Find the top rated birding trails in Sharon, 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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One of the nicest days weather wise we've had in about 6 weeks! Took advantage of the 60 degree temp and hit the trail. Always a great ride, the trail offers flat open areas and some hills.
Some restrooms are open along the trail.
It's been cold for quite a while now but one Sunday the temps got up into the 40's and a lot of people took advantage of the trail that day. Cyclists, walkers, and runners. It was good to see that many people out. Most of the restrooms are closed for the Winter but there are still a few open. The marina is empty as all the boats were removed. Saw 2 different bald eagles.
We drove to Emlenton where we picked up the trailhead and headed north. The scenery was beautiful riding along the river. Being October, the trail was heavily covered in fallen leaves, which made it difficult to see the hooved up asphalt on the trail. We were surprised that the trail was so bumpy, and it made for careful riding. There was one spot just north of the first tunnel that was very bad where water bottles bounced out of my basket onto the trail. Some kind of marking would definitely be helpful in that spot. The tunnels were exciting and scary at the same time, especially meeting riders coming from the opposite direction. The reflectors are positioned so the trail is split into two lanes through the tunnel, but we found it difficult to stay in one lane without running over the middle reflectors. Next time I will get a headlamp and not hold a flashlight. We weren't sure what to expect from the detour after reading others' reviews. I have to say it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. The detour took us onto a wide uphill rocky path - great for mountain bikes but not road bikes. We pushed our bikes on the inclines and rode on the downhill grades. I have to caution other riders on the last long, downhill grade. Even with braking to a slow ride, I still skidded out and wrecked into a ditch. First wipe out for me. My husband said we were 100 feet from reconnecting to the asphalt trail. Overall the trail is level, but we did notice a very slight incline riding north to south, which probably explains why the first 17+ miles were so easy! It is constant peddling either direction. It was definitely a ride to remember and well worth the 90-minute drive from NE Ohio. As others have stated, you need to carry adequate fluids and be prepared if nature calls. We only saw the one porta potty at the trail head in Emlenton. Because we thoroughly researched the reviews, we were prepared. We rode from Emlenton to Brandon, covering 35.5 miles roundtrip. Next time we will go to Oil City and ride south and cover that section of trail. I would give the trail a 4-4.5 only because of the lack of facilities and the maintenance needed on the trail.
Adding to what smk wrote in the preceding review: The trail is indeed closed a short distance south of Kirk Rd. because of construction on a new I-76 underpass. Going south, the detour around this closure is: West on Kirk Rd, south on Turner Rd., east on Herbert Rd. While the extra distance due to this detour is not much, I gave up on it because Turner road is narrow, shoulderless, and hilly. There is no visibility over hilltops, and a car speeding over one is too likely to knock down a cyclist on the other side. Unsafe, in my opinion. So the remedy was to ride back to the northern trail end, put the bike on the car, drive to the southern trail end, and ride north to the closure point. This interruption spoiled an otherwise nice ride. Based on the work crew I saw (just two guys), this construction job could take a long time.
This is an excellent trail. All paved, mostly flat with only minor inclines, good facilities. Please disregard reviews prior to 2016 because construction was completed in 2015. The only problem is that the description in TrailLink lacks adequate detail, so I would like to provide the following info. Please refer to the TrailLink map to make sense of this info:
This trail is made up of three separate segments in Ohio's Portage County. Two of these segments are sort of connected, and the third is actually the extension of another trail altogether. All three segments run roughly in the east-west direction.
1) The southernmost segment runs along the Cuyahoga River in its western half and through the center of the Kent State University campus in its eastern half. It is about 4 miles long, one way. Expect heavy pedestrian traffic on the campus section on class days.
2) The middle segment runs from a point north-east of Ravenna to downtown Kent. It is about 9 miles long, one way. It is mostly a nature trail.
3) The northernmost segment, also known as the Franklin Connector, is just a 1.6 mile extension of the "Hike & Bike Trail", which TrailLink describes and maps separately under that name. (No "Portage" in the latter name.)
Segments 1 and 2 are connected by a rideable north-south foot path along the Cuyahoga River in Kent's Franklin Mills River Edge Park. At one point, you have to choose between leaving the path and going briefly on River St, which is parallel to the path, OR carrying your bike up or down some stairs. Important : I recommend using the foot path as much as possible when traveling between the segments 1 and 2. You could ride on Kent city streets, but they are complicated and the views along the foot path are much nicer.
Nice trail, but note that it is closed at mile 5 (from the north). Work being done on highway overpasse
Though this trail is relatively short, it's short and sweet and to the point! Basically flat trail runs from Sharpsville to the rail trestle on Shenango Lake. Some of the trail is canopy shaded and other areas are open. There is street parking at the Sharpsville end, and a small lot towards the end of the trail at mile 1.9. Completely asphalt paved. The trail passes the Shenango Dam as well as the lake. For a side trip, you can venture into Sharpsville and check out the old canal lock. Off the trail is some great fishing!
Labor Day Weekend we biked 31 miles. Parked at Sunside Trailhead in Champion and headed North to Orwell, and back. Makes for a nice 30+ mile trek. It's 15 1/2 miles from Champion to Orwell. Newly repaved section near Orwell. While passing the Wildlife viewing area we noticed the observation deck/platform has been removed. It's been falling apart so this is probably a good thing.
The Central section is 8.3 miles of Asphalt Pavement. Newly paved is most of the South section from Headwaters Park to Middlefield Square, which is 6.5 miles. The trail does continue on the other side of Middlefield Square. It's not paved.
Two new Trailheads with shelters and maps and beautiful flower gardens. At Headwaters Park Trailhead there is a new shelter. A completely new trailhead is at Tare Creek Road which offers a shelter and plenty of parking.
Along the Central Section is the newly constructed Claridon Woodlands Park featuring 3 separate paved trails totaling 2.2 miles. Also Recreation areas including a ropes course, pump track/single mountain bike track, boulder wall and a Nature-based playground.
There is an uphill grade from Headwaters Park towards Chardon.
A great trail now is 12 miles of asphalt pavement and has five covered bridges.
trail was well maintained. rode right along river. we started at cowanshannock trail and headed up river. parking easy to find. mild grade nothing exceptional. after bike ride, we walked cowanshannock trail to see buttermilk falls.
Nice trail but very poor signage in Middlefield, can go several different ways and not marked if you do not know the area. One route takes you through a parking lot which is not safe.
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