Explore the best rated trails in Springfield, OH. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail and Mad River Trail. With more than 46 trails covering 4601 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.
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Ohio’s Miami River Valley, with 340 miles of off-road trails, is home to one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks. Heading northwest from Dayton, the Wolf Creek Trail is one piece of this...
The Steve Whalen Boulevard Bikeway is a short neighborhood trail in East Dayton. The trail parallels the boulevard of the same name, starting at its intersection with Hamilton Avenue, and then heading...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
The Stillwater River Bikeway winds through Dayton's northern suburbs, following the tree-lined eastern shore of its namesake waterway for much of the way. Two disconnected segments of trail are...
The 29-mile Prairie Grass Trail is one of four rail-trails that radiate from Xenia Station, the hub of a vast, paved trail network in southwestern Ohio. The site is a former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)...
The developing Big Walnut Trail follows its namesake creek through Columbus and its eastern suburbs of Westerville, Gahanna, and Whitehall. Several segments of the paved pathway are open, though...
The Dayton Kettering Connector combines a historic rail-trail and bike lanes, and shared road riding for 7 miles between the two municipalities. The off-road portion is 1.9 miles long and sits in the...
The Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail runs interrupted for nearly 18 miles between Reynoldsburg and Groveport on the southeastern edge of Columbus. The trail parallels Blacklick Creek for the vast...
Hydraulic Canal Run begins in picturesque French Park, where stands of mature trees provide the perfect shady spots to picnic. From here, you can also connect to Piqua City Linear Park, a rail-trail...
Caution: The Olentangy Trail is currently closed between Worthington Hills Park and Olentangy River Parklands at Wilson Bridge Road. This section is scheduled to reopen some time in 2017. Refer to...
The Hellbranch Trail offers a paved route of just over 5 miles in the northwestern Columbus suburb of Hilliard. The pathway connects residential neighborhoods and schools with recreational parks, a...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
The Foor Leisure Path is a short, paved trail that links the northern edge of Groveport’s quaint residential core with the Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail. The connection allows Groveport residents to...
The Scioto Greenway Trail is an urban greenway at its best. A segment of the Central Ohio Greenways trail network that covers more than 120 miles throughout the state, the 12.2-mile multiuse trail...
The Genoa Trail runs between Northgate Way in Westerville and Plumb Road south of Galena, paralleling the east side of State Route 3. The trail is separated from the road by a nice corridor of trees,...
The Tecumseh Trail Multi-use Pathway offers a pleasant route, partially on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Columbus-to-Saint Louis freight mainline. The rail route was also once used for Lincoln's...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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The Buck Creek Trail runs between Buck Creek State Park and Plum Street by Wittenberg University. At its eastern end in Buck Creek State Park, the trail makes a loop and heads into 2 different...
The Camp Chase Trail plays a role in two of Ohio’s most exciting trail projects: it is a key piece of the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail and an integral part of the Central Ohio Greenways network...
The paved Tecumseh Trail skirts the quaint city of New Carlisle. The trail takes users through some beautiful wooded areas along a former railroad corridor and connects to Smith Park. At the popular...
The Darby Creek Trail is currently available in two disconnected segments that parallel Big Darby Creek, a State and National Scenic River on the western outskirts of Columbus. The northern 3.5...
The Xenia–Jamestown Connector links these two eponymous communities and travels east beyond Jamestown to the Greene–Fayette County line at Rosemoor Road. It’s part of Ohio’s Miami River Valley trail...
The Lowe's Connector Trail parallels Lowe's Drive in Wilmington, OH, and links Rombach Avenue with Prairie Road; however, this is no sidewalk once you reach Prairie Road. The trail is best used to...
Hydraulic Canal Run begins in picturesque French Park, where stands of mature trees provide the perfect shady spots to picnic. From here, you can also connect to Piqua City Linear Park, a rail-trail...
The Foor Leisure Path is a short, paved trail that links the northern edge of Groveport’s quaint residential core with the Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail. The connection allows Groveport residents to...
The Stillwater River Bikeway winds through Dayton's northern suburbs, following the tree-lined eastern shore of its namesake waterway for much of the way. Two disconnected segments of trail are...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
Opened in 2017, the Clinton-Fayette Friendship Trail, spanning 7.1 miles, is the longest rail-trail in central Ohio's Clinton County. Following a former railroad corridor, the rail-trail spans the...
