Athens, OH Running Trails and Maps

250 Reviews

Looking for the best Running trails around Athens?

Find the top rated running trails in Athens, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.

  • Relevance
  • Name
  • Length
  • Most Popular
Activities
Length
Surfaces
Type
18 Results
Activities
Length
Surfaces
Type

Buckeye Scenic Trail

5.5 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Hockhocking Adena Bikeway

22 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Marietta River Trail

4.3 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Fairfield Heritage Trail

9.5 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail

11.34 mi
State: OH
Asphalt, Crushed Stone

Moonville Rail Trail

8.4 mi
State: OH
Ballast, Crushed Stone, Grass

Muskingum Recreational Trail

4.5 mi
State: OH
Asphalt, Ballast

North Bend Rail Trail

72 mi
State: WV
Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Gravel

Ohio Canal Greenway

2.7 mi
State: OH
Cinder, Grass, Gravel

Old Town Creek Trail

1 mi
State: OH
Asphalt, Crushed Stone

Paint Creek Recreation Trail

34.8 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Pickaway Trail

2.5 mi
State: OH
Dirt, Grass, Gravel

Roundtown Trail

1.5 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Wellston Bike Path

1.78 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Zane's Landing Trail

2.9 mi
State: OH
Asphalt

Athens-Belpre Rail Trail

8.6 mi
State: OH
Ballast, Dirt, Grass

Little Kanawha Connector Trail

1.5 mi
State: WV
Asphalt

Devola Multi-Use Trail

1.06 mi
State: OH
Asphalt
Trail Image Trail Name States Length Surface Rating
The Buckeye Scenic Trail, a recent addition to the expanding Licking County trail system, stretches roughly 6 miles from the northern reaches of Heath to Lakewood High School on US 40. In the north,...
OH 5.5 mi Asphalt
The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway is one of southeast Ohio’s hidden trail gems. Tucked into the foothills of Appalachia, this 20-mile trail gives a sampling of the best the Buckeye State has to offer:...
OH 22 mi Asphalt
Marietta’s River Trail runs for more than 4 miles along the Muskingum River through the city situated just across the Ohio River from West Virginia. The paved trail passes through Marietta’s quaint...
OH 4.3 mi Asphalt
The Fairfield Heritage Trail winds through and connects the community of Lancaster. It links a college, high school, junior high school and elementary school, as well as numerous parks and shopping...
OH 9.5 mi Asphalt
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis. As of 2023, there are two open sections of the rail-trail totaling a little more than 11...
OH 11.34 mi Asphalt, Crushed Stone
The Moonville Rail Trail is planned to be a 16-mile route that utilizes the former Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad that began service in the 1850s. This railroad provided only industrial service,...
OH 8.4 mi Ballast, Crushed Stone, Grass
The Muskingum Recreation Trail runs for 4.5 miles along a ballast trail between Main Street in Dresden and Rock Cut Road. The trail offers views of the Muskingum River, with impressive rock...
OH 4.5 mi Asphalt, Ballast
History beckons around every rocky bend and in every chilly tunnel on the North Bend Rail Trail, which follows an old railroad corridor through hill and hollow in northern West Virginia. Winding...
WV 72 mi Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Gravel
The Ohio Canal Greenway extends south from Hebron on an old Penn Central Railroad right-of-way. Farm fields border the trail on the west, while remnants of the historic Ohio and Erie Canal are to the...
OH 2.7 mi Cinder, Grass, Gravel
The Old Town Creek Trail is a short but scenic pathway in Logan, the gateway to the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio. The trail links the county fairgrounds not far from Logan’s downtown to...
OH 1 mi Asphalt, Crushed Stone
The Paint Creek Recreation Trail is the flagship pathway of a planned trail network in the Ohio counties of Fayette, Ross and Highland. Nearly 35 miles of paved trail are currently open linking the...
OH 34.8 mi Asphalt
The Pickaway Trail is a developing rail-trail that begins in Circleville, located less than an hour's drive south of Columbus. Currently, the trail spans 2.5 miles along the former...
OH 2.5 mi Dirt, Grass, Gravel
Roundtown Trail is a greenway in Circleville, Ohio which opened in July of 2017. It is a linear trail, despite what its name might suggest. The trail stretches from the northwest corner of the Ohio...
OH 1.5 mi Asphalt
The Wellston Bike Path is just under 2 miles, but when combined with the path around Lake Alma, you can make it a 5-mile round-trip. North of town, the path parallels State Route 349, making for a...
OH 1.78 mi Asphalt
The Zane's Landing Trail—also known as the Zanesville Riverfront Bike Path—extends north from downtown Zanesville on a former railroad corridor wedged between the Muskingum River and an active rail...
OH 2.9 mi Asphalt
Nestled in southeast Ohio, the Athens-Belpre Line will one day stretch for 34 miles across Athens and Washington Counties up to Parkersburg, West Virginia. To date, however, 8.6 miles of the former...
OH 8.6 mi Ballast, Dirt, Grass
The Little Kanawha Connector Trail stretches west to east across Parkersburg, a city located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers in West Virginia. The trail is a combination of...
WV 1.5 mi Asphalt
The short but sweet Devola Multi-Use Trail, constructed by the Broughton Nature and Wildlife Reserve is a worthwhile excursion through the grassy meadows of Devola, OH. Starting at Milgate Road in the...
OH 1.06 mi Asphalt

