Find the top rated birding trails in Sheffield Lake, 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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I think this should probably be renamed the “Cleveland LakeNear Bikeway”. We rode it from the northern end and it starts in a beautiful park with a marina and beach but quickly dead ends in a parking lot behind a highrise. We probably missed a sign but it’s pretty easy to find the continuation on a very busy section of Lakeshore Blvd that does have a marked bike lane but requires vigilant urban riding skills. After a couple miles it becomes much less trafficked going by beautiful homes and gardens. It then gets pretty ugly again for a few miles approaching downtown when you’re still on road sandwiched between noisy I-90, a mostly industrial area, and an airport.
We didn’t bother to continue past downtown because the ride was so disappointing.
The trail is well marked, relatively flat, and well paved but mostly on the road.
There are rare glimpses of the lake. If you’re looking for a family friendly ride this is definitely not for you.
This is a smooth, flat, clean trail which is in excellent condition. The locals love it. In the summers when I ride, I always see people of all ages walking, skating and bicycling. There is one section where you have to go out into a country road for about a mile. It’s my least favorite part of the trail, but I suppose the residents did not authorize their backyards to be used for the trail. There is ample parking at either end of the trail, as well as in strategic points along the way. The railroad is very active, providing an element of loud excitement for the whole family. At the Rittman end of the trail is a quaint little restaurant called The Depot, situated in a former train station. It’s a great place for a meal as part of your riding day. We absolutely love this trail.
This is a very nice short trail. Fairly new, so still in good shape, hopefully be able to keep it like that. Slightly uphill from Rittman to Creston. Short lightly traveled road section in Sterling. A lot of options to take to the roads for a longer ride.
Nice trail, crushed gravel. Usually not as busy as the other side of the river, the Canal Trail. You have more chance of seeing people riding their horses on this section. They have right of way.
The Summit County portion of the trail is maintained well for skaters; Portage County, not so much—they don’t clean up the debris well and the tree root bumps are a pain. I’d recommend ALU wheels no smaller than 84mm in size in order to safely clear stones and sticks. The inclines at most of the road intersection are brutal not only due to their steepness but also because of the blind spots caused by curves. It’s the only Bike and Hike path where I actually wear protective gear. Freedom Trail (off 261 and Middlebury Rd) is ideal for skaters except for the absolutely terrible and frequent road intersections the further west you travel (from Kent).
Have split up the trail into several sections from Cleveland to Mass. Really enjoy it. Curious if section North of Mustill Store is open yet. Had been rerouted for sewer project, I think.
Found several articles and pictures about the new trailhead on Mill St. in Akron. YEEHA!!! Drove on over. Found some nice artwork on the bridge abutments, some new grass, BUT the trail was just 2 dirt tracks covered with weeds. BUMMER!!! Drove east on Mill and N Forge, turned right on N Arlington and found a new trailhead. All done except for the signs. (See photo) Surrounded by scrap yards and kind of desolate, but parked anyway. Hopped on the bike and rode west toward Akron on a surprisingly beautiful tree-lined and shaded paved trail. Crossed a newly redecked Erie RR bridge over N Forge. Rode under noisy SR8 and then came to an abrupt end of the pavement and a Road Closed sign. (See photo). Think I was about behind Famous Supply on N Union. No trail access there, but did see a neighborhood access back East of SR8. Rode back east, back past the scrap yards, over a new bridge over a RR track and onto the existing trail at Eastwood Ave. Near Eastwood is more wide open since the trail follows power lines. Love what somebody wrote on the Road Closed sign "Finish me Akron....I go nowhere". It'll be nice to someday be able to ride all the way from the Towpath Trail to Ravenna. Just not today......Bikin-Mike 7/8/2018
Beautiful park. Trails are well maintain. Bullfrogs croaking, birds chirping, blue herons, bunnies, families of geese and beautiful vegetation and sparkling lake are some of the wonderful things you will see and hear on your ride. Enjoy ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿!
This is a section that I had not ridden before as it is not part of the Ohio to Erie Trail Route. This is a nice trail with several nice trailheads along the way, but the quality of the trail surface is not as good as that of the crushed limestone surface of the Towpath heading north toward Cleveland. The limestone surface in this portion of the trail is inconsistent. Some areas are typical of the Towpath overall, but in many areas the surface is more of a hard-packed dirt, which would mean mud after periods of rain. In other areas rain runoff has piled the limestone up into soft, loose areas that would be difficult for bikes with thinner tires. Occasionally, you will ride over short sections of pavement which I believe have been put down in areas where there may be flooding problems. Overall I found the condition of the towpath in this section pretty good, but not necessarily up to the quality of sections further north.
In terms of the area and sights along this section I enjoyed this trail. The further south you traveled the more rural the surrounding countryside became. While I might find myself traveling alone for several miles, I did not feel isolated. I came across other cyclists and quite a few pedestrians, through out my ride; not bad for a summer weekday morning.
My one complaint is that the map here in TrailLink shows the trail ending at the McDonnell Trailhead on State Route 212 northwest of Bolivar, Ohio. The trail does pick up after a short ride along Route 212 and makes a link to the Zoar Valley Trail after following bike paths, streets, and sidewalks to the Fort Laurens Memorial Site south of the town. This through-town bike route is well marked. It is much safer than following 212 through town.
Other than the short stretch of Bridge Road that links Swine Creek to Middlefield, the trail is now paved south from Mountain Run.
However, as of May 2018, there were a couple 1 to 2-foot sections of the trail that'd been cut out for some sort of maintenance and filled with gravel, which had started to wash out due to rain. I found these jarring - even on my mountain. Recommend roadies either dismount, or slow to a near stop so you can see the terrain.
Also, Bridge Road is in rougher condition due to the presence of buggies - but this can be ridden on a road bike with a little extra care so as to not wipe out in a rut, or road apples! Hybrids and mountain bikes will have no issue here.
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.
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