Find the top rated walking trails in Bellefontaine, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 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...
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 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...
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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. The trails connect cities and small towns; link to cultural, educational, and...
The Marion Tallgrass Trail is a developing rail-trail which will extend from Marion westward on a former Erie Lackawanna Railway corridor. The line was part of the Erie Lackawanna’s main line that...
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 Towler Road Spur is a short but pleasant route in the trail hub of Xenia, Ohio. Although the paved pathway parallels the roadway, it's separated from traffic by a wide grassy median dotted with...
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 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...
Seamlessly spanning the 35.5-mile distance between the Ohio communities of Bellefontaine and Springfield, the Simon Kenton Trail presents visitors with ample opportunities for recreation and wildlife...
The Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
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 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...
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 Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Bikeway runs from South Street in downtown Fairborn, along the north side of Kauffman Avenue adjacent to an active rail line, to National Road. At that point, the...
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 Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
The Alum Creek Greenway Trail takes you through a scenic landscape from Westerville through Columbus to Groveport, with easy access to adjoining neighborhoods and a multitude of public parks to enjoy....
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 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 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...
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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 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 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 Oakwoods Trail system runs through a 155-acre nature preserve bordering Interstate 75 southwest of downtown Findlay. The preserve features a small lake, woodlands and meadows. The trails form...
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...
Mad River Trail offers a paved, 7-mile route along its namesake river in northeastern Dayton and is part of one of the nation's largest network of paved, off-street trails. Its western end begins...
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 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 Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
The Greenville Creek Trail is a nice, albeit short, retreat through suburban Greenville. The paved path follows its namesake creek, passing under streets and linking neighborhood parks with downtown....
The Galena Brick Trail follows a former rail bed from the Blackhawk golf course to Miller Park, which offers a small playground. Of historical significance is the nearby Galena Shale and Brick...
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 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 Alum Creek Greenway Trail takes you through a scenic landscape from Westerville through Columbus to Groveport, with easy access to adjoining neighborhoods and a multitude of public parks to enjoy....
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 3.5-mile I-670 Downtown Connector Trail parallels Interstate 670 and Leonard Avenue in Columbus on its winding route from Ohio Dominican University to the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center...
The Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Bikeway runs from South Street in downtown Fairborn, along the north side of Kauffman Avenue adjacent to an active rail line, to National Road. At that point, the...
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 Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
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 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 3.5-mile I-670 Downtown Connector Trail parallels Interstate 670 and Leonard Avenue in Columbus on its winding route from Ohio Dominican University to the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center...
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 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 Towler Road Spur is a short but pleasant route in the trail hub of Xenia, Ohio. Although the paved pathway parallels the roadway, it's separated from traffic by a wide grassy median dotted with...
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Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
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 15-mile 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...
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 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...
Seamlessly spanning the 35.5-mile distance between the Ohio communities of Bellefontaine and Springfield, the Simon Kenton Trail presents visitors with ample opportunities for recreation and wildlife...
The Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
The Galena Brick Trail follows a former rail bed from the Blackhawk golf course to Miller Park, which offers a small playground. Of historical significance is the nearby Galena Shale and Brick...
The Marion Tallgrass Trail is a developing rail-trail which will extend from Marion westward on a former Erie Lackawanna Railway corridor. The line was part of the Erie Lackawanna’s main line that...
The Greenville Creek Trail is a nice, albeit short, retreat through suburban Greenville. The paved path follows its namesake creek, passing under streets and linking neighborhood parks with downtown....
The Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Bikeway runs from South Street in downtown Fairborn, along the north side of Kauffman Avenue adjacent to an active rail line, to National Road. At that point, the...
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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...
The Oakwoods Trail system runs through a 155-acre nature preserve bordering Interstate 75 southwest of downtown Findlay. The preserve features a small lake, woodlands and meadows. The trails form...
