Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Niles, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 6 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
With a wide, paved pathway and adjacent equestrian trail running through lush woodland and riverside terrain, the Allegheny River Trail (ART) has something to offer every trail enthusiast. Following a...
The bucolic Headwaters Trail is a pleasant 8-mile journey through the rural landscape between Mantua and Garrettsville. The path has a crushed-stone surface and is mostly shaded. It follows the route...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
Constructed in 1983 with the help of donations from the Stavich Family and local individuals, the Stavich Trail is unusual in several ways. First, unlike most rail-trails, it was built on an...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
The Olde Muskingum Trail parallels the Tuscarawas River and the Ohio & Erie Canalway between Cherry Street in Canal Fulton and Forty Corners Road just north of Massillon. The 6-mile scenic trail has a...
The Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway extends 17 miles along the city's Lake Erie shoreline, between the suburbs of Euclid and Lakewood. The bikeway has on-road sections, and the route is signed. The...
Along its 6-mile path, this paved rail-trail crosses through a rich array of natural habitats, from creek bottomlands to meadow, marsh and forest. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst, who owned the...
The Sandy Creek Trail carves its way through some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 12-mile paved trail has some impressive features, including tunnels...
The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is an amazing trail journey that takes users from the heart of this country’s industrial might in cities like Cleveland and Akron, to some of the most beautiful...
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Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
The nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
Located on the abandoned Erie and Pittsburgh branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, this short but intriguing trail runs through Pymatuning State Park, a large and popular two-state recreation area...
With a wide, paved pathway and adjacent equestrian trail running through lush woodland and riverside terrain, the Allegheny River Trail (ART) has something to offer every trail enthusiast. Following a...
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
The Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
The Sandy Creek Trail carves its way through some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 12-mile paved trail has some impressive features, including tunnels...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
Along its 6-mile path, this paved rail-trail crosses through a rich array of natural habitats, from creek bottomlands to meadow, marsh and forest. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst, who owned the...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 6 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The bucolic Headwaters Trail is a pleasant 8-mile journey through the rural landscape between Mantua and Garrettsville. The path has a crushed-stone surface and is mostly shaded. It follows the route...
Following a portion of the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad corridor, the Sippo Valley Trail spans 10 miles between Dalton and Massillon in northwestern Ohio, presenting a mix of rolling farmland,...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is an amazing trail journey that takes users from the heart of this country’s industrial might in cities like Cleveland and Akron, to some of the most beautiful...
The nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
The Olde Muskingum Trail parallels the Tuscarawas River and the Ohio & Erie Canalway between Cherry Street in Canal Fulton and Forty Corners Road just north of Massillon. The 6-mile scenic trail has a...
Moraine State Park features a nearly seven mile bike trail, which follows the north shore of Lake Arthur. Along the way, you'll enjoy beautiful scenery, especially during the fall as trees line the...
The Shenango River Trail once served as a towpath along the Erie Canal Extension. During the mid-1800s, mules pulled boats along the canal, linking goods from the Great Lakes to Pittsburgh and beyond....
The Maple Highlands Trail consists of 3 separate segments totaling more than 18 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape,...
Constructed in 1983 with the help of donations from the Stavich Family and local individuals, the Stavich Trail is unusual in several ways. First, unlike most rail-trails, it was built on an...
With a wide, paved pathway and adjacent equestrian trail running through lush woodland and riverside terrain, the Allegheny River Trail (ART) has something to offer every trail enthusiast. Following a...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 6 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway extends 17 miles along the city's Lake Erie shoreline, between the suburbs of Euclid and Lakewood. The bikeway has on-road sections, and the route is signed. The...
The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is an amazing trail journey that takes users from the heart of this country’s industrial might in cities like Cleveland and Akron, to some of the most beautiful...
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
The Olde Muskingum Trail parallels the Tuscarawas River and the Ohio & Erie Canalway between Cherry Street in Canal Fulton and Forty Corners Road just north of Massillon. The 6-mile scenic trail has a...
The bucolic Headwaters Trail is a pleasant 8-mile journey through the rural landscape between Mantua and Garrettsville. The path has a crushed-stone surface and is mostly shaded. It follows the route...
