Find the top rated trails in Willoughby, 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 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...
The Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
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 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...
When completed, the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail will make a critical connection between Cleveland's downtown neighborhoods and the vast Lake Erie. As of August 2015, the first phase of the...
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...
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 Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running northsouth between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
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 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...
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...
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 Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
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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 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 Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
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 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 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...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running northsouth between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
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Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 8 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
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...
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...
Located on the abandoned Erie and Pittsburgh branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, this short but intriguing trail runs through Pymatuning State Park, a large and popular two-state recreation area...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
The Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
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,...
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 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 Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
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 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...
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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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 8 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
This is a great trail which runs N/S from Canfield to Niles. Mile 10.6 is at Western Reserve Road in Canfield. Mile 0 connects with the Niles bikeway trail with a seamless connection. Trail goes through open areas of fields and shaded areas through trees. Eateries nearby the trail. Several parking areas along the trail as well.
This is a section that I had not ridden before as it is not part of the Ohio to Erie Trail Route. This is a nice trail with several nice trailheads along the way, but the quality of the trail surface is not as good as that of the crushed limestone surface of the Towpath heading north toward Cleveland. The limestone surface in this portion of the trail is inconsistent. Some areas are typical of the Towpath overall, but in many areas the surface is more of a hard-packed dirt, which would mean mud after periods of rain. In other areas rain runoff has piled the limestone up into soft, loose areas that would be difficult for bikes with thinner tires. Occasionally, you will ride over short sections of pavement which I believe have been put down in areas where there may be flooding problems. Overall I found the condition of the towpath in this section pretty good, but not necessarily up to the quality of sections further north.
In terms of the area and sights along this section I enjoyed this trail. The further south you traveled the more rural the surrounding countryside became. While I might find myself traveling alone for several miles, I did not feel isolated. I came across other cyclists and quite a few pedestrians, through out my ride; not bad for a summer weekday morning.
My one complaint is that the map here in TrailLink shows the trail ending at the McDonnell Trailhead on State Route 212 northwest of Bolivar, Ohio. The trail does pick up after a short ride along Route 212 and makes a link to the Zoar Valley Trail after following bike paths, streets, and sidewalks to the Fort Laurens Memorial Site south of the town. This through-town bike route is well marked. It is much safer than following 212 through town.
Nice flat and well maintained paved asphalt trail. Has a variety of open areas; fields. And shaded by tree areas as well.
Other than the short stretch of Bridge Road that links Swine Creek to Middlefield, the trail is now paved south from Mountain Run.
However, as of May 2018, there were a couple 1 to 2-foot sections of the trail that'd been cut out for some sort of maintenance and filled with gravel, which had started to wash out due to rain. I found these jarring - even on my mountain. Recommend roadies either dismount, or slow to a near stop so you can see the terrain.
Also, Bridge Road is in rougher condition due to the presence of buggies - but this can be ridden on a road bike with a little extra care so as to not wipe out in a rut, or road apples! Hybrids and mountain bikes will have no issue here.
This was a nice little ride. Can't wait to take the kids with me next time.
May 1 was a beautiful evening so after work I rode from Vanderhoof Rd to Forty Corners. The section between Butterbridge Rd (south of Canal Fulton) to Forty Corners was pretty rugged after a hard winter/spring. Lots of washouts and craters so ride a little slower and keep your eyes on the trail. As an alternative ride the Olde Muskingum Trail on the west side. It can be accessed by crossing over the river on Cherry St in Canal Fulton or over the Forty Corners Bridge (now just pedestrians and cyclists) or in the middle on Butterbridge Rd.
I struggle to call this much of a trail as it really isn't more than a glorified sidewalk that replaced an old railroad line through town. From what I've been able to ascertain from Google Maps this trail seems as though it has the possibility of being extended in both directions. However, it's hard to tell if it's the businesses on the Railroad Street end of the trail, the residences on the First Street end of the trail, the rail lines still used by CSX in the area, or the funding that is holding up future expansion. Another reviewer talked about expanding south to the Berlin Lake Trail.
I last rode this trail in July 2017 after completing a ride from Ashtabula, Ohio on the Western Reserve Greenway. The southern end of the Western Reserve Greenway connects directly to this trail when it crosses North River Road in the north end of Warren, Ohio. This trail crosses through most of Warren and ends just a few miles north of the Niles Greenway. If this gap on the southern end of the trail were closed one could ride on a trail from Ashtabula all the way to Canfield, Ohio.
