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My husband and I rode our bikes from Bowling Green to the end of the trail and back. The scenery is awesome and the trail itself is well maintained. A few fix-it stations along the way and bathroom stops as well. Definitely check it out!
Nice bike path with historical significance. My husband & I enjoyed the quiet path through beautiful fields- some sections tree-lined others on the road but overall the whole path was very enjoyable. We did not encounter one other cyclist upon the path, so that was actually enjoyable to have it to ourselves. ¿¿
I have ridden on this trail different times and love it each time. It is all asphalt or concrete which makes bike riding easier..
Looking for a tough assignment? Try this one. I might be the first reviewer to have done this trail from end to end. This is the slowest 36 miles that I have ever done.
Why do it? My interest in the Miami and Erie Canal started as a kid, as the canal was part of the backyard of my parents' house near Dayton, about an hour's drive south.
In 2019, I set out to do this trail from its beginning in Ft, Loramie Ohio to its end in Delphos Ohio. It took me three attempts.
Some facts: The entire 274 mile length of the Miami and Erie Canal started in Cincinnati and ended somewhere near Toledo. This particular "Miami and Erie Canal Trail" trail covers about 36 miles of it. Another reviewer referred to "Farnsworth" ...actually, that is a misplaced review that belongs to the "Towpath Trail" which is not this trail, but easy to be confused, as that trail also is along a more northerly section of the same Miami and Erie Canal. (BTW the Towpath Trail is much easier than this one.)
It took me three tries to finish the Miami and Erie Trail (e.g., see comment about culvert) but it's feasible to do it in one trip if you know where you are going.
While the trail is "good," as in clearly marked, and hikers have no problem, it is not easy to cycle with a few exceptions. You will need a mountain bike to take it from end to end. Forget about taking your kid along for this one - it's really rugged in spots. Some parts of the trail are hard-paved, others are graveled, but much is grassland along the edge of farmers fields. Sometimes the trail disappears and you are riding the adjacent road.
Fort Loramie - In a word: disconnected. Go to the State Park and ride along the lake's edge on the road side, and do a quick tour of the park. The lake was a feeder to the canal. It's placid and pretty. Ride the road along the canal hiking trail, then you will come to Ohio Rt 66, and realize that the bike path isn't really there...it's someone's backyard, or - across the road - a rough uncut farmers field with ground hog burrows under the uncut grass. That might be Ok for hiking, but not for bikes. If you want to make it to Minster-New Bremen, then load the bike on your car, or ride the edge of OH 66.
Minster-New Bremen - this is a nice stretch, the trail is a mix of graveled and hard-paved path and canal-side streets. Stop at the AWESOME WORLD CLASS!!! Bicycle Museum of America. On display is the world's first bicycle .. the real deal.
Going north, expect the paving to be excellent for awhile, and suddenly you are riding through rough grassland along the edge of farm fields. Get used to it and enjoy the solitude and the relaxed speed of 6 mph. Sometimes you are on tire tracks in the woods. Nice!
As you approach St. Mary's OH. you realize you are again in people's yards, so you go back onto Ohio Rt 66 for a bit. Go into Geiger Park and get back in the trail, see the canal boat in the center of town, and then,,,you might get lost (as I did), ask for directions, it's OK. Friendly locals. Suddenly, you are dead-ended at a culvert (just too small and wet to be reasonable for biker, but a hiker, hmmm) that goes under the divided highway. Later, you learn that you were supposed to go left at the culvert, and cycle on the grass along the highway, go under the bridge, and you are back on track. It gets nice with 40 acre lake.
After St, Mary's comes Kossuth, then Spencerville - lots of grass pedaling until you reach the adjacent gravel pit, where the the trail is paved with stone chips. Nice!
Then continue onto Delphos, which is quizzical. What do they have in mind as they newly pave the trail (in process as I write this) but come to a dead-halt in someone's backyard?
Overall, a tough and sometimes confusing path combined with the world class bicycle museum. Glad to have done it.
Very nice trail. Just the right amount of distance and a little challenging which was good since I am a bit out of shape.
My biking pal & I did 15 miles today! Online maps made the trail look paved all the way to 109. But it went to grass & dirt after Oak Openings. It was a grand adventure anyways!
The Marion Tallgrass Trail is as straight as an arrow for its 12.4 mile length and for the most part it is a green tunnel of trees and shrubs that is surrounded by corn and soybean farms. For this reason people looking to get more of a scenic view of the surrounding country side may want to put off riding the trail until Fall or early Spring. However, riding in the Fall may not be advisable due to hunting season. There were numerous signs along the trail stating that there was absolutely no hunting allowed within the 100 foot wide Marion Tallgrass Corridor. The trail itself is paved and is in excellent shape.
I unexpectedly found the Marion Tallgrass Trail interesting. First, there is almost no change in elevation so it is easy to get up to speed and sustain it throughout the entire length of the trail. However, there are quite a few road crossings (12) that could effect your ability to sustain your speed. Secondly, based on the location of the trail in Mid-Ohio farm country I doubt that you will ever find the trail crowded. I did come across a few bikers and pedestrians on the trail but most of the time I was on my own. So if you’re looking for a ride were you can get inside your own head, the Marion Tallgrass Trail may be the trail for you. Finally, there was a surprising amount of wildlife to be found along this trail. Despite it being around noon when I hit this trail, I encountered close observation of deer, hawks, Turkey buzzards, ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, and ground hogs. Lots and lots of ground hogs. What would I have seen if I had ridden early in the morning or later in the evening?
We use this trail many times a year to get into downtown Dayton. It is scenic and well marked.
In recent years dirt has built up on parts of the trail. PLEASE be careful after rain when the dirt turns to mud. Piqua to Peterson Road and Taylorsville Park to Rip Rap Road Park are sections that can be very muddy.
Very little shade on the trail. My bike pedometer measured it at 10.5 round trip not the 6.5 one way as app states. Just resurfaced part of the asphalt. Farmer was spraying fields along path and didn’t like riding in the chemical mist. Only saw 2 other riders on trail.
I rode 5.6 miles on an out-and-back ride on the West Bank Trail in Celina Ohio. The trail is located on the western shore of Grand Lake St. Marys in Mercer and Auglaize Counties of Ohio. The trail is flat with no elevation change. Most of the time you are riding right along the edge of the water. The West Bank Trail connects two parks, goes by the public boat launch, and passes quite a few boat docks. There are great views of the lake throughout the trail's length making it a very scenic ride.
One word of caution: the path is quite narrow in spots which could be problematic if the trail is crowded. Someone could end up in the lake.
The Franklin Township Greenway is very flat with almost no change in elevation at all. The trail surface is asphalt which is in good repair. The trail parallels and crosses over State Route 219 several times on the southern shore of Grand Lake near Celina, Ohio. Unfortunately, you don't get to see much of the lake from the trail. You really are really riding along the farm fields that surround the lake. You do get to see a number of canals where the residents and boaters dock their boats. The trail is beautiful in its own kind of way, but with few trees in the area to serve as wind breaks I can see where riders could face really strong headwinds at times. The greenway seems to have been designed for the many people of the boating community that utilize the lake. It's probably the best way to keep casual cyclists off of a busy roadway with cars traveling at high speeds.
It would be really cool if the residents of Franklin Township, Celina, St. Mary's and Mercer and Auglaize Counties could complete an off road route all the way around Grand Lake. Then you might have something worth checking out; particularly if you’re also interested in boating.
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