Find the top rated bike trails in Parkersburg, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Old Town Creek Trail is a short but scenic pathway in Logan, the gateway to the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio. The trail links the county fairgrounds not far from Logan’s downtown to...
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The Great Guernsey Trail runs for 6 miles from the eastern edge of Cambridge to Lore City. The paved trail occupies a former CSX railroad corridor through rural wooded countryside. Because it...
The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway is one of southeast Ohio’s hidden trail gems. Tucked into the foothills of Appalachia, this 20-mile trail gives a sampling of the best the Buckeye State has to offer:...
Marietta’s River Trail runs for more than 3 miles along the Muskingum River through the city situated just across the Ohio River from West Virginia. The paved trail passes through Marietta’s quaint...
The Little Kanawha Connector Trail stretches west to east across Parkersburg, a city located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers in West Virginia. The trail is a combination of...
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The Great Guernsey Trail runs for 6 miles from the eastern edge of Cambridge to Lore City. The paved trail occupies a former CSX railroad corridor through rural wooded countryside. Because it...
The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway is one of southeast Ohio’s hidden trail gems. Tucked into the foothills of Appalachia, this 20-mile trail gives a sampling of the best the Buckeye State has to offer:...
The Little Kanawha Connector Trail stretches west to east across Parkersburg, a city located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers in West Virginia. The trail is a combination of...
Marietta’s River Trail runs for more than 3 miles along the Muskingum River through the city situated just across the Ohio River from West Virginia. The paved trail passes through Marietta’s quaint...
The Old Town Creek Trail is a short but scenic pathway in Logan, the gateway to the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio. The trail links the county fairgrounds not far from Logan’s downtown to...
The Great Guernsey Trail runs for 6 miles from the eastern edge of Cambridge to Lore City. The paved trail occupies a former CSX railroad corridor through rural wooded countryside. Because it...
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way between Bidwell and Gallipolis, at the Ohio River. Though are plans to develop a total of 28 miles (to include Vinton County...
The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway is one of southeast Ohio’s hidden trail gems. Tucked into the foothills of Appalachia, this 20-mile trail gives a sampling of the best the Buckeye State has to offer:...
The Old Town Creek Trail is a short but scenic pathway in Logan, the gateway to the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio. The trail links the county fairgrounds not far from Logan’s downtown to...
The Little Kanawha Connector Trail stretches west to east across Parkersburg, a city located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers in West Virginia. The trail is a combination of...
Marietta’s River Trail runs for more than 3 miles along the Muskingum River through the city situated just across the Ohio River from West Virginia. The paved trail passes through Marietta’s quaint...
I am rating this based on my experience only. Riding mountain bikes..started at the end of the trail, around mile 70 went about 8 miles in and turned around.
The trail started out very muddy and then after that we were riding mostly on grass, although the ground was hard as if it was previously paved so it wasnt an impossible pedal. Not very scenic in the parts I saw, riding mostly alongside a highway and near homes.
I would not recommend this trail
This is our local rail trail, so we use it because it is convenient for biking with the family. We have covered from North Bend State Park to the Eastern Terminus near Wolf Summit on hybrid bikes and a trailer for our two small children.
The Good: The section between Ellenboro and North Bend State Park is beautiful! Surface is good, very scenic, a joyous experience! From Central Station to Smithburg has been re-surfaced this year, and is also very nice. Central Station Tunnel is now well surfaced and passable. Tunnels in general are really cool! The kids get a kick out of them. I like the fact that there is little concern with road traffic, especially with the children in tow.
The Bad: While the section b/w Ellenboro and North Bend State Park is great, it is also frequented by horses. With horses comes manure...that is sometimes impossible to dodge. Trail surface around Central Station is in progress (uneven, industrial gravel, etc). Trail surface east of Smithburg is fair until you get past the Long Run Tunnell, and then things get iffy quickly. The surface between Long Run Rd and West Salem is non-existent in places, there is a large slip between miles 61-63. The trail through that section has a slight uphill grade, which we definitely felt while pulling a trailer and a tag-along bike through tall grass and mud. The trail surface is also horrible in places, muddy, lots of rocks and debris, etc from East Salem to the Eastern terminus in Wolf Summit. Plan accordingly.