The Roberts Pass Trail runs from downtown London, Ohio, to rural Fairfield Township. The trail passes through farmland for 6.5 miles, although dense tree cover shades the route at all...
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Columbus’ Downtown Connector Trail provides a vital link between neighborhoods and schools on the city’s east side and the downtown area. On its east end, the paved pathway begins adjacent to I-670...
The James Ranch Connecting Spur provides an important link between two major trails spiraling out of the trail hub of Xenia. On its east end, the trail connects to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which...
Caution: The Olentangy Trail is currently closed between Worthington Hills Park and Olentangy River Parklands at Wilson Bridge Road. This section is scheduled to reopen some time in 2017. Refer to...
The Genoa Trail runs between Northgate Way in Westerville and Plumb Road south of Galena, paralleling the east side of State Route 3. The trail is separated from the road by a nice corridor of trees,...
The Lebanon Countryside YMCA Trail offers 8 miles of paved pathway winding through Lebanon, from downtown to a connection to the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail. The trail begins in the north near...
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The 7-mile Iron Horse Trail (open in two disconnected segments) utilizes approximately 2 miles of former Penn Central right-of-way, providing users a pleasant route through neighborhoods, as well as a...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
The Great Miami River Trail is the backbone of one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks, spanning 340 miles throughout Ohio’s Miami Valley. The route connects beautiful natural areas, small...
The Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail runs interrupted for nearly 18 miles between Reynoldsburg and Groveport on the southeastern edge of Columbus. The trail parallels Blacklick Creek for the vast...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The developing Big Walnut Trail follows its namesake creek through Columbus and its eastern suburbs of Westerville, Gahanna, and Whitehall. Several segments of the paved pathway are open, though...
The 4C Bicentennial Trail is one of several throughout Wilmington, OH, and runs between Southeast Neighborhood Park and Fife Avenue (CR 82), just across the road from the south end of Denver Williams...
Piqua City Linear Park was constructed on an abandoned railroad bed from the city's easternmost point to its westernmost point. Midway, it connects to the Great Miami River Trail and is part of the...
The 29-mile Prairie Grass Trail is one of four rail-trails that radiate from Xenia Station, the hub of a vast, paved trail network in southwestern Ohio. The site is a former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)...
Ohio’s Miami River Valley, with 340 miles of off-road trails, is home to one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks. Heading northwest from Dayton, the Wolf Creek Trail is one piece of this...
The Creekside Trail is part of a network of more than 340 miles of trails that travel throughout Ohio’s scenic Miami Valley. The route follows a nature-filled corridor offering many opportunities for...
Caution: The Olentangy Trail is currently closed between Worthington Hills Park and Olentangy River Parklands at Wilson Bridge Road. This section is scheduled to reopen some time in 2017. Refer to...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
The Roberts Pass Trail runs from downtown London, Ohio, to rural Fairfield Township. The trail passes through farmland for 6.5 miles, although dense tree cover shades the route at all...
Hydraulic Canal Run begins in picturesque French Park, where stands of mature trees provide the perfect shady spots to picnic. From here, you can also connect to Piqua City Linear Park, a rail-trail...
The 7-mile Iron Horse Trail (open in two disconnected segments) utilizes approximately 2 miles of former Penn Central right-of-way, providing users a pleasant route through neighborhoods, as well as a...
The Foor Leisure Path is a short, paved trail that links the northern edge of Groveport’s quaint residential core with the Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail. The connection allows Groveport residents to...
The Great Miami River Trail is the backbone of one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks, spanning 340 miles throughout Ohio’s Miami Valley. The route connects beautiful natural areas, small...
The developing Big Walnut Trail follows its namesake creek through Columbus and its eastern suburbs of Westerville, Gahanna, and Whitehall. Several segments of the paved pathway are open, though...
The James Ranch Connecting Spur provides an important link between two major trails spiraling out of the trail hub of Xenia. On its east end, the trail connects to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which...
Columbus’ Downtown Connector Trail provides a vital link between neighborhoods and schools on the city’s east side and the downtown area. On its east end, the paved pathway begins adjacent to I-670...