Recent Trail Reviews

North Bend Rail Trail

gravel grinder

March, 2024 by wierstheparty

I rode this 72 mile trail from east to west (gradual downhill grade) with 3 of my girlfriends. It was quite thick gravel but the downhill grade helped keep your momentum up to make it not completely exhausting pushing through the thicker stuff. It will rattle you pretty good and we were glad to come to the end. We went in late September and rode in a 60 degree cold drizzle the whole way. Nice feather in our caps!

Marietta River Trail

Great trail

January, 2024 by joshuamhively

Great trail for a quick run (8 mile out & back) in Marietta!

Wellston Bike Path

Scenic but Short

November, 2023 by pjamela3000

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.

Accordion

Paint Creek Recreation Trail

Not as bad as I expected - peaceful and quiet

October, 2023 by bikin-mike

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

Hockhocking Adena Bikeway

beautiful greenway

September, 2023 by kerr37938

Ohio does another awesome rail trail. We went from Nelsonville down to Ohio university to the community center and back . 40 miles. Lots of rock bluffs, big trees and tree cover on the upper section. Good pavement. Not crowded for a Sunday. Don’t miss this trail.

Fairfield Heritage Trail

Don't waste your time...

September, 2023 by kilroy55_tl

The trail is lacking in signage, has a sizable detour, goes over a number of road areas that are not true trail paths, is very bumpy with poorly maintained asphalt, and has steep hills to go under bridges. One of the poorest trails I've ridden. Not worth the trip...

Marietta River Trail

Beautiful!

September, 2023 by peggylwatters

A very beautiful path! The path is along the river with beautiful views of the river, boats and bridges that cross over to West Virginia. Plenty of places to stop and enjoy the view along the way. We got ice cream at a little shop on our way back. It was way out of our way to get to this trail..but definitely worth the trip. ¿¿ (Giving it 4 stars because of the length…but still loved it).

Moonville Rail Trail

potential for greatness

September, 2023 by lunanoiz

This trail has potential for some serious greatness, but it needs some work. It’s very secluded and peaceful with some beautiful scenery and it’s highlighted by the Moonville and kings hollow tunnels which are fantastic to ride through. The trail from Mineral on pass the Moonville tunnel is crushed stone and not so bad to ride on. Once you go through Moonville and keep heading west towards Zalensky though, there is a bridge out & it abruptly ends. I drove over to Zalenski and rode the other half of the trail, which is all grass, and not really all that great. If this trail was paved and all connected & a little longer, it would be one of the best, but… It still needs a lil work.

Pickaway Trail

so much potential

August, 2023 by lunanoiz

This is a nice enough trail but it’s way too short. It’s kind of sad because it has so much potential. There’s a whole section at the end that’s completely unkept & unridable and it just ends up ending in someone’s driveway. If they could tie this trail into the round town trail then it would really be something special. While they’re at it… Why not extend it all the way down to the paint creek trail. That would be sweeet!

Roundtown Trail

too short

August, 2023 by lunanoiz

This is a nice enough trail but it’s way too short. I supplemented it by riding around in Circleville. If they could find a way to tie it in to the Pickaway trail, they would really have something special.

Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail

could be so much better

August, 2023 by lunanoiz

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.

Roundtown Trail

Good local trail

June, 2023 by kolarik47_tl

Good trail for us and our pup. Just long enough.

Find Nearby City trails

Accordion

Register for free!

Register for free with TrailLink today!

We're a non-profit all about helping you enjoy the outdoors
  • View over 40,000 miles of trail maps
  • Share your trail photos
  • Save your own favorite trails
  • Learn about new trails near you
  • Leave reviews for trails
  • Add new and edit existing trails

Get the Free TrailLink App

The trail is always better with TrailLink

Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone

Explore by City

Explore by City

Explore by Activity

Explore by Activity

Log in to your account to:

  • View trail paths on the map
  • Save trails to your account
  • Add trails, edit descriptions
  • Share photos
  • Add reviews

Log in with Google

Log in with Apple

OR

Register for free!

Join TrailLink (a non-profit) to view more than 40,000 miles of trail maps and more!

Register with Google

Register with Apple

OR

Your account has been deleted.