I’ve been cycling and walking this trail for many years. I cycle this trail many times a week. It’s one of the best maintained trails in the country. I use this trail to prepare for thru hiking and biking trails all over the USA! If your looking for a fun round trip day of fun, this is perfect. Park in Butler, Ohio ride 18 miles to North Lake Park turn around and do 18 back to your car.

I have been on here a few times, it’s pretty busy, and the closer you get to the city the more homeless there are sleeping or wandering the trail.. it’s pretty sketch..

The northern trailhead in North Lake Park (Mansfield) would benefit from better signage or markings. We rode around the lake looking for access to the bike trail. A map posted near the picnic pavilion directs you up the ramp, over the bridge and onto the trail.

My husband and I rode an 8 mile section from the trailhead parking lot by the intersection of route 60 and route 20, by the old historic bridge there. The path crosses route 60, which jogs towards Vermilion, and passes a nice pond and small park area with covered benches, a work out station and a portable restroom. Wakeman has a pub, a coffee shop and an East of Chicago Pizza right uptown near the Gazebo at the park for refueling.

Had a very enjoyed day on the trail. There were more users on the trail, than I thought there would be… but everyone was spread out and hardly noticeable. The trail had some debris all along the trail, but nothing that made the trail impassable. Plenary of benches spread out… but the only restroom facility was an port-a-John at the very beginning of the trail in Marion.

FWIW I use this trail a lot and enjoy it. However, certain parts are in need a a repaving as it’s either dirty or cracked (and soon after a rainstorm parts remain flooded for up to a day). Additionally, it’s crowded but not enough to hinder my ride normally.

Alright, let's get the lion out of the room - this isn't a continuous trail that you can ride for hours like the Olentangy, Alum Creek, or Scioto. That's probably why it has far fewer reviews, and generally less traffic.

But if you instead look at it from the possibility of an after work ride, perhaps with dinner in Creekside Gahanna, which connects up with it very well, then it's quite nice. The sections by the river are just as scenic as the Alum Creek Trail, and the bluebells in the forest are in full bloom this time of year.

The Gahanna section is also de facto connected, contrary to what TrailLink shows. The Central Ohio Greenways map at http://centralohiogreenways.com/interactive-map/ is more up-to-date, and shows that the only on-residential-road segment is on Nob Hill Drive. There's also one very short sidewalk-or-street section on Cherry Bottom Road just north of Johnstown Road; the full-width trail resumes north of Springbook Drive, one street later. But aside from that, you can get from Morse Road to I-270 by the airport on trail the whole way.

Signage could be better; it's very good for telling you which parks different cutoffs lead to, but not so good for telling you which way to go if you want to follow the main Big Walnut Trail. Gahanna could study what Columbus has done on the Alum Creek and Olentangy Trails for the next level of signage improvements; in the meantime have your preferred map available on your phone.

Longer term, it would be nice if more of this trail were connected; Big Walnut Creek appears to have the potential to support a trail rivaling its more well-known cousins. But until then, consider checking out the Gahanna section for a nice relaxed evening ride.

I rode this route on 4/23, for the second time overall but first this year. It's a beautiful trail. Shade most of the way, so a good option in the summer. As you get towards Newark, it parallels Raccoon Creek. The trail is in good condition, and Wildwood Park on the west side of Granville (10 miles from Johnstown) makes for a great place to stop for a break on the way.

I'd put this trail up along the top Central Ohio trails for scenery and relaxing rides, alongside the Kekosing Gap and Alum Creek trails.

Johnstown is at a higher elevation than Newark, so if you want the second half to be downhill, start at Newark. It's only about 300 feet difference, but the steepest part is by Johnstown, so if you start there you'll hit the elevation right when you're most tired.

There's a connector at 40.04666448775512, -82.47659987791373 that lets you get close to downtown Newark, or to OSU Newark (the "Newark Trail" on TrailLink); or take an alternate route back via Newark-Granville Road in Granville (not on TrailLink, but a dedicated bike path most of the way). This would be a good area to add a sign with directions.

There's also a short connector to Raccoon Valley Park near Granville, which isn't on the map but would be another valid area to park and start if you aren't from one of the communities along the route.

This is 5.4 miles from Newell Park on County Line to Hartford Rd just east of Sunbury. You can get thru Sunbury and pickup Sandel Trail. Now, if they go north from Newell Park about a mile it will connect to Heart of Ohio.