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.
_162589_st.jpg)
_163593_st.jpg)
_150928_st.jpg)
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...
You’ll want to pack water, food, and flashlights to travel the Sandy Creek Trail, as it crosses 12 miles of remote, but scenic, countryside in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Named for separate Sandy...
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...
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 Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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 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...
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....
Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild...
Fifty years after the last trolley cars ran on the Penn-Ohio Electric System between Youngstown, Ohio, and New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1932, travelers on foot, bikes, and skates began using 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...
Starting in Meadville, known as the home of the zipper, the 7.2-mile Ernst Trail closes the gap between the city and surrounding forests and farms for visitors. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst,...
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 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...
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 Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. 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,...
_163593_sc.jpg)
The Iron Horse Trail runs along the corridor of a railroad that originally connected Alliance and Minerva. The north section runs from State St, across from the University of Mount Union, to the...
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...
_150928_sc.jpg)
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,...
The Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. The...
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...
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 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 Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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,...
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 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 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 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...
Fifty years after the last trolley cars ran on the Penn-Ohio Electric System between Youngstown, Ohio, and New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1932, travelers on foot, bikes, and skates began using the...
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...
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,...
Starting in Meadville, known as the home of the zipper, the 7.2-mile Ernst Trail closes the gap between the city and surrounding forests and farms for visitors. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst,...
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 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...
Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild...
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 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...
_162589_sc.jpg)
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
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 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 Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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 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 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 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 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...
Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild...
Starting in Meadville, known as the home of the zipper, the 7.2-mile Ernst Trail closes the gap between the city and surrounding forests and farms for visitors. The trail is named for Calvin Ernst,...
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,...
You’ll want to pack water, food, and flashlights to travel the Sandy Creek Trail, as it crosses 12 miles of remote, but scenic, countryside in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Named for separate Sandy...
Fifty years after the last trolley cars ran on the Penn-Ohio Electric System between Youngstown, Ohio, and New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1932, travelers on foot, bikes, and skates began using the...
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...
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 11.7-mile John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans 2,856 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The mostly shaded, paved, off-road trail...
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...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
The Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. The...
Stayed at the Barnard House B&B in Emlenton and rode my High Wheel up to franklin and back. Great trail.
All nice asphalt, but there is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile of gravel because the land owners didn't want the trail to go through their yards, so it had to make a detour around the properties. Not a big issue if you are riding a trail bike. But a road bike is possible. I had to walk my High Wheel on that section. There are two very long, VERY DARK tunnels so you need a good strong light to use to stay on the asphalt. I will be going back in June 2020 to do the trail, stay at the B&B and also do the Blues n BBQ event in franklin.
I rode 8.77 miles on an out-and-back ride on this trail connecting Shaker Heights with the University Circle neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. I started at Horseshoe Lake Park in Shaker Heights and rode down into the Cleveland Museum of Art using this trail and the southern part of the Harrison Dillard Bikeway. The multi-use trail that runs around the southern half of Horseshoe Lake is in good shape with a few spots of tree root uplift. The trail crosses over the spillway of the lake's dam and deposits one near Beaumont School on North Park Boulevard. At this point there is a narrow asphalt pathway that travels west along North Park past Lower Shaker Lake and on to Coventry Road. The path is narrow, pitted and pockmarked, and not very level. I took this path because this trail is listed here in TrailLink as a trail. However, I would recommend using the bike lanes found on North Park Boulevard as the surface of the road is much smoother. On my return trip I rode these bike lanes as the pathway had become pretty busy with runners and pedestrians on this beautiful February day.
Once you cross Coventry Road in Cleveland Hts. You will get to what is a multi-use trail. There is a bike repair stand at the corner of Coventry Rd. and North Park Blvd. From here the multi-use path parallels Fairhill Road which turns into Stokes Blvd on it's way down into the University Circle neighborhood. This trail ends at the Cleveland School of the Arts at the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Stearns Road. From here you connect to the Harrison Dillard Bikeway and can ride down to the museums on Wade Oval. I chose to ride down to the Cleveland Museum of Art before turning around and heading back. If you stay on the Harrison Dillard Bikeway, you will parallel Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd north down to the Lake Erie shoreline.
Two points to note: First, this is not a family friendly route. Most of the roads along this route are heavily trafficked. The bike lanes on North Park Blvd. are fairly wide and traffic doesn't seem to be too busy except during morning and evening rush hour. North Park and Fairhill Road seem to be popular non-freeway routes in and out of downtown Cleveland. If you use caution, obey traffic lights, and crosswalk signals getting into and out of University Circle will be fine. Secondly, there is a bit of a climb if you are heading south from University Circle toward Shaker Lakes. It is not too steep but you will be climbing almost the whole way back to Horseshoe Lake. The steepest part will be from Carnegie Avenue up to Coventry Road.
