Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Lima, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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While in Bowling Green for an event, my wife and I rode 14 miles on this nice smooth trail. We initially planed on starting at the Montessori school, but despite it being Good Friday, school was in session and parking there was prohibited. We then drove the short distance to The Black Swamp Preserve trailhead and were rewarded with clean, modern bathrooms and a short connecting trail lined with tree swallows and bluebirds perched on their houses.
We rode south 7 miles into a strong headwind but mostly sheltered somewhat by the trees and bushes along the trail. At 7 miles the trail opened up for the foreseeable distance and this old guy decided we would turn back. The ride north was a "breeze". :-)
I would not call this the most scenic trail, but it is very well maintained with good facilities every few miles.
If you are looking for a relaxing enjoyable ride, you will not be disappointed
Pretty scenery next to a lot of bodies of water and the river. There was a couple spots where it was iffy on where you were supposed to go and one that was caution taped off, but it was enjoyable. Choose how far you want to take it because I went the whole way and the only way to get back was to ride. Lol
How about a round of applause for the cities, counties, employees, and volunteers who put this great trail together. Unlike the LMRT, this trail is not a state park but a series of parks in many jurisdictions. I do not know who coordinates this effort to create the ‘whole’, but good job.
On recumbent trikes, we recently rode about 15 miles of the North Fork; 5 non-paved miles on the far west end, and 10 paved miles on the eastern end. We did not ride the middle section around Wauseon. We also rode the 10 paved miles of the South Fork. The unpaved west end of the North Fork was in very good shape, much better than many parts of the C&O Canal Trail. Any bike with wider tires should be able to enjoy it.
No one has commented on the number of road crossings on all the trail sections. In the 62 miles of trail, there are more than 75 road crossings! Just when you get pedaling up to speed, you come to a road crossing. Some road crossings are very busy, with lots of cars coming fast. Others are not. You have to slow for each one to be sure.
A very nice trail and very worth riding.
We road this early summer now it’s fall. Really like the trail. Lots of leave down and they are so fry from drought. They crush when you ride over them
We rode the whole trail, and it was nicely groomed.Wonderful rest areas, and restrooms. Beautiful scenery, and a few shady areas. Thank you for all the work that everyone does to keep this trail looking good. No litter anywhere.
In Piqua, Troy and Dayton, trail is not always marked. You know you're on A trail, but not WHICH trail, or, on on-road sections, it is not clear where the trail goes. In addition, trail surface is quite rough for lengthy distances. Not recommended.
The trail is blacktop, very well maintained.Shaded in evening, with lots of wooded areas along the river. Wildflowers too.The bathrooms in Heritage West Park, appear to be very nice.
We love this trail for all the reasons the other reviewers mentioned. If you start in Bowling Green, put Rosenbloom Cylinders in your gps. The bike parking lot is on S Maple Street behind the factory. Flush toilets. All close to smoothies on Wooster St. when you finish. Worth the drive.
7/19/24—just finished ride from Lehman Park, Berne to Snow cemetery on hard packed gravel ROW trail under construction. Nice ride even for 79 y/o with regular road bike. Scheduled to be paved starting late July.
Saw 4 red headed woodpeckers , numerous birds, chipmunks , rabbits and coyote scat. I was only one on trail during Friday early afternoon.
Hidden gem.
I rode a total of 6.8 miles on two out & back rides on the two sections of the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway in Bluffton, Ohio. I first rode 4.61 miles on an out and back ride on the eastern section of the Lions Way Pathway. I later rode an additionalI 2.19 miles out-and-back on the western portion of the trail, labeled as the Augsburger Path.
I started near the center of the trail. I parked at the Village Arboretum on Lake Street next to Cobb Lake. I first headed east on the trail toward Commerce Lane. This portion of the trail leads to a commercial area next to Bluffton’s I-75 exit. Here you will find the Bluffton Inn & Suites Motel, a couple of gas stations along with several fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. TrailLink.com maps show the trail ending before it reaches Jefferson Street, the main drag, where the exits of I-75 connect. However, this end of the trail now has been extended out to Jefferson Street where an additional trail section has been built along Jefferson toward the center of town. It seems to extend to the end of this commercial area where it crosses over Jefferson. I’m not sure where it goes after crossing Jefferson St. as I chose not to explore the parts not documented here at TrailLink.
Next, I rode back to Cobb Lake and then started riding the trail toward the Bluffton University. At Cobb Lake the trail is actually Lake Street so you may encounter an occasional car as you ride along here. When you reach N. Main Street you will come to a street crossing that leads to a parking lot for Buckeye Lake. This is another park. The city pool and the local YMCA is located next to this lake. If you follow the trail around the lake you will reach Spring Street. There is no indication that the trail/bike route continues from here, but if you head west on Spring Street you will eventually arrive at the Bluffton University Campus.
TrailLink's current map for Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway shows Rosenberger Road crossing through the Bluffton University's campus. I was looking for this street as it would lead to the western portion of the trail known as the Augsburger Path which runs along Augsburger Road. Unfortunately, there is no longer a drive through the Bluffton U. campus as the addition of Lincoln Hall has removed that through street. Ultimately, after trying to find an alternate on-street route on my battery drained phone forced me to return to Cobb Lake, recharge my phone, and find a parking lot along the Augsburger Path in order to ride that segment. When I eventually rode that segment I found it somewhat disappointing it seems to be mostly a commuter route connecting residential areas to the university campus with few interesting things to see.
It appears that the main purpose of the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway is to connect Bluffton University students and Bluffton residents with the village's parks, restaurants (mostly fast food), and other village locations. The off-road portions of the trail are fairly new and are in very rideable shape. The on-road portions of this trail are on lightly trafficked streets, but are not well-marked with signs. If you plan on riding this trail having a map app would be helpful to find your way should you get lost.
With the Lions Way Bike & Pedestrian Pathway and the Triplett Pathway the Village of Bluffton seems to be creating a multi-use trail loop that will connect Bluffton students and residents with the village's amenities. I would like to return to Bluffton again, to see if I could complete this potential trail loop.
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