The Genoa Trail runs between Northgate Way in Westerville and Plumb Road south of Galena, paralleling the east side of State Route 3. The trail is separated from the road by a nice corridor of trees,...
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a jewel in the crown of Ohio rail-trails, spanning just over 78 miles from the outskirts of Cincinnati to Springfield over historical bridges and through tranquil...
The Luther Warren Peace Path is shady 1.2-mile journey along a level paved surface, delightfully cool in summer. The trail includes two old railroad bridges, one covered and built as a local Boy Scout...
The Westerville B&W (Bike & Walk Route) is an extensive system of paved multi-use paths throughout the Columbus suburb, stretching from Hoover Reservoir on the east to as far west as Worthington Road....
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
This is a very nice trail system. It has some sunny and some shady areas, and keeps pretty well to Alum Creek. I have never been on this trail and was a weekend visitor. What I want to share is that I felt like the signage for the trails at the junctions was not adequate. Well, nonexistent. There were several side trails to various athletic areas and parks, but no real signage to direct the rider. I looked over the online map before venturing out. But if you don't have a map in front of you, it is easy to get turned around. I actually went up a driveway that had the same asphalt as the trail. Oops. Anyway, its not intuitive for an out-of-towner.
We use this trail many times a year to get into downtown Dayton. It is scenic and well marked.
In recent years dirt has built up on parts of the trail. PLEASE be careful after rain when the dirt turns to mud. Piqua to Peterson Road and Taylorsville Park to Rip Rap Road Park are sections that can be very muddy.
As far as the Dayton-Kettering Connector goes it is a pretty easy trail to ride. Trail may be an exaggeration, it is more like a route. Most of the this trail is an on-road route using sharrows or bike lanes with a 2 mile rail trail in the middle. The rail trail portion heads south from the University of Dayton's RecPlex and ends at Wiltshire Blvd. in Kettering. The route continues further south on residential streets and connects with other bike routes but most specifically with the Iron Horse Trail.
The Miami Valley Trails organization says that the Dayton-Kettering Connector (DKC) is an ideal commuting route for individuals working in downtown Dayton while the rail trail portion provides a gentle climb into the south suburbs, not found on any of the roadways heading the same way. I found the 1.9 mile rail trail section is a climb but not a strain. There was one additional sustained climb up Ackerman Blvd. beside climbing the rail trail when heading south. The trail is well signed with frequent bike route signs with direction arrows at turns and every other sign seemed to have the bike route number at the top of them. In this case the Dayton-Kettering Connector is Bike Route 19.
When I reached the Iron Horse Trail in Kettering I turned around and rode the back the same way I came but continued through the University of Dayton campus and followed the bike lanes on Brown and Jefferson Streets to RiverScape Metropark along the Miami River in downtown Dayton. It seems that the Dayton public has a more enlightened attitude about sharing the road with cyclists. I felt safe in the bike lanes, although I was not riding in them during rush hour. Getting back to the UD campus from RiverScape MetroPark is a bit tricky because there is no southbound bike lane on the roads you just traveled on to reach RiverScape. I suggest returning to the UD campus by traveling on the Great Miami River Recreational Trail until it rises from the river at W. Stewart Street. From there you can take a bike lane that runs parallel to Stewart Street back to Brown Street and then into campus where you need to go.
The only reason I sought out this trail was because it was listed as one of Ohio’s trails listed on TrailLink.com and it is my goal to ride every Ohio trail listed there. This trail at this point can only be considered a commuter or local recreational trail. It is only 0.7 miles long and parallels Steve Whalen Boulevard between Wyoming Street and Hamilton Avenue. I started at Highland Park off of Wyoming Street. There is parking there but it doesn’t much look like a parking lot, so be warned. The asphalt trail surface was in good shape as this trail can't be very old. However, like many urban trails there were several areas where their was broken class on the trail which could have punctured my tires.
I don’t know if this is phase one of a much larger planned pathway or route (similar to others in the Dayton area), but at this point this is such a short trail I say leave it to the local residents.
