Find the top rated bike trails in Shelby, 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.
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True to its name, the Heart of Ohio Trail lies in the central part of the state, extending from Mount Vernon southwest to the Knox-Licking County line just south of Centerburg. Along its nearly 16...
Holmes County, located in northeastern Ohio, is the heart of the state’s Amish country. Visitors to this rural enclave will find meandering country roads and bucolic natural areas, as well as the...
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The North Coast Inland Trail is a series of trails across multiple northern Ohio counties that, as they expand and connect, are emerging as an impressive long-distance trail between Cleveland and...
The Steel Mill Trail is a 2-mile continuation of the Bridgeway Trail, which lies within the Black River Reservation, a scenic wooded park in Lorain. The Steel Mill Trail picks up at the north end of...
The Heartland Trail is a developing rail-trail project that will one day connect the northeastern Ohio communities of Orrville and Clinton. A mile of the pathway is already on the ground in Orrville,...
The Huron River Greenway MetroPark Trail has two separate segments, each just under 1 mile long. The northern (Huron) segment runs from DuPont Marsh State Nature Preserve off River Road and heads...
The Marion Tallgrass Trail is a developing rail-trail which will extend from Marion westward on a former Erie Lackawanna Railway corridor. The line was part of the Erie Lackawanna’s main line that...
The Sawmill Parkway Trail is a shared use path running the length of the parkway from Delaware to Powell. The trail is paved and mostly sits on the west side of the road. Along the trail are...
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Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
Traveling just over 18 miles through some of the most scenic areas of the Buckeye State, the Richland B&O Trail is an ideal way to immerse yourself in the region. Built partially as a result of the...
The Meredith State Road Trail is a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail in Centerburg, Ohio. From Meredith State Road, the paved trail heads northeast within a wooded corridor towards the border between...
The Chippewa Rail Trail runs for 2.4 miles between Chippewa Road (SR 50) in Chippewa Lake to suburban Wycliffe Drive southwest of Medina (Lafayette Township). The trail is mostly rural in feel,...
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Fredericktown's Owl Creek Trail is a mile-and-a-half of smooth asphalt pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. The trail's starting point is the Fredericktown Community Park, which hosts many town...
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The North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT) represents a regional collaboration among park districts across the Buckeye State to connect trails linking Ohio to Indiana and Pennsylvania. Begin this section...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
The Brideway Trail is found within the Black River Reservation, a park in Lorain County, where you can walk, jog, inline skate, cross-country ski or bike. The trail runs between Day's Dam in Lorain...
The Village of Sunbury makes its own contribution to the expansive Ohio-to-Erie Trail with the Sandel Legacy Trail. The trailhead on Columbus and Vernon Street offers an early treat: a model railroad...
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...
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The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
Although the Downtown Connector Trail is short, just a mile through Mount Vernon, it's a key connector between the Kokosing Gap Trail, which heads east to Danville, and the Heart of Ohio Trail, which...
The Meredith State Road Trail is a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail in Centerburg, Ohio. From Meredith State Road, the paved trail heads northeast within a wooded corridor towards the border between...
The Kokosing Gap Trail delights visitors with its rich railroad history, which is on display throughout the paved route. Once the corridor of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the rail-trail now connects the...
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The County Line Trail travels the path of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad between Rittman and Creston. A highlight of the trail is a former Baltimore & Ohio freight station located just west of...
The Loudonville Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway is nestled in a scenic valley in a small town nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio." The trail begins in downtown Loudonville, crosses the Blackfork...
The Lester Rail Trail in Ohio's Medina County runs 3 miles between Abbeyville Road and Lester Road in York Township. The trail passes through bucolic farmland with scattered remnants of prairie, where...
The Heartland Trail is a developing rail-trail project that will one day connect the northeastern Ohio communities of Orrville and Clinton. A mile of the pathway is already on the ground in Orrville,...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The Genoa Trail runs between Northgate Way in Westerville and Plumb Road south of Galena, paralleling the east side of State Route 3. The trail is separated from the road by a nice corridor of trees,...
