Find the top rated trails in Youngstown, 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 Trout Island Trail is planned to be a 13-mile rail-trail along the former Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad. Currently, 2.4 miles are open and fully paved in Sharpsville, following the Shenango River...
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 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 Sandy Creek Trail carves its way through some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 12-mile paved trail has some impressive features, including tunnels...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running north–south 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 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
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...
Moraine State Park features a nearly seven mile bike trail, which follows the north shore of Lake Arthur. Along the way, you'll enjoy beautiful scenery, especially during the fall as trees line the...
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...
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 Montour Trail follows a portion of the old Montour Railroad, which was built between 1877 and 1914 to link the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad with the region's many coal mines. Forming a...
Along its 6-mile path, this paved rail-trail crosses through a rich array of natural habitats, from creek bottomlands to meadow, marsh and forest. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst, who owned the...
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...
Constructed in 1983 with the help of donations from the Stavich Family and local individuals, the Stavich Trail is unusual in several ways. First, unlike most rail-trails, it was built on an...
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...
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...
Situated in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the asphalt trail runs through a park setting on the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad close to the Beaver River and ending near the rugby...
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 Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western end of...
Connecting Oil City and Franklin, the Samuel Justus Trail is a 7.1-mile segment of a 30-mile trail that follows the former Allegheny Valley Railroad. The A.V. was completed to Oil City in 1868 and...
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...
With a wide, paved pathway and adjacent equestrian trail running through lush woodland and riverside terrain, the Allegheny River Trail (ART) has something to offer every trail enthusiast. Following a...
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 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...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Harmony Trail in the North Hills is a work in progress, managed by volunteers with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy. As of August 2011, about 1 mile of a proposed 4.3 miles of abandoned rail...
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 Sandy Creek Trail carves its way through some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 12-mile paved trail has some impressive features, including tunnels...
The Vestal Trail is 0.5-mile connection through town of McCandless that joins the Oakridge neighborhood to the playing fields at its eastern end. The trail is maintained by volunteers of the Rachel...
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...
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...
Along its 6-mile path, this paved rail-trail crosses through a rich array of natural habitats, from creek bottomlands to meadow, marsh and forest. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst, who owned the...
Situated in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the asphalt trail runs through a park setting on the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad close to the Beaver River and ending near the rugby...
The Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western end of...
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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 Panhandle Trail is another jewel in the Pittsburgh metro area trail system. A Conrail line, known as the Panhandle Railroad, once connected Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis on this...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
Situated in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the asphalt trail runs through a park setting on the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad close to the Beaver River and ending near the rugby...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Shenango River Trail once served as a towpath along the Erie Canal Extension. During the mid-1800s, mules pulled boats along the canal, linking goods from the Great Lakes to Pittsburgh and beyond....
The Montour Trail follows a portion of the old Montour Railroad, which was built between 1877 and 1914 to link the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad with the region's many coal mines. Forming a...
Built in 1871 to transport the region's high-quality limestone to support Pittsburgh's growing steel industry, the Butler-Freeport line was the first railroad in Butler County. After a two-day...
The Harmony Trail in the North Hills is a work in progress, managed by volunteers with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy. As of August 2011, about 1 mile of a proposed 4.3 miles of abandoned rail...
The Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western 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...
The Panhandle Trail is another jewel in the Pittsburgh metro area trail system. A Conrail line, known as the Panhandle Railroad, once connected Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis on this...
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 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 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...
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...
The Sandy Creek Trail carves its way through some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 12-mile paved trail has some impressive features, including tunnels...
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...
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,...
One of the nicest days weather wise we've had in about 6 weeks! Took advantage of the 60 degree temp and hit the trail. Always a great ride, the trail offers flat open areas and some hills.
Some restrooms are open along the trail.
It's been cold for quite a while now but one Sunday the temps got up into the 40's and a lot of people took advantage of the trail that day. Cyclists, walkers, and runners. It was good to see that many people out. Most of the restrooms are closed for the Winter but there are still a few open. The marina is empty as all the boats were removed. Saw 2 different bald eagles.