This is a typical urban trail. It crosses many streets and has a couple of on-street sections. As is often typical of trails in urban settings there are sections where the rider needs to be aware of glass and debris on the trail. I found this trail visually appealing as it went through industrial and residential areas as well as through a park. Overall, the Garrett Wonders Bike Trail isn't necessarily a great trail but if it can be connected to the Niles Greenway to the south it will become an incredibly useful one.
I've ridden this trail several times. The last time was at the end of July 2017. The Western Reserve Greenway is a long, straight, flat, bike path that is easy to ride. According to TrailLink the trail is 42.8 miles long, but I don't believe that includes the mileage of the Paul E. Heltzel segment of the Greenway which connects this trail with the Garrett Wonders Bike Trail that goes through most of the city of Warren. The trail is well-maintained, and on a beautiful weekend day you will encounter numerous cyclists and pedestrians around the greenway's trailheads. The trail is long enough that it never seemed crowded. It is an enjoyable path and after having ridden it several times (This was my first end to end ride.) I would say that your best bet is to ride this trail in sections.
Here are my reasons for my previous statement. First, the area that the greenway traverses is very rural in nature. Other than Ashtabula and Warren, the two cities that anchor either end of this trail, there are not many towns or services in between. I think that a good many riders would assume that they would come across at least several small towns or crossroads where they could buy some food, or find some water, etc. I have seen several folks in previous Rails to Trails posts explain at which crossroads to turn and bike into a town for food/drink. That is all well and good, but if you are unfamiliar with the area or are someone who rides greenways and bike trails because you don't like to encounter automobile and truck traffic when riding then be warned that there really is not much along or right off this trail to service your needs. This could be a serious problem if you are riding this trail on a very hot day and run out of water. I know this from personal experience. Secondly, I personally find this trail somewhat boring. It is mile after mile of riding through a tunnel of trees or wide open farm country when it does open up. I think the fact that there are so few turns throughout the trail's length may contribute to this feeling. In addition, this does not mean that there are not some interesting spots along the trail. There is the Rock Creek Trestle, the observation deck at the Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area, the old bridge near Austinburg, and the tunnels under the freeways south of Ashtabula. However, to see all of these things one has to ride a lot of miles of very repetitive scenery.
I rode this trail in July of 2017. The description here at TrailLink needs to be updated to reflect the opening of the half mile section of this trail known as the Lake Link.
I started with the northern section of this trail. I parked on Main Street on the West Bank of the Flats and road down Mulberry Street to River Road and then east to Elm Avenue. Where River and Elm meet the Willow Avenue Bridge crosses the Old Cuyahoga River Channel onto Whiskey Island. According to a June 7th Cleveland.com article, when this route is completed there will be an additional bicycle/pedestrian bridge built that will carry people over the very active Northfolk & Southern rail line and sidings into Wendy Park and the old Cleveland U.S. Coast Guard Station. Unfortunately, at this time this bridge does not exist.
The current Lake Link portion of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail ends on River Road and runs south in a trench that once was a rail spur that ran down the center of the blocks between Mulberry Avenue and Center Street. The this section ends in about a half a mile when it reaches Detroit Avenue.
You can connect the Lake Link and the current southern section of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail by riding on a closed section of roadway called Riverbed Street. It has a barrier near Columbus Road which prevents cars from using it. Riverbed Street follows a curve in the Cuyahoga River known as Irishtown Bend. This section was kind of creepy as it is overgrown with trees and shrubs and kudzu. What really makes it creepy is the sleeping bags you see just off the road that the homeless use to bed down. Since the road isn't used they probably don't get hassled too much in this area. When the groups developing the connecting of the towpath to the lake get to developing this missing section they will have to do some serious landscaping to open up the area to allow riders to see the river and to remove the ability for the homeless to hide. I did not encounter any homeless folks as I rode through but I came through in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. At this point, I'd say consider how comfortable you are with this situation.
What I really enjoyed with this trail was the architecture of bridges, buildings, and the combinations of old with new, of commerce and industry, and of nature and human endeavor. I can see riding this trail many different times as the the scenery will change drastically with changes in light and weather.
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