This refers to a trip on August 8, 2020 that started from Gardner Athletic Field in Washington Court House and proceeded south-east along the Paint Creek Recreation Trail as far as was possible. About 24 miles south of Washington Court House, the southbound trail was partially blocked by a temporary fence. I walked around this fence and then rode over one bridge and then a second bridge. On the southeastern side of this second bridge the trail was blocked by a 4-foot high, padlocked fence. The lock was apparently installed to prevent northbound users from accessing the bridge I just crossed. Main point: the trail is closed for maintenance about 24 miles southeast of Washington Court House between Musselman and Anderson.

If you were starting in Chilicothe, you should be able to ride about 10 miles before you'd be forced to turn around.

Other than that, it was a beautiful day for bike ride. Much of the trail is shaded. While there are a few bumps on the paved trail due to root incursions, they are scattered over the length of the trail. The worst ones have been spray painted white to draw your attention. Although not crowded there were a few other riders, joggers and walkers enjoying the trail.

This was a great trail for a nice 26 mile ride. All paved and flat. If you want to see Ohio, this trail has it all - farms, river and bridges. The best part is if you want to go farther, you have more of the Ohio to Erie trail in both directions.

I have run this trail several times. It’s really nice, paved (although there are places you can run on gravelly path next to the river ¿¿). The disc golf course is also great!

3 stars because although it’s a nice, scenic trail for the most part, it tends to get wwwwayyy too crowded to bike with plenty of SMDAs (slow moving dumb @sses).

Bellefontaine-Urbana Completed this portion with my daughter. The tar and chip was much nicer than I expected. (Fine chip and well compacted). Only bad part was a stretch with deer flies.

We have ridden quite a few of the long rail-trails (GAP/C&O, Katy, Couer d'Alene, Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet, White Pines, Pine Creek, Greenbrier, Northbend) and The OTET is unmatched for the variety of things to see and do along the way. The landscapes vary from the lake to the industrial history of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, The Towpath, Amish country, Columbus, the soybean and cornfields of western Ohio, the Little Miami River and Downtown Cincinnati.

The trail will be finished next year in Cleveland and there will be only a small road section on W25th and Franklin. Then its path all the way to Dalton (once the temporary construction of the CSO project in Akron is complete and the trail restored and the detour removed). The 17 miles on the back country roads between Dalton and Fredericksburg were pleasant with very little traffic. Same with the 10 mile section between Centerburg and Sunbury. The Downtown Connector Trail between Alum Creek and the Scioto River had its interesting moments but wasn't bad (but it wasn't rush hour when we did it). The Camp Chase Trail is temporarily rerouted along Wilson Rd but pay attention to the detour signs so you don't get off track. Only other section that was a little rough was Just east of Cincy on Wooster Pike - rough road, and fast moving traffic that doesn't like to give you 3'. But its only a couple miles.

All in all a wonderful trip. We took 4 days to do it but we had ridden most of the sections in the last few years so were less compelled to stop. If this is your first or only time take a few extra days, make a lot of stops and enjoy all this route has to offer.

Comments cover 26 July 2020 round trip from Robinson Rd. to trail end in Chillicothe, which constituted roughly half of a 120-mile ride.
- Might need to get an orthodontist appointment and get my wheels re-trued after yesterday's thud-fest over root incursions, pavement holes, and tree debris--especially treacherous when the debris was hiding those incursions and holes. Trail might be OK for trail bikes or road bikes with wider tires, but if you're using 23-25 mm tires, plan on going slower than you probably normally would. I can't believe I didn't break a spoke. I've ridden thousands of miles on the trails extending from Xenia to Urbana, Piqua, Columbus, Cincinnati, and the county line east of Jamestown, and I can unequivocally say that this trail is the worst I've ever been on. I won't be back unless I'm walking.
- So glad I drove down the evening prior and stashed water bottles in a couple of places. If I hadn't, I'd probably still be out there lying in a ditch praying for rain or for a coyote to put me out of my misery.
- I did enjoy the relative isolation--less chance of others hearing me swear every few minutes about my bike and molars getting beat up.
- Lots of nice shade, but you pay for all those trees. Did I mention root incursions and debris? Conversely, some folks may consider the open sections through farmland to be extensive, so they should be sure to use sunscreen (even when it's cloudy!) and plan for hydration.
- When there's a known closed section of the trail, seems like signage at the nearest road crossings and/or trail spurs would be a good idea. Why put the first indication of a closure at the closure itself, miles from the nearest road, forcing users to backtrack? Can you imagine if the highway department did that with motorists? Why not alert folks before the closure and give them a chance to detour at the last available detour route?
- I'll also echo what several others have said about route signage and markings: Pay attention or have the route memorized. Maybe I'm a doofus, but the brief on-road portion heading west-to-east at the Marathon station on Clinton Rd. in Chillicothe snookered me. I missed the trail continuation on the other side of the road (possibly because cars waiting at the light were blocking my line of sight) and needlessly rode up the hill before realizing something was wrong. I did appreciate the occasional sign showing mileage to various cities.
- Finally, maybe I was hallucinating on my way back, or maybe my eyeballs had come loose from their sockets, but I swear some of the painted mile markers on the trail were repeated. For example, when I passed mile 15, I expected the next one to be 15.5, but I think the next one was 15 again.

The north segment of 5+ miles is great surface, easy crossings at roundabouts. South of Hyatts Road, the path is narrow, section torn up by development, narrow and bumpy.

We rode this trail from Toulon to Princeville today. It was great! The path was very good. It is mostly shaded. Excellent. We stopped in Wyoming on our way back for lunch. Ate at 111 Coffee Shop. Don’t be fooled, this is NOT just a coffee shop. The lunch was delicious. And it is decorated all with bikes! Perfect for us bikers. And check out the bathroom. Cute!!! Can’t wait to do more of the route from Princeville going south.