If they could fix that section and have it connect to the main trail and then somehow add some more trail along the river front, this would be a five star trail.
I looked forward to riding this trail as it is one of the longer rail trails in Ohio. There are several points of interest along this trail such as the Hopewell Mound Group Area of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, the Double D Bridge, a covered bridge near McClean, and the Shaw Wetlands & Vernal Pool near Washington Court House.
However, like other reviewers of the Pine Creek Recreation Trail here at TrailLink.com, I believe there are a number of things that can be improved on this trail to make it much better. First, a lot of the trail needs resurfacing. There are too many cracks, potholes and tree root uplifting in the trail's asphalt which makes for rough riding. Secondly, there is a need for more bathrooms (or port-a-johns) and sources of water along the trail. I felt fortunate that I rode I on a cool, cloudy day. There is also a need for directional signs at the few points where the trail appears to go off in two different directions. Without signs, one can go off in the wrong direction and add unnecessary mileage to your ride, such as I did. Finally, make sure you bring sun screen as the western end of this trail runs through unshaded farmland. This trail is not bad, but it's obvious that it has been neglected for a while. Therefore, it doesn't live up to its potential.
This trail has lots of potential with scenic views but is in dire need of maintenance and signage. I planned to do the full 70 mile round trip but stopped at just over 23 to avoid damage to my road bike.
My wife and I just completed this trail. We rode from the Shaw Wetlands trailhead near Washington Court House to Chillicothe, stayed overnight at Atwood Bed and Breakfast, and returned to our truck the next day. For the most part this is a lovely trail. A nice mix of shaded area and stretches of open sun. Beware of the root bumps caused by tree roots pushing up ridges across the pavement. And take a map! The eastern end of this trail has a few critical turns that are not marked. We followed what we thought was the trail and ended up on US 50, and that’s no place for a bicycle. After consulting Traillink’s map we realized where we missed a turn. The trail made a few more turns that were not obvious. I’d say the signage is woefully inadequate but that would be giving it too much credit. There was nearly no signage at all. Take a map!
We agree with previous reviews. The trail is rough - lots of roots, grass growing in cracks - and not marked so can take you out. There is need for maintenance, not only on trail but along edges too. Very overgrown and impinging on trail. There are no restrooms, food or water except in Washington court house and Chillicothe so be prepared. All this being said, you pretty much have trail to yourself. On beautiful june Saturday we passed 6 bikes and 4 walkers during our 20 mile ride.
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