Started our ride at the Kirk Rd. Parking area. Ended up that the south end was being paved so had to head north. Added on the Niles Greenway, so did get almost 18 miles in. Surface good, some bumps in the pavement, and 2 climbs that were manageable. Nice casual scenic country road ride.

Started the tow path in Independence, OH and rode to Peninsula. Had to back track to our parked car - so would recommend planning to take the train at Independence and then ride the whole trail from the Akron end.
Good riding surface of packed limestone - even for riders like us who prefer paved. Fun lunch stop in Peninsula. Not often you can ride 20+ miles in a National Park.

Parked at Kirk road (mile 5) and biked to the end (mile 10.8) and back. The Canfield Fair was getting ready, all set up to begin the next day. Stopped at the Metroparks Farm, across from the Fairgrounds. The sunflower field was absolutely beautiful!
Most of the trail is open as regards to shade but it wasn't a very hot day.
Trail passes near some residential areas as well as commercial business areas.
Biked to Mile 0 at the County line and a little bit on the Niles Greenway Trail.

Great trail, flat and easy. We rode from Main Street in Canfield to Niles and back - 24 miles total. This was our first time on this trail and we will be back in fall to see the changing leaves. Quite a few road crossings so be careful.

Working on Shenango Trail 2.5 miles south of Kidd's Mill trailhead to alleviate muddy crossing in open field. Biker and 2 hikers encountered on the trail.

Road this trail from the south end to the north end and back today so shy of 26 miles. Mostly in the shade and the weather was in the low 80s so it was a nice day. Very good trail paved the whole way just a few short stints on the road connecting

I absolutely loved this trail overall! I felt like i was riding through a state forest with nice fresh asphalt pavement.

ITINERARY
I started in Lisbon at the end point. Rode on Maple Ave to the dedicated trailhead. There are at least 12 road crossings!! And at least 2 occasions you ride with traffic on dog legs to get to the trail again. In Leetonia you ride in town to connect to the last leg of the trail which really isn’t worth it.

CONCLUSION
I feel so bad for 3 stars when i loved my time and would absolutely go back but pretty ridiculous for a rail-trail to be so difficult to stay on, they should really invest in a way to separate the trail from the road where the trail dog legs and 12+ road crossings on a 12 mile trail….. Thankfully on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon traffic wasn’t bad, i only had to stop 2x’s but about half of the road crossings are 55 mph state routes and definitely could be dangerous if you’re not paying attention.

First I will say this trail is very sunny and has very little shade.

The PA side of the trail is very nice. It's well maintained. The trail is wide and smooth; any issue are marks so you can easy avoid them. It has a number of benches along the path. It is also well mark when it come to miles trailed and miles to the boarder.

I would give this section 4 out of 5 star. The lack of shade and rather plain scenery bring it down but I would expect it to be nicer in the Fall.

The Ohio side was a disappointment. It looks like no one has done any maintenance to the trail since it was paved. The trail is very rough to the point I was afraid I would lose things off my bike from all the dips and bumps on the trail. The cracks in the asphalt have plants growing in them which hide exactly how wide the crack is. Part of the trails was covered with standing water that had been long enough for live to start growing in it. I didn't see any mile marker on the trail nor was it well marker change from trail to city street back to trail. I only saw one bench on this section and it wasn't as nice as the PA side.

I would give this section of trail 1.5 stars out of 5.

Overall I would not travel to use this trail again until the Ohio side of the trail has been repaved. While the PA side is nice and I would re-ride it, the hour trip to the trail doesn't make it worth it unless you can do the full trail.

Started in Cumberland and headed west. Complete glide back to Cumberland