Find the top rated birding trails in Marion, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Biked from Elmore to Fremont (and back). Very nice flat asphalt paved trail. Trail goes through a few very small towns. Along this trail you will see plenty of cornfields (in season) and pass by numerous working farms. This is rural Ohio at it's best. You will also have a view of the Ohio Turnpike on several occasions. There are some wooded sections of the trail. Trail surface in very good condition.
Trail towns along the trail are welcoming and friendly.
It's approx 10 miles between Elmore and Fremont. Each half-mile is marked with a sign. In the trail towns there are mileage signs as well.
Parked in Elmore at the old train station. There are places to eat and shop in Elmore. Parking in Elmore is at Ory Park on Rice Street. There is a bike shop and rental in Elmore. In Fremont there are places to eat and shop but to access them, you have to street ride. The trail continues on the other side of Fremont.
An all around great trail and fun ride!
Lots of scenery change from small towns, to fields, to forests.
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.
This is a nice trail which many might label as boring because there are no real turns or hills. What I liked about the trail was it certainly appears that the city of Hilliard and Franklin County are using this rail trail as a spine to a much larger citywide cycling network with many spurs and bike lanes connecting to neighborhoods and parks along its length.
I would like to see this trail extended out to nearby Plain City. In the long, long-term perhaps the Metro Parks could extend the Darby Creek Trail this far north to make a connection somewhere by Three Mile Creek near Plain City.
I rode both the Battelle Darby Creek and the Prairie Oaks Metro Parks sections of this trail. Interstate 70 and U.S. 40 seem to be the obstacles to connecting these trails. The trail surface is gravel that varies in size from crushed to medium-sized rocks with some areas well compacted and others very soft. Definitely not recommended for road bikes with skinny tires. I don't think the trail surface will be upgraded to something better as the trail intersects with bridle trails within these metro parks. Much of the land in these two metro parks has been reverted back to prairie vegetation and restoration. As a result riding or hiking this trail in the late Summer or Fall might not be enjoyable for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. I would love to see the current parts of this trail connected and then also expanded further north to connect with the Heritage Rail Trail in Hilliard or Plain City, Ohio and further south to connect to the Camp Chase Trail and then beyond to Harrisburg or Orient, Ohio.
31 Aug 2018Rode this trail today. Nice ride, but trail needs some work. Lots of bumps and seams that need repair. But still a nice ride.
Which is one of the 2 greatest elevation changes in the whole OtEt, although it really doesn't feel that way from S to N. More so the other way as you go uphill longer. (The other being on the roads from Fredericksburg to Dalton.) I went from the "orphaned" section from Meradith to N County Line, south of Huffman through the mile and 1/2 and then used the roads to get to the main line at Huffman. Then went all the way to Danville. This trail ends right past the Ariel Foundation Park, which is a worthy place to stop and check out. The tower climb and picture taking is nice. I'm really hoping they'll connect the 2 sections on the southern end, and someone will realize that putting a trail on 36 off the right side of the road for the 2-3 miles along US 36 from Sunbury to the Heart of Ohio Trial would be great!
We started at the Easton soccer fields. Unfortunately we parked in the northern lot Park in the southern lot and you won’t have a short ride on Sunbury Road. Sunbury is very busy an may I say scary to ride. The trail is beautiful, shady, clean and well marked. There are very few crossings and only a few tree roots. We detoured into Bexley and enjoyed views of the beautiful homes. It’s a Fun ride that we do ride again.
Truly peaceful and beautiful ride. Enjoyed viewing the Kokosing Gap Train, and catching some rest in the shelter beside the train... I completed the 27 miles in a few hours, and I plan on doing it again soon...
I usually start this trail at the Scioto Audubon Park. I park in the small parking area on the left side of Whittier for easier access. There are some beautiful wooded areas that run along the river around the Audubon park, and once you go under the freeway underpass a beautiful view of downtown pops up. Stay on the lower part of the trail and ride clear through downtown along the waterfront and never have to cross a busy street. There are many spurs along the way to stop at some of the downtown parks - but many of them are pretty steep inclines. It’s about 2.5 to 3 miles from the Audubon park to the confluence bridge which offers a nice view and then connects to the Olentangy Trail. Trail can be a bit challenging at times for the novice rider as there are some slight inclines to climb, but not too terrible. I am totally comfortable, as a middle aged female, riding this portion of this trail alone during the day, especially during the week, as there is always a lot of people around. It is busy, but not crowded. I would highly recommend this portion of this trail.
My husband and I were going to park in Alum Creek North Park but due to limited Parking we went across the street to Astronaut Park were there were plenty of spaces. We weren't sure where the trail began and be advised the locals do not refer to it as a/the "greenway" and all the signs label it as Alum Creek Trail. There is a bike path behind Astronauts' Park that goes under the bridge and comes up in Alum Creek North Park take that then continue to your left and to crossing over the bridge where you will see a sign labeled "ALUM CREEK TRAIL" on your left . Then off you go. There are several off shoots on this trail and they all appear to be marked. The farther you go the better the signage becomes. You will eventually see white lettering on the trail itself for "ALUM CREEK NORTH" or "ALUM CREEK SOUTH" with arrows -especially when another trail converges. Most times the Alum Creek Trail has dashes separating the lanes. We rode about 12 miles out in total ( with a few side detours to check out the sights) and turned around where Sunbury Rd hits Sunbury Ridge Dr. The trail was beautiful and in only a very few places did we see any trash on it. Once we got away from Westerville we also saw few people on the trail. This trail is a jewel and not to be missed. It feels as if you are isolated in the woods running along a creek for most of the ride. There is a long board walk that passes through a marshy wetland area and several bridges over rushing water and parks and golf courses along it. There had been heavy rain a few days before we visited and you could see the water had in some spots run over the trail as there was mud in spots. We were on mountain bikes so no problems and road bikes would be fine. On June 25, 18 there was a HUGE black sewer pipe running along the side of the trail and over bridges for a segment while a sewer project is underway. The workers were very careful with their equipment while we were passing and other than seeing the pipe we didn't have any issues with it. The trail has curves, slight ups and downs and a lot of wonderful visual interest. You will pass under a series of underpasses/bridges, over arched bridges, along parks, golf courses, office buildings, and apartments, but the majority seem to be lovely green space/woods and this is just the area we traveled. We had very few street crossing and they are well marked with cross walks and buttons. This is by far the nicest trail I have biked in a urban setting. What a wonderful asset for this area! I will be back!!!
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