The North Coast Inland Trail is a series of trails across multiple northern Ohio counties that, as they expand and connect, are emerging as an impressive long-distance trail between Cleveland and...
The Sawmill Parkway Trail is a shared use path running the length of the parkway from Delaware to Powell. The trail is paved and mostly sits on the west side of the road. Along the trail are...
The Village of Sunbury makes its own contribution to the expansive Ohio-to-Erie Trail with the Sandel Legacy Trail. The trailhead on Columbus and Vernon Street offers an early treat: a model railroad...
Traveling just over 18 miles through some of the most scenic areas of the Buckeye State, the Richland B&O Trail is an ideal way to immerse yourself in the region. Built partially as a result 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 North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
The Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
Although the Downtown Connector Trail is short, just a mile through Mount Vernon, it's a key connector between the Kokosing Gap Trail, which heads east to Danville, and the Heart of Ohio Trail, which...
The North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT) represents a regional collaboration among park districts across the Buckeye State to connect trails linking Ohio to Indiana and Pennsylvania. Begin this section...
The Chippewa Rail Trail runs for 2.4 miles between Chippewa Road (SR 50) in Chippewa Lake to suburban Wycliffe Drive southwest of Medina (Lafayette Township). The trail is mostly rural in feel,...
True to its name, the Heart of Ohio Trail lies in the central part of the state, extending from Mount Vernon southwest to the Knox-Licking County line just south of Centerburg. Along its nearly 16...
The North Coast Inland Trail is a series of trails across multiple northern Ohio counties that, as they expand and connect, are emerging as an impressive long-distance trail between Cleveland and...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
The Steel Mill Trail is a 2-mile continuation of the Bridgeway Trail, which lies within the Black River Reservation, a scenic wooded park in Lorain. The Steel Mill Trail picks up at the north end of...
Fredericktown's Owl Creek Trail is a mile-and-a-half of smooth asphalt pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. The trail's starting point is the Fredericktown Community Park, which hosts many town...
The Loudonville Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway is nestled in a scenic valley in a small town nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio." The trail begins in downtown Loudonville, crosses the Blackfork...
The Village of Sunbury makes its own contribution to the expansive Ohio-to-Erie Trail with the Sandel Legacy Trail. The trailhead on Columbus and Vernon Street offers an early treat: a model railroad...
The Kokosing Gap Trail delights visitors with its rich railroad history, which is on display throughout the paved route. Once the corridor of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the rail-trail now connects the...
The Meredith State Road Trail is a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail in Centerburg, Ohio. From Meredith State Road, the paved trail heads northeast within a wooded corridor towards the border between...
The Lester Rail Trail in Ohio's Medina County runs 3 miles between Abbeyville Road and Lester Road in York Township. The trail passes through bucolic farmland with scattered remnants of prairie, where...
The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
For visitors and locals alike, the Olentangy Trail is the ideal way to explore Columbus, the dynamic capital of Ohio, as well as the surrounding communities. Named after the eponymous river it follows...
The North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT) represents a regional collaboration among park districts across the Buckeye State to connect trails linking Ohio to Indiana and Pennsylvania. Begin this section...
Although the Downtown Connector Trail is short, just a mile through Mount Vernon, it's a key connector between the Kokosing Gap Trail, which heads east to Danville, and the Heart of Ohio Trail, which...
The Hoover Scenic Trail continues north from the paved Genoa Trail to Weise Road just south of Galena. The trail follows the northwestern shoreline of the sprawling Hoover Reservoir within a scenic...
The Brideway Trail is found within the Black River Reservation, a park in Lorain County, where you can walk, jog, inline skate, cross-country ski or bike. The trail runs between Day's Dam in Lorain...
The Huron River Greenway MetroPark Trail has two separate segments, each just under 1 mile long. The northern (Huron) segment runs from DuPont Marsh State Nature Preserve off River Road and heads...