This trail is actually closer to 8 miles long, point to point running from kidds mill bridge to big bend. It's a great trail for all levels of hiking or trail running, with great views of the river and wildlife along the whole length of the trail, and is the only primitive hiking trail in the area. A great group of volunteers and the Shenango River Watchers put in alot of work getting the trail cleared up and bringing it back to life. When its wet out, it can be muddy in spots, and when its warm out, there are bugs, because well you are in the great outdoors! 😁
1/8/2020 Decided to take a little hike on Kidds Mill trail intending to scout out a proposed loop trail and then hike on to the Shenango Trail. Scouted past eroded bluff and rejoined Kidds Mill trail. 25° degrees and sunny, fresh trackless snow. About a half hour in, a dense snow squall dumped another inch of snow on the previous blanket. Snowed hard enough to limit visibility to 50 yards. Wildlife was absent during the height of the squall which lasted 30 minutes. After the band moved through, spotted three doe and a perched bald eagle. Hiked total 5 miles out and back. Great day, quiet, no fellow hikers.
Great hike. Trail is marked with white blazes and the towpath trail has a blue dot in the white blaze. North Bend to Kidds Mill Bridge was 9.2 miles. There’s a parking area at Hamburg rd which I think is about halfway.
Beautiful trail along the Shenango River. A suspension bridge near North Bend Rd is a bonus. Horses and bikes welcome. Follow the white blazes - the towpath has a blue dot on the white blaze. Relatively flat. North bend to Kidd’s mill bridge was 9.2 miles for me.
New Years' Day hike on the Shenango Trail. 35° and sunny. Spotted three bald eagles; two juveniles and one mature bird. Several hawks sighted by river. Lots of deer sign and evidence of beaver work. Hiked two miles, out and back from Big Bend. Shared the trail with a family of three from Hermitage, PA.
Had a brisk winter hike on the Kidds Mill/Shenango Trails. Sunny, but only 25°at 2 PM. Began at Kidds Mill bridge; no hiker tracks but lots of squirrel, rabbit, dear and coyote sign. Spotted a mature bald eagle as the trail neared the river; screeched and took off flying from the riverbank. Canada geese along the river surface. Trail surface frozen in most spots; some muddy breakthroughs on creek crossings. Skirted around the beaver pond/bog area at the end of Kidds Mill trail and picked up Shenango Trail at mile 1. Hiked an additional 1.5 miles to the beaver pond near Spook Hollow road. Pond frozen, therefore no waterfowl or beaver activities. Met up with a SRW member on the way out. Both trails are clear of obstructions and dry/frozen. The bypass skirting the pond at the end of Kidds Mill allows you to extend the hike another 2 plus miles one way.
Walked the entire trail from New Hamburg to Big Bend on Dec. 16, 2019. Trail is completely open; free of tree obstructions and brush. Recently completed swinging bridge bypass is open and passable; although 'muck' boots are needed to cross the first stream. Boots are helpful the entire length of trail this time of year due to high stream volumes. Trail muddy in spots: PLEASE do not go off trail to avoid mud; it only makes the problem worse. Lots of evidence of deer traffic on the trail. Lots of squirrels sited and beaver work on riverbank; look for freshly gnawed saplings on your right going south. Work being performed throughout trail to mitigate water and mud concerns. All bridges are passable. Small reroute on Towpath Trail clearly marked. A small reroute is also pink flagged north of bridge no. 1 near Camp Nazareth to avoid water on trail.
The trail north of New Hamburg is completely open to Kidds Mill trail but is for the adventurous and well equipped. Muck boots are definitely needed for a small section just north of New Hamburg and for crossing atop of a large beaver dam at mile 1 north. Beaver are active at dusk each day and can be observed from either end of the dam. Best viewed from the northern end. Waterfowl are also abundant in the pond. At about 1.5 miles north of New Hamburg there is a blazed reroute away from private property and a cow pasture; also signage directing trail traffic. The connection with Kidds Mill trail at 2.8 miles north New Hamburg continues to be a water problem. The beaver have expanded their pond and flooded the existing puncheon bridges. The area can be bypassed by going to the right, skirting the flooded area and rejoining the Kidds Mill trail after a short off trail walk.
The Shenango Trail is a hidden gem for those who want a semi-primitive adventure. Don't be scared off by the challenge of the trail. Be prepared for all conditions and to observe lots of wildlife.
Sunday afternoon ride in December on a day it reached 40 degrees. Quite a few people out enjoying the afternoon. As always a great ride on a great trail.
Grin & Bear It race held annually in November to benefit the trail. 300 participants in 3 different races....half-marathon, 10k and 5k. Started at the Leetonia trailhead.
Weather conditions were terrible. Cold and damp since it rained all night. Then add in some wind. But this year was a record breaking attendance to benefit the trail.
New parking lot added which is called the Franklin Square Parking area. The trail was newly paved the first few miles at the Leetonia end. It was much needed!
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