I rode both the Northern and Southern Sections of this trail. It is an interesting trail from the stand point that it combines pieces of rail-trail, widened sidewalk "trail," on-street bike lane, and on-street riding. The route is inconsistently identified on the trail as 1) the Iron Horse Trail, 2) the Iron Horse Recreational Trail, 3) Bike Route K, 4) Bike Route 9 and possibly 5) Bike Route K2. If you attempt to ride the route of either section of this trail, as shown here in TrailLink, you will come to the end of each particular section and find that a bike route continues from where TrailLink says the Iron Horse Trail ends. However, it is not entirely clear at these points whether you are still riding on the Iron Horse Trail or some other connecting route. While the on-street riding occurs on what appear to be relatively lightly traveled streets, the widened sidewalks tend to cross some heavily trafficked roads. Dayton has recently announced a new trail called the Flight Line which appears that it will parallel parts of the current Northern Section of the Iron Horse Trail. Whether this new trail will run parallel just a number of feet from the Iron Horse or will incorporate part of what is currently the Iron Horse is yet to be seen. It also appears that both sections of the Iron Horse and the new Flight Line Trail could all come together near the old Tenneco Plant in Kettering, Ohio.
I like this trail quite a bit. There were a number of interesting things to see along the route -- the Clarence J. Brown dam and reservoir, Old Reid Park, the Springfield Art Museum, Veterans Park Amphitheatre, and Wittenberg University. The trail surface is well maintained and I did not see any poor conditions or concerns that were expressed in a previous review. Getting across the dam on the Engineers Road was a challenge due to a very strong headwind. The trail seemed pretty quite for a Thursday afternoon, but that might have been because of the recent change in the weather that put a chill in the air. I saw a number of cyclists out by the reservoir but not a one on my way into, nor back from Springfield. There were a number of pedestrians I passed by in town. I think that this trail probably gets a lot of use in the summer.
Since this trail intersects with the Simon Kenton Trail I will be back in the area once again. I did see one sign that stated if you wanted to connect with the Little Miami River Trail follow the signs, but I did not see any signs suggesting an actual route. In fact, I would not have known that the one bridge over the Buck Creek trail actually carried the Simon Kenton Trail at all if not for the fact that there was one small spur off of the trail near this bridge that I decided to explore. There definitely needs to be better signage to and from all connecting trails in this town.
As a Saint Mary’s resident living a few blocks from a trailhead (High Street) I love being able to just take,off on my bike, no transporting said bike to the park required. Parts of the trail are smooth sailing, parts are very rough... but it’s flat and beautiful. If you have any trail riding/mountain biking experience, this will be an easy ride for you headed North from St Mary’s. South is harder, longer prairie grass can slow you down or make you walk your bike. Always hoping for more trail improvements to make riding even better.
This trail is very nice. There are several starting points depending on how many hills you want to climb. The newest section of the trail which begins on North St and goes east of town is in excellent condition with interesting terrain. However if you want to ride this section the turn off is not well marked. Beginning on the north side of North St (near Lima Senior HS) you will need to ride on a shared sidewalk traveling east. This turns into the path about 1/3 mile just past the water plant. You can also choose to start from the east. Lots of fun.
This trail basically follows the perimeter of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from the Huffman Reservoir Dam on the Mad River to the city of Fairborn, Ohio.
The trail itself is pretty well maintained. You can pedal across the top of the old dam out to Route 4 and the entrance to Huffman MetroPark which sits on land that was once covered by the waters of the Huffman Reservoir. From the dam's spillway you climb up Wright Brothers Hill past the Huffman Prairie Flying Field where Orville and Wilbur conducted early test flights of their plane designs. The bikeway pretty much parallels both State Route 444 and Kauffman Road into the city of Fairborn. The bikeway does cross over one active rail line at South Central Avenue so be aware that trains do actually run on that line. TrailLink shows the trail ending at East Dayton Drive but to get to that point you'd have to ride the sidewalks to get there. I say it ends at Ohio Street and South Central Avenue where the Fairborn YMCA is located as well as an entrance into Fairborn's small Central Park. For air plane buffs you don't see much of the Air Force Base's operations. You will see the base medical center, administrative offices, the commissary and plenty of the perimeter fence, but I didn't see any active military planes flying in or out. If you are looking for a longer ride combine this bikeway with the Mad River Trail which will take you into downtown Dayton.