We will keep riding this trail because it is local. It's a great opportunity to get our nephews out and to explore, have adventures, etc. There is an opportunity for some school projects down the road based on our adventures. However, we also look forward to getting somewhere with some asphalt or finer crushed rock as pulling our kids in the trailer is difficult on the current surfaces of certain areas.
In April 2017 a friend and I rode the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway from west of Athens to Nelsonville (about 12 miles each way). The trail is paved and generally good (occasional bumps from roots). Route is shaded and follows the Hocking River with mile markers every half mile. Bluebells and trillium were putting on a show - thanks to the folks who planted them! At Nelsonville the trail peters out - would be nice to have directional sign to Fullbrook Cafe or other eateries. Bring hydration as nowhere to stop in between towns.
Nice ride. Trail well taken care of. Started at Hocking College parking lot. A little difficult to follow directions to parking lot. By accident we ended up at college parking lot along side trail. Beautiful scenery at this time of the year. Gorgeous wildflowers all around trail. Only rode 10 miles. Look forward to starting in Athens and seeing that end of the trail.
I try to ride the Hockhocking trail at least two times a year. It is one of my favorite rides and catching it on a weekday when it is not so busy, especially on the Athens side is great BUT catching it when the weather and spring wildflowers were showcasing the very "Best Of" made for the perfect ride. The trilliums and wild phlox were in full bloom as were the fields of bluebells planted along the bikeway giving the surreal appearance of riding on clouds. Much work has been done in maintaining the trails right-of-way clearing trees and brush and to the trail itself with the freshly painted mile markers done with a Native American style. (kudos to the folks that keep this a 5star trail!) Me and my 75-year old friend Dave rode from the trail head at the outskirts of Athens to Nelsonville and back. It is almost a 40 mile ride but I usually tack on the difference to make a legitimate 40-miler. It never fails that I observe something new every time I travel this trail... this time, I saw several concrete structures used to support the old rail line. I like the history stuff associated with rail trails and try to envision what it must've been like when the earliest Ohioans used these canal and rail lines to transport goods and materials into the edges of the new west. I look forward to at least one more drive (almost 2 hours one-way) to the Hockhocking Adena and chance to ride this GREAT rail trail!
This trail could really be a nice riding experience. Its maintenance is very spotty. It does have a number of tunnels which is unique. The trail in a number of areas is not maintained. I believe that the multi-use feature deteriorates the trail. ATV and horseback riding results in some of the damage.
Today 10/11/16 traveled thirteen miles on Rt 50 from Ellenboro, WV toward Clarksburg, WV to Central Station Exit. Then went about two miles to Tunnel road on right. Went about half mile to trail entrance on right. From trail entrance to tunnel #6 was about three to four hundred yards. Trail was muddy in places due to recent rail. Inside tunnel was smooth. Lights are needed to go through the tunnel. The tunnel is straight and you can see light at the end. Tunnel road is now being used by fracking companies and there are flaggers to go through. It probably would be better to wait till they are done but I had driven for 45 min to get there and they were very helpful in letting me pass. Nice tunnel to see.
Started in Athens behind Aarons. In a few places trail could be better marked, but managed to get out of town. Trail is mostly through deep woods so is nicely shaded, although also means trail is littered in places with twigs and leaves. Nice to be able to ride 20 miles (each way) with no major road crossings. Bicycle pump station at about mile 7; otherwise not a lot to see until you get to Hocking College and Nelsonville.
I'm spoiled maybe. My home trails are the New River & Virginia Creeper. The North Bend seemed totally gosh forsaken to me. We arrived at the east side early on a Sunday evening, hoping to take advantage of one of the many listed primitive camp sites for the night in order to get an early morning start. We found nothing and went back to Bridgeport for a motel room.
The next day we rode from Pennsboro to Ellenboro and back. Pennsboro is a cute old town with a restaurant and shops to look at. That was pretty much the end of neat things to see and look at. The trail is overgrown. If you want to have a seat on one of the poorly located and sparsely placed benches along the trail, expect to be joined by a foot+ of grass and blistering sun.
The trail itself is very rugged. It could be a nice trail, just doesn't seem that anyone cares to make it so. Two single track lines for coming and going, sometimes just one good one. The tunnel on the way west from Pennsboro seems to have a spring on the west side exit, making a significant pool across that opening and running all the way down one side of the tunnel. At least the water in the pool on the way out was clear and didn't muddy us up when we exited and entered. There are a culvert and a wash out area just west of the tunnel. Those were pretty dicey. I hit a pile of rocks in the wash out area on the return trip and fell. My partner didn't make it across the rutty culvert and careened into the brush.
