Find the top rated dog walking trails in Lima, whether you're looking for an easy short dog walking trail or a long dog walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a dog walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This is great for what it is - a converted railway, so it is flat. It is well maintained and does have scenic tree shading. We don't do this one often, as we prefer more technical walking and riding, but it is a great trail for the purpose it serves.
I rode this trail in October 2018. The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is a straight as an arrow converted rail line that connects the two towns of Celina and Coldwater, Ohio. As with most of the farmland in the western Ohio, it is very flat with little variation in elevation. This allows the rider to ride at a good clip and cover quite a bit of ground. On this Sunday, there were a number of bikers, walkers, and runners out on the trail, but it was not busy at all.
An interesting feature of this trail is how they mark mileage. There are two sets of tiles that are placed along the trail indicating how far you have ridden from your starting town. Heading south out of Celina the markers are green and heading north out of Coldwater the markers are red. They are placed in the pavement every quarter mile and at the end of the trail with a 4.61 mile marker which is the length of the trail. In addition when you reach a street crossing, there will be a sign telling you the name of the road and the exact mileage to the town you are heading toward.
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is a nice trail for what it is, a local commuter trail. It is not a trail I would recommend going out of your way to ride. But for these two local communities it serves a purpose. Looking at the map of the area around Grand Lake St. Marys I could see that a plan could be drawn up to use the CCB, the Franklin Township Greenway, and the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath could be used as the basis of creating a greenway all the way around Grand Lake in the future.
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.
I rode this trail at the end of August 2018. The trail itself is very flat and straight. This 5.5 mile paved pathway runs east-west through the city. It is marked with mileage posts every tenth of a mile in both the east and west direction with the starting point being the west bank of the Great Miami River. What I found surprising is other than the half mile through the Piqua Central Business District, you don't really feel that you are biking along through a city. Most of the pathway is tree and shrub lined. The section through the business district is well-marked, and highly visible with good street crossings so this stretch is not hard to ride. I would categorize this trail as a community recreational trail, but when combined with the Great Miami River Trail, and the Hydraulic Canal Run Pathway a large loop is formed that travels through and around the city.
If you look for this trail on Google Earth or Google Maps you may find it labeled as the Ohio to Indiana Trail. That is also the name given to the Tecumseh Trail Multi-use Path that runs from Gettysburg, OH to Bradford, OH and the Greenville Creek Trail in Greenville, OH west of Piqua. Obviously, these trails have been created out of the same rail line. Hopefully, there are plans to connect them over time to make one much larger trail. This route was part of the route President Abe Lincoln's Funeral train took from Columbus, Ohio to Urbana, Ohio to Richmond, Indiana and then eventually on to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. It would be really cool if this entire route in Ohio could be converted into a trail commemorating this tragic historic event.
Very nice ride through verdant NW Oh farmland. Immaculately maintained; not so much as a cigarette butt in view. Much of the trail is shaded, making for a comfortable ride even on a hot day. Only disappointment was a sadly underperforming water fountain in NBaltimore.
The this old railroad route through Ohio's Darke County is significant as this was the route that President Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train took as passed through from Columbus, Ohio to Richmond, Indiana on its way to Lincoln's final resting spot in Springfield, Illinois. For this reason alone efforts should be made by Darke County and the State of Ohio to buy up the parts of the route that not part of the Darke County Park System and convert the rail bed into a proper trail. The current trail sections that are developed are pleasant but don't yet lead to any areas that are developed, such as the towns of Bradford, Gettysburg, and Greenville. the current on-road sections of this route are on lightly traveled paved farm country roads. They are very flat, but do not have any shoulders at all. The current mapped route shown here at TrailLink suggests riding the trail west of Gettysburg by riding east along US 36 to Gettysburg-Pitsburg Road and then left onto Hahn Road. US 36 is a very busy and fast roadway with lots of traffic. Although the shoulders along this roadway are wide you can avoid riding along it altogether if you follow the bike route along W. Main Street in Gettysburg and cross US 36 onto Mill Road and then on to Hahn. On the eastern end the current TrailLink map shows the trail route ending south of Bradford when you reach South Miami Street (Rte 721). I suggest going into Bradford to take a look at its Y-Yard Park, particularly if you are a railroad buff. I suggest using Harrison Avenue to take a less busy road into town and then left on School Street to reach the park. Google Earth and Google Maps currently label this trail the Ohio to Erie Trail which is what they also call the Piqua City Linear Park as well. Obviously there is a railroad connection between these two trails and work should be done to connect them.
I rode the Hydraulic Canal Run Path in August of 2018. What I found interesting about this trail, which follows the canal's original towpath, was that a good part of the canal along the trail was still preserved. It is obviously, used for recreation as I saw people fishing and kayaking in the canal and associated lakes. What was also interesting was how the canal was actually elevated above the nearby neighborhoods. There are also a cemetery (Forest Hill) and a park (Fountain Park) to the east of the trail route. I would categorize this trail as a community recreational trail, but when combined with the Piqua City Linear Park, and the Great Miami River Trail a large loop is formed that travels through and around the city. For those approaching Piqua from the south on the Great Miami River Trail it certainly would make for a more interesting ride rather than simply turning around when they reached the end of the GMRT.
I rode this trail as part of a plan to ride all Ohio trails listed at TrailLink.com. The northern-most trailhead is located at the back of Graceland Cemetery in Sydney, Ohio. When you enter the cemetery keep driving to the left and back of the cemetery to find the parking lot. I'm not sure how old this trail is but it is currently well maintained and well marked with distance and historical markers. At present this trail is best described as a local recreational trail. There is potential to expand this trail south to Lockington and on to Piqua, Ohio where it could connect to larger regional destination trail the Great Miami River Trail. I hope local and county leaders and trail partners see this as a goal!
We live between the trails at the eastern end near Jerome Road. Both forks are great for biking until they end as described in the data, and both become paths for hiking or horseback riding but cannot recommend for biking. That being said, there are consistent stories whenever you stop to talk with other bikers that the paving completion into Fulton county to make this a full 60+ biking trail are at least in the early planning stages. Hopefully this can be done in 2019 as that would make this a real jewel trail for this part of Ohio. The paved parts currently available are great and highly recommend a diversion off the north trail into Oak Openings Park whenever you visit and ride the trails.
I rode the Slippery Elm trail Sunday for the first time. It is an enjoyable trail with a fair amount of variety. I especially enjoyed the cool shade in the forested sections. The trailhead in North Baltimore is very nice with paved parking and clean restrooms. They have covered a lot of cracks in the pavement with a sealant that has made the surface a bit rough in places but otherwise it is in good condition.
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