Along its 6-mile path, this paved rail-trail crosses through a rich array of natural habitats, from creek bottomlands to meadow, marsh and forest. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst, who owned the...
Following a portion of the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad corridor, the Sippo Valley Trail spans 10 miles between Dalton and Massillon in northwestern Ohio, presenting a mix of rolling farmland,...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The paved, off-road trail traces the...
The Shenango River Trail once served as a towpath along the Erie Canal Extension. During the mid-1800s, mules pulled boats along the canal, linking goods from the Great Lakes to Pittsburgh and beyond....
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
This was a nice little ride. Can't wait to take the kids with me next time.
Rode the trail this past Sunday. Followed the description to the west end trailhead. We wanted to ride uphill, as was recommended in a previous review. Drove the bumpy dirt road ( which IS INCLUDED in the red line on the trail map - very confusing ), for three miles until we found the paved trail. Limited parking here. There was no sign with the trail name on It, but there was a wooden sign overhead which read “ NO TRESSPASSING “ - what’s up with that ?? Description could use directions to the Belmar parking lot.
Anyway, enjoyed the bridges over the the creek and river. The tunnel was doable, we had flashlights, but you could see the light at the end . . . . The two railcars at the west end were a nice touch. Some of the benches along the way have seen better days. All said, a pleasant afternoon.
This trail is part of the Ohio To Erie Trail Route and spans the distance between Dalton and Massillon, Ohio. It is paved on both ends with a 3 mile section of crushed gravel surface in the middle. The signage on the trail is excellent giving the rider names of road crossings and the distances to the next crossing. The trail is mostly flat with just a few short steep climbs near Massillon. The views consist mostly of well maintained local farms but as the leaves fill in on the trees in the spring I'm not certain how much a rider will be able to see of these. If you are planning to ride the Ohio to Erie route then you'll obviously experience this trail, otherwise it is not one that is a must ride.
May 1 was a beautiful evening so after work I rode from Vanderhoof Rd to Forty Corners. The section between Butterbridge Rd (south of Canal Fulton) to Forty Corners was pretty rugged after a hard winter/spring. Lots of washouts and craters so ride a little slower and keep your eyes on the trail. As an alternative ride the Olde Muskingum Trail on the west side. It can be accessed by crossing over the river on Cherry St in Canal Fulton or over the Forty Corners Bridge (now just pedestrians and cyclists) or in the middle on Butterbridge Rd.
Easy path - follow the white blazes - towpath has white blaze with a blue dot. Little maintenance- but worth a visit
I struggle to call this much of a trail as it really isn't more than a glorified sidewalk that replaced an old railroad line through town. From what I've been able to ascertain from Google Maps this trail seems as though it has the possibility of being extended in both directions. However, it's hard to tell if it's the businesses on the Railroad Street end of the trail, the residences on the First Street end of the trail, the rail lines still used by CSX in the area, or the funding that is holding up future expansion. Another reviewer talked about expanding south to the Berlin Lake Trail.
I last rode this trail in July 2017 after completing a ride from Ashtabula, Ohio on the Western Reserve Greenway. The southern end of the Western Reserve Greenway connects directly to this trail when it crosses North River Road in the north end of Warren, Ohio. This trail crosses through most of Warren and ends just a few miles north of the Niles Greenway. If this gap on the southern end of the trail were closed one could ride on a trail from Ashtabula all the way to Canfield, Ohio.
This is a typical urban trail. It crosses many streets and has a couple of on-street sections. As is often typical of trails in urban settings there are sections where the rider needs to be aware of glass and debris on the trail. I found this trail visually appealing as it went through industrial and residential areas as well as through a park. Overall, the Garrett Wonders Bike Trail isn't necessarily a great trail but if it can be connected to the Niles Greenway to the south it will become an incredibly useful one.