The gates at crossings made me wonder if the state of WV really wants people to use the trail? They block the entire entrance. If there were large openings to the side, boulders were put down to limit the egress to ~1.5' or 2'. It was very unnerving to me as an above knee amputee struggling to regain my balance on a bicycle. As a former touring cyclist, I had difficulty imagining how a bicycler with a full set of panniers would make it thru without dismounting.
I was excited to reach Ellenboro to see the glass and marble facories mentioned in the description. Ellenboro is all about the drilling boom rather than itemms of interest to trail riders. In fairness, I did see a sign that mentioned marble a few blocks away from the trail. A building just above the trail said "glass outlet", but it looked empty and abandoned. We rode a bit further to make sure this was truly the Ellenboro described, which brought us to the Rt 50 overpass. Aaargh!!! You bottom out in some sandy mess, killing all momentum to get over the rocky climb. Same way both sides. Whoever dreamed that up clearly hates and wishes to sabotage bicycling tourists.
On a positive note, anyone who did wish to ride the full trail r/t would have no trouble setting a simple camp site for the night on the eastern end. Nobody to notice, nobody to care.
Just road this trail from Happy Valley (Parkersburg) to Salem and back as part of a four-day group event. There were definite pros and cons. The tunnels are amazing, including a “raw” tunnel blasted straight out of the rock with no finishing of the walls. We traveled through 10 tunnels each way, some very long and requiring headlamps. The towns of Cairo and Pennsboro were interesting and very welcoming. There’s lots of history to explore in both. There were several small road crossings, but the trail is quiet and away from traffic. And North Bend State Park is a great facility. No reports of problems with dogs, but lots of free-range chickens. The trail is basically flat, with a slight grade going east to west (Salem to Parkersburg).
On the negative side, the condition of the trail is bad. From Parkersburg to North Bend Park (mile 29) the trail is ok: packed gravel with, usually, at least one tire track to ride in. It does get a little bumpy, grassy in some parts and muddy. However, east of North Bend Park to Salem, the trail gets much worse. Often overgrown, packed grass to ride in and sink into, with long muddy patches many of us couldn’t ride through. Repaired sections and road crossings had large (industrial size) gravel and had to be walked. In one tunnel with water problems repairs were made with such large stones it was almost unwalkable.
Be aware there are no water stops, toilet stops, or signage about interesting parts of the trail. I doubt I will do this trail again, unless I hear of significant improvements to its condition.
I parked at Happy Valley Saturday, June 18th and rode to Ellenboro, then back to North Bend State Park where I stayed overnight. Then back to Happy Valley the next morning. I really liked the trail. I have ridden on the Little Miami in OH (paved), the Elroy-Sparta and 400 Trails in WI (crushed limestone), and the entire Katy in Missouri (crush limestone). Compared to these trails, the NB is more primitive, remote, and in somewhat rougher condition, though with wide tires, it's fine. The area on the west end of the supposedly haunted tunnel--Silver Run--was being repaired and after lots of rain, was very rough for about 1/2 a mile, though I was able to stay on my bike and get through it. I would recommend walking your bike in this area unless you have really great wide tires as there are splintered pieces of very sharp shale in the construction zone--came across someone who blew a tube and was walking back some distance to Cairo.
I liked the quiet, lack of adjoining streets and highways when you get beyond the outskirts of Parkersburg, and tunnels are relatively short and a real treat as well. I would recommend the campground at NBSP or the lodge where I stayed--room 208--huge and really nice. The stretch between NBSP and Ellenboro was perhaps the prettiest I saw--the cut through the stone in the that area resembles a beautiful little gorge in places.
Last but not least, a group of 130 riders from the RtoC Conservancy embarked on a multi-day ride from Parkersburg on June 19th, and I came across them between Petroleum and Walker. The first few people I passed were fine, but the trail in that area is pretty much limited to two parallel bands of crushed limestone. A few dozen riders were in the same band (wrong side of the trail) and came right up to me without looking up until the last second and seemed to expect me to veer off to the side to avoid a collision. Would highly recommend schooling groups to be more aware of people come toward them and stay on the right side of the trail. Otherwise, it was good to see them out there having a good time and getting to know the trail.
I recommend it highly and hope to do the eastern half in the fall.
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