This paved rail trail probably gets its name because it follows Shawnee Creek out of Xenia, crosses the Little Miami River around Trebein, parallels the Little Beaver Creek in Beavercreek and eventually meets up with the Mad River in Eastwood Metropark. There are quite a few areas of shade along this route but it is not a constant canopy of shade like many rail trails. In particular, you will find little shade when the trail parallels U.S. Rt. 35. This trail is fairly flat — typical of a rail trail. It is wide and well maintained with very few problems in the pavement like tree root uplifting or undermining erosion.
This trail connects to many other trails in the region. In Xenia, you can connect to the Little Miami Scenic Trail as well as the Prairie Grass Trail both part of the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail Route. There is also the Xenia-Jamestown Connector that starts at Xenia Station. In addition, there are two lesser local spurs, the Towler Road Spur and the James Ranch Connection Spur, that connect to a local park and the Greene County Fairgrounds, respectfully. As you get closer to the Eastwood Metropark in Riverside, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, you can connect to the Iron Horse Trail, a Dayton recreational trail. In the Eastwood MetroPark you run into the Mad River Trail which will take you into downtown Dayton (and to many other trail connections) or out to Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the United States Air Force Museum.
I have only two minor complaints about this trail. First, there are 4 road crossings in quick succession as you leave Xenia Station over roads where caution is required. Secondly, I would also suggest making sure that you have plenty to drink on hot summer days as there are few places to find or buy something to drink without going off the trail. There is water and Gatorade available through vending machines at Beavercreek Station (pretty much at the trail’s midpoint) but half the selections in the vending machines there were sold out when I was there early in the day. I’m not sure how often those machines are serviced, so be prepared on really hot days.
We rode 2 days 2 different sections. First day started at xenia station & rode to Corwin & then back. About 32-34 miles round trip.Ate lunch at a cute place in Waynsville right on trail.Pretty flat,nice scenery. Second day parked at Milford on hill. Little tight ,small parking lot. We rode to almost morrow. 40 miles round trip. VERY busy.Some parts are alittle narrow.Pretty flat mostly & some inclines. Loveland was a really cool town. Had a great lunch there.
Started at xenia station. Rode about 20 miles,10 one way & 10 back.Nice trail,paved.Have a few rode crossing,have to watch because cars have right of the way.Follows stream,but can't see a lot because of all the leaves.Was pretty fat most of it.
My wife and I bike this trail multiple times throughout the year and we've ridden (in sections) nearly every mile of it. We're leisure riders, so the (mostly) flat, shaded nature of this trail is perfection. There are so many spots along this trail to stop and enjoy life.
From the Milford trailhead, 50 West Brewing and the Schoolhouse Restaurant are just a short ride. Additionally, downtown Milford is full of charm
Downtown Loveland is an amazing spot to hit this trail, with an entire section of town seemingly centered on the trail with multiple restaurants, bars, bike shops, etc. Just to the north of Loveland is the Monkey Bar which is an extremely cool little watering hole. And a little farther to the north, the historic Peters Cartridge Company, which is slated for renovation into a brewery/taproom in late 2019.
If you're not able to bike as far north as Yellow Springs, we highly recommend driving up for a ride there. It's a very cool little town with the Yellow Springs Brewery right on the trail and the Glen Helen Nature Preserve just to the south. It is well worth parking your bikes and taking a hike through the preserve to visit the famous Yellow Spring.
Just can't say enough good things about this trail.
One of the best trails for inline skating in the Columbus area. The open farmland keeps the trail mostly free from leaves, sticks and other “hazards “. It has only a few crossroads.
I have traveled to ride this trail several times, and will continue to do so as it gives you open space to speed up your pace for a good workout. The trail is smooth with not too many cracks or crevices in the surface, and lends itself to really getting your speed up. Wolf Creek is like a lot of other rural trails in the Midwest which are mostly flat with some gradual inclines. Most of the trail is located in rural setting, and gives some good distance between road crossings.
I have only ridden the Verona-Trotwood portion and find that it is not too busy when I have been here. Brookville is a nice town with several places to eat, and convenient trailhead parking just off of I-70. The trail is marked very well with mileage between places, and you can also easily access Sycamore State Park.
Rode more sections of the Ohio to Erie Trail today and loved the options I found in Westerville. This network of trails is well marked and takes you to a wide variety of areas with very little road riding. I only missed one turn all day and found the I covered a lot of ground and got to see a large swath of the Westerville community. If only other suburban trail systems could be so well integrated.
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