I've ridden this trail several times. The last time was at the end of July 2017. The Western Reserve Greenway is a long, straight, flat, bike path that is easy to ride. According to TrailLink the trail is 42.8 miles long, but I don't believe that includes the mileage of the Paul E. Heltzel segment of the Greenway which connects this trail with the Garrett Wonders Bike Trail that goes through most of the city of Warren. The trail is well-maintained, and on a beautiful weekend day you will encounter numerous cyclists and pedestrians around the greenway's trailheads. The trail is long enough that it never seemed crowded. It is an enjoyable path and after having ridden it several times (This was my first end to end ride.) I would say that your best bet is to ride this trail in sections.
Here are my reasons for my previous statement. First, the area that the greenway traverses is very rural in nature. Other than Ashtabula and Warren, the two cities that anchor either end of this trail, there are not many towns or services in between. I think that a good many riders would assume that they would come across at least several small towns or crossroads where they could buy some food, or find some water, etc. I have seen several folks in previous Rails to Trails posts explain at which crossroads to turn and bike into a town for food/drink. That is all well and good, but if you are unfamiliar with the area or are someone who rides greenways and bike trails because you don't like to encounter automobile and truck traffic when riding then be warned that there really is not much along or right off this trail to service your needs. This could be a serious problem if you are riding this trail on a very hot day and run out of water. I know this from personal experience. Secondly, I personally find this trail somewhat boring. It is mile after mile of riding through a tunnel of trees or wide open farm country when it does open up. I think the fact that there are so few turns throughout the trail's length may contribute to this feeling. In addition, this does not mean that there are not some interesting spots along the trail. There is the Rock Creek Trestle, the observation deck at the Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area, the old bridge near Austinburg, and the tunnels under the freeways south of Ashtabula. However, to see all of these things one has to ride a lot of miles of very repetitive scenery.
I rode this trail in June of 2017. One feature that I found unique or interesting about this trail was a sign at either end of the trail that pointed out different points of interest and their mile marker location on the upcoming trail. When you reached that point of interest their would be a sign indicating the mile marker and what you were looking at. I thought that was both interesting and helpful.
The Niles Greenway is designed to be part of the bigger Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway, a developing corridor that when completed will allow trail users to travel from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The unfinished section in Niles could really open up the GOLR Greenway because it would link the Western Reserve Greenway, the Garrett Wonders Bike Trail, the Niles Greenway, and the Mill Creek Metroparks Greenway into one trail from Ashtabula, OH to Canfield, OH.
I rode this trail on June 24, 2017. The Mill Creek MetroParks Bikeway is a gem. It is well maintained and from the number of riders I saw on the trail on this Saturday, appreciated by local residents. It is well marked, features an award-winning trailhead design at Kirk Road, and also has a trail map available at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm trailhead. You've got to love a 10.5 mile trail that comes with its own printed map. My only complaint is the number of road crossings that you experience on this trail and the odd crossing angles and near blindspots at a few of those crossings.
The MetroParks Bikeway is designed to be part of the bigger Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway, a developing corridor that when completed will allow trail users to travel from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. At its current southern end the trail just ends at Western Reserve Road. There is a small parking lot on the other side the road. There is the possibility that this trail could be extended beyond this current terminus and connect up with the Little Beaver Creek Greenway in Washingtonville, Ohio. When you ride north you will pass under the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) and when you cross into Trumbull County the trail becomes the Niles Greenway. If the gap between Niles and Warren, Ohio is filled in you will connect with the Western Reserve Greenway and will be able to travel all the way to Ashtabula, Ohio.
This was a fairly straight trail from Struthers, Ohio through Lowellville, Ohio and then on to close to New Castle, Pennsylvania. The trail follows pathway of an old electric rail line that traveled between the cities previously mentioned. I don't know if the original line was any longer than the route we traveled and I don't think that there is much chance of this trail being extended in either direction as it parallels a fairly active rail line.
This trail isn't exactly flat, but the length of climbs and the gradualness of the trails grade don't make this trail particularly difficult. I mention it simply because you find yourself comparing the elevation of the bikeway to that of the parallel active rail lines. Sometimes you find yourself looking down on the tracks, sometimes you actually find yourself several feet below them.
I rode this as an out and back on what was probably the first really hot day of the summer. Bring plenty of water, as the only source of water would be in Lowellville, Ohio at a grocery or convenience store. I did not see a source of water along the 10 miles of trail.
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