I rode the Ohio-Erie route this morning starting from Lock 39 at Rockside Rd in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I had not ridden north of Harvard Rd and my wife and I are doing the OH2ERIE in a couple of weeks so I wanted to scout this section out to Edgewater park.

After the Harvard Rd TH the pike path runs adjacent to Harvard Rd and then turns north running along Jennings Rd to Steelyard Commons. There is one short gravel section as it crosses a company's driveway. It then goes behind the shops in Stellyard Commons. It was surprisingly pleasant with grass and trees planted. You still have RR tracks on one side and a chain link fence on the other but this is old school Cleveland Industrial area. There is a steel heritage museum along with some artifacts from the steel industry. The trail goes through two quick tunnels under Steelyard Commons and Quigley and the Towpath continues straight on the OTET turns right and goes up next to Quigley to W14th.

The Towpath continues on and its surprisingly nice - paved, with some great scenic overlooks. It deadends near Literary Rd. Its possible to go up University Rd (to be paved in the future but its rough right now) and rejoin the OTET at W14th and Abbey. If you go along Abbey Rd under the interstate you have a great shot of the Cleveland skyline with the Cleveland name sculpyure. Turn back around and pick of the Centennial Trail.

Once you leave Steelyard Commons I saw no OTET trail signs. There were other Cleveland Metroparks signs for their trails.

There was roundabout construction at W29th and Franklin so you detoured onto Clinton to parallel Franklin then I took W45th back to Franklin then W65th to Edgewater.

I had a great time. Never thought that the old part of Cleveland could be so enjoyable. If you are a fan of the Movie A Christmas story you can make a short detour and ride past it in the Tremont neighborhood.

Volunteers recently began reinstallation of a puncheon boardwalk approximately 1.25 miles from Kidds Mill trailhead. This effort opens up about 2.5 miles of trail which were previously difficult to access. Many thanks to R. Knight and B. Frazier! More boardwalk to follow in the same area.

Great ride. Very peaceful. Way to get in some exercise and some stress reduction. Many places to stop, especially along the Samuel Justus part of the trail going north to Oil City. Nice restaurants in Franklin.....Leonardo's pizza great; Benjamin's Roadhouse has nice variety also. Have not tried Trails to Ales yet, but was told it was also good. Bella Cucina is good, but for eclectic tastes. Pricey, but that's what I would expect for more upscale dining.

Just wanted to make people aware that the last 2 times I biked this trail I saw a coyote. Please be aware of your surroundings. The first time it bolted when it saw me but the second time it ran parallel to me for abt 40 feet. I was just abt to do a u-turn and it ran into the woods. I just want to remind everyone you are in what is left of the woods in these areas so please keep your eyes open as these animals don’t have a lot of places to go. I also saw one on the Montour Trail this year near mile marker 5 and last night there was a wounded raccoon lying in the middle of the Montour Trail near mile marker 15.

Living in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, my daughter and I planned on spending most of the day on Presque Isle. We enjoy both running and cycling, but I wanted to find a Trail for running, before heading up to Erie for cycling. The Ernst Bike Trail is minutes off of I-79 and is really a pleasant surprise. We started at mile 0 and ran 3 miles out and back. While it's named "Bike Trail", it is perfect for running. Very cool trail with some sunny areas along with heavily wooded and shaded areas, which was great for running. Well maintained, asphalt surface with freshly cut grass on both sides of the trail...nothing overgrown. Neat covered bridge, too!

Rail Trails are ridden for the pleasure, recreation, and enjoyment of the bike and nature. This trail, in Pennsylvania is in good condition and enjoyable. As soon as it crosses over into Ohio, it is absolutely Horrible. In fact, Horrible is too kind a word. Be warned. It is not pleasant. There are creaks, heaves, bumps that will drop your speed down to 2 -3 mph (if you stay with it). Ohio should be embarrassed. It is apparent nothing has been done since its opening in 1983. (See dedication sign at Ohio side start). From the New Castle start/ trailhead, would suggest stopping at the Ohio line approx. 7.5 miles, and turnaround. Western PA has so many trails to choose from that this will be our last visit here. Final Note: No restrooms, No port-a-johns, anywhere along entire route. Poor design again.

Hiked from Big Bend. Trail is very well maintained and thank you to the volunteers that have been working on the trail upkeep. Joe was there working on the day we were hiking.
We hiked up towards New Hamburg for 3 miles and made our turnaround for a nice 6-mile round trip hike.
Some areas were kinda buggy so you may want to hit your self with the insect repellent before you take off.
The river level was low and it was muddy looking. There is a section off to the side of the trail which is usually submerged in several feet of water was actually dry. Never have seen it that dry.
We saw one person on a mountain bike and 3 people on horses come by.
The new mile markers are great.

A week after the 40-mile ride, did a 50-mile ride. This trail is great if you'd like to get in a long ride.
Parked in Franklin and headed South thru Belmar, then Brandon, Kennerdell Tunnel and Rockland Tunnel. Biked to the South end of the Rockland Tunnel which was 22 miles from Franklin. Be sure to have a light for each tunnel as they are nearly a mile in length.
Great day for a ride. The only section not paved is the few mile detour just South of Brandon to a little before the Kennerdell Tunnel.
The detour is due to the trail ends then you have to go on a dirt road section for a few miles before returning back to the actual paved trail.
It was a weekday and the trail had few people on it but they were friendly. We stopped and talked to some along the way.
Once back in Franklin at a tripometer reading of 44, went North onto the Justus trail and back to Franklin to round the trip off to 50 miles.
Once you leave Franklin, heading South, be prepared with water and snacks because there is nothing until you would get all the way to Emlenton!

Very beautiful and peaceful trail to ride along the Allegheny River. Take a strong and bright flashlight to get through the two tunnels as you will definitely need one per person. I will definitely return from the Pittsburgh area to ride this trail again!!!