This is a nice trail which many might label as boring because there are no real turns or hills. What I liked about the trail was it certainly appears that the city of Hilliard and Franklin County are using this rail trail as a spine to a much larger citywide cycling network with many spurs and bike lanes connecting to neighborhoods and parks along its length.
I would like to see this trail extended out to nearby Plain City. In the long, long-term perhaps the Metro Parks could extend the Darby Creek Trail this far north to make a connection somewhere by Three Mile Creek near Plain City.
I rode both the Battelle Darby Creek and the Prairie Oaks Metro Parks sections of this trail. Interstate 70 and U.S. 40 seem to be the obstacles to connecting these trails. The trail surface is gravel that varies in size from crushed to medium-sized rocks with some areas well compacted and others very soft. Definitely not recommended for road bikes with skinny tires. I don't think the trail surface will be upgraded to something better as the trail intersects with bridle trails within these metro parks. Much of the land in these two metro parks has been reverted back to prairie vegetation and restoration. As a result riding or hiking this trail in the late Summer or Fall might not be enjoyable for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. I would love to see the current parts of this trail connected and then also expanded further north to connect with the Heritage Rail Trail in Hilliard or Plain City, Ohio and further south to connect to the Camp Chase Trail and then beyond to Harrisburg or Orient, Ohio.
This is a visually interesting trail. I started at the Huffman Dam, with a dramatic view of downtown Dayton. I then followed the Mad River past the U.S. Air Force Museum, then through wooded Eastwood Metropark and finally into downtown Dayton on the treeless river flood plain between the levees on either side of the river. Once you reach downtown Dayton you can connect to other Dayton-area trails such as Great Miami River Recreational Trail (86.2 miles), the Stillwater River Recreation Trail (7.1 miles), and the Wolf Creek Trail (16.2 miles). From Eastwood MetroPark you can also connect to the Wright Brothers-Huffman Prairie Bikeway to Fairborn, OH (4.6 miles), the Creekside Trail to Xenia, OH (15.2 miles) and the Iron Horse Trail to Kettering, OH (7.6 miles off of the Creekside Trail). I saw quite a few fellow cyclists utilizing this trail during my ride, but for a Saturday afternoon, I didn't feel that the trail was busy. However, you will have to be aware of the many pedestrians and picnickers while riding through the MetroPark section of the trail.
This former rail line is flat, straight and desolate. Outside of the few miles within Xenia and Jamestown, you are riding between fields of corn or soybeans. Considering that you are surrounded by farms, the trail is surprisingly tree covered for much of its length which I'm sure is a blessing during the summer. At this time of year, there were a lot of acorns and black walnuts on the trail where the trees were the thickest. I suppose that could pose an issue for the tires of some types of bikes.
While there were lots of cyclists out and about when I arrived in Xenia, this trail was lightly travelled. I saw only 3 people while traveling out and back throughout the entire length of the trail. I think that this trail could become much more popular if it was extended into Washington Courthouse, Ohio to connect to the Paint Creek Recreational Trail that extends all the way to Chillicothe, Ohio. (Google Earth shows the undeveloped route of this old rail line.)
As I was told by a local resident, this is the preferred route Xenia residents use to connect between the Creekside and Little Miami Scenic Trails as it avoids the bike lane on busy Detroit Street in Xenia. Listed here on TrailLink as .3 miles my tracking between the two trails came in at 1.25 miles. I think that TrailLink measured from Fairground Road on the fairgrounds to the Creekside Trail rather than the entire length of the connection between the two trails. There is a small residential on-street section from Alameda Drive to the McDonald's on Detroit Street. I imagine that this trail probably is closed during the Greene County Fair. Again this is one of those trails that might be important locally, but not a trail people would travel to Xenia to ride, so why is it listed here?
This is a very short trail that links Xenia, Ohio's Creekside Trail to the town's West Side Park and the neighborhood beyond. I don't think this is a trail that anybody other than Xenia residents would be interested in. To top it off, the trail was closed due to some sort of excavation work.
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