We drove to Emlenton where we picked up the trailhead and headed north. The scenery was beautiful riding along the river. Being October, the trail was heavily covered in fallen leaves, which made it difficult to see the hooved up asphalt on the trail. We were surprised that the trail was so bumpy, and it made for careful riding. There was one spot just north of the first tunnel that was very bad where water bottles bounced out of my basket onto the trail. Some kind of marking would definitely be helpful in that spot. The tunnels were exciting and scary at the same time, especially meeting riders coming from the opposite direction. The reflectors are positioned so the trail is split into two lanes through the tunnel, but we found it difficult to stay in one lane without running over the middle reflectors. Next time I will get a headlamp and not hold a flashlight. We weren't sure what to expect from the detour after reading others' reviews. I have to say it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. The detour took us onto a wide uphill rocky path - great for mountain bikes but not road bikes. We pushed our bikes on the inclines and rode on the downhill grades. I have to caution other riders on the last long, downhill grade. Even with braking to a slow ride, I still skidded out and wrecked into a ditch. First wipe out for me. My husband said we were 100 feet from reconnecting to the asphalt trail. Overall the trail is level, but we did notice a very slight incline riding north to south, which probably explains why the first 17+ miles were so easy! It is constant peddling either direction. It was definitely a ride to remember and well worth the 90-minute drive from NE Ohio. As others have stated, you need to carry adequate fluids and be prepared if nature calls. We only saw the one porta potty at the trail head in Emlenton. Because we thoroughly researched the reviews, we were prepared. We rode from Emlenton to Brandon, covering 35.5 miles roundtrip. Next time we will go to Oil City and ride south and cover that section of trail. I would give the trail a 4-4.5 only because of the lack of facilities and the maintenance needed on the trail.
We parked near the fire department in Midway, PA. The parking lot is situated nearly on the trail with easy access. We took the trail left and rode about 3.5 miles to Sturgeon where the nice asphalt path became crushed rock near the Allegheny Co line. We turned around there preferring the asphalt and rode to Burgettstown, PA. At Burgettstown we turned around and rode back to our car only because we are older folks who bike only about 20 miles round trip. It was a nice cool fall feeling day. We saw many squirrels, birds, and beautiful golden rod fields dotted with purple iron-weed flowers throughout. A Giant Eagle grocery store is very near the McDonald, PA entrance to the trail which is a plus if you wanted to get drinks or snacks for the journey. Overall impression – Washington Co. is the winner when it comes to the Panhandle Trail. They have done an excellent job in making the bike trail smooth with asphalt, conveniently located porta-johns and nicely mowed areas and benches along the trail.
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.
This is an excellent trail. All paved, mostly flat with only minor inclines, good facilities. Please disregard reviews prior to 2016 because construction was completed in 2015. The only problem is that the description in TrailLink lacks adequate detail, so I would like to provide the following info. Please refer to the TrailLink map to make sense of this info:
This trail is made up of three separate segments in Ohio's Portage County. Two of these segments are sort of connected, and the third is actually the extension of another trail altogether. All three segments run roughly in the east-west direction.
1) The southernmost segment runs along the Cuyahoga River in its western half and through the center of the Kent State University campus in its eastern half. It is about 4 miles long, one way. Expect heavy pedestrian traffic on the campus section on class days.
2) The middle segment runs from a point north-east of Ravenna to downtown Kent. It is about 9 miles long, one way. It is mostly a nature trail.
3) The northernmost segment, also known as the Franklin Connector, is just a 1.6 mile extension of the "Hike & Bike Trail", which TrailLink describes and maps separately under that name. (No "Portage" in the latter name.)
Segments 1 and 2 are connected by a rideable north-south foot path along the Cuyahoga River in Kent's Franklin Mills River Edge Park. At one point, you have to choose between leaving the path and going briefly on River St, which is parallel to the path, OR carrying your bike up or down some stairs. Important : I recommend using the foot path as much as possible when traveling between the segments 1 and 2. You could ride on Kent city streets, but they are complicated and the views along the foot path are much nicer.
Nice trail, but note that it is closed at mile 5 (from the north). Work being done on highway overpasse
The renovated portion of the Panhandle from Burgettstown to Weirton is paved and beautiful. We bicycled this trail in mid-September and the goldenrod was plentiful. There is Harmon Creek next to this section for quite awhile. When we got to West Virginia, the surface changed to dirt and small stones. This was OK, but you can't ride as fast on it. We hoped to have lunch in Weirton, but there are no sandwich or snack places anywhere near the trail. You have to go on the road to the downtown of Weirton, and we did not do that. We went back to Burgettstown and were amazed to get free hot dogs at the Grand Opening of a small market right at the parking lot for the trail. We just lucked out. It is 12 miles from Burgettstown to Weirton with a rise and fall of 500 feet. A great ride.
Though this trail is relatively short, it's short and sweet and to the point! Basically flat trail runs from Sharpsville to the rail trestle on Shenango Lake. Some of the trail is canopy shaded and other areas are open. There is street parking at the Sharpsville end, and a small lot towards the end of the trail at mile 1.9. Completely asphalt paved. The trail passes the Shenango Dam as well as the lake. For a side trip, you can venture into Sharpsville and check out the old canal lock. Off the trail is some great fishing!
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.
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