The Heartland Trail is a developing rail-trail project that will one day connect the northeastern Ohio communities of Orrville and Clinton. A mile of the pathway is already on the ground in Orrville,...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
The Marion Tallgrass Trail is a developing rail-trail which will extend from Marion westward on a former Erie Lackawanna Railway corridor. The line was part of the Erie Lackawanna’s main line that...
I made the trek up from the Columbus area today to check out the Marion Tallgrass Trail. It's just over 12 miles long, and almost as straight as an arrow. For the first couple miles you are by farm fields, but there is at least a little bit of woods for most of the remaining 10 miles.
It's a tough call between 4 and 5 stars. Let's start with the positives. The woods make it peaceful, and shaded. And there is a lot of wildlife, especially for a trail that isn't exactly in the middle of a forest. I saw quite a few deer, a rabbits, squirrels, and a medium-large bird which walked (not flew) away from me; my best guess is it may have been a pheasant. There's more wildlife as you go west; this time of year may also be near peak wildlife season, shortly before the major hunting seasons begin. And best of all, the wildlife I encountered did not include the swarms of mosquitoes others mentioned (I visited in mid-October, on a day with a high in the low 60s).
On the not-quite-five-star side, are that it can be pretty windy (especially near the windmills on the east side; who'd have thought they'd put windmills in a windy place?), there are some bumps between miles 4 and 5 that could use smoothing out, and that aside from the wildlife, it's not an especially scenic trail. Oh, and the farm around mile 6 that uses natural fertilizer; it has usurped first place for worst-smelling place I've been by on a bike trail.
Comparing the level of scenicness to other regional trails, I'd put it ahead of the Heritage Trail in Hilliard, slightly behind the Richland County B&O Trail, and behind the Alum Creek Trail in Columbus, which despite being in a city is for the most part a very scenic trail.
Facilities are somewhat improved from what is on the TrailLink map; there is also a port-a-john around mile 8 (I didn't note the exact location), and there's a water fountain at the eastern trailhead (mile zero; I didn't verify that it is functional). The official site also lists parking at mile 8.4 (probably the same park area with the port-a-john), 1.75 (an ODNR grassy lot), and at the Espyville Baptist Church by mile 3.7, when church is not in session.
The other thing that's a bit odd about the trail is that it currently doesn't connect any population centers, despite its 12+ mile length. There are some dwellings nearby, but unless you're one of the few dozen people who live nearby (mostly in a trailer park around mile 5), you have to drive to the trail. Looking at a map, it's easy to see that the reason it can't easily be extended east is that there's an active rail yard to the east. Still, figuring out a way to extend it into Marion (population 35,000) would likely improve its visibility to a lot of people, and significantly increase ridership; it would also encourage out-of-towners like myself to stop in Marion.
I recently rode 18.73 miles on an out-and- back ride on the Sawmill Parkway Trail between the cities of Powell and Delaware, Ohio. This trail is an example of a trail type that is indicative of many midwestern cities, such as Columbus, Ohio, where surrounding once rural farming communities are transitioning into more developed suburbs. This trail is similar to other Columbus area trails such as the the Buckeye Parkway Multi-Use Path in Grove City and the Hellbranch Trail in Hilliard. It appears that the Sawmill Parkway Trail is destined to become the spine of a developing trail system between the communities of Powell and Delaware as this area of Delaware County transitions into a Columbus suburb. As you travel north on this trail you can see that it is much easier to put these trails in before open land is developed rather than trying to fit in a trail after an area has built up. Kudos to local government officials for being forward thinking. At present, the northern end of the trail is much more rural. Here, farm land is found on both sides of Sawmill Parkway, but there are already roadway cut-ins into these fields anticipating continued development of the land into future residential, retail, and commercial areas. As growth occurs, more trails will need to be built along the streets crossing Sawmill Parkway in order to create greater access for the area’s present and future residents in order to make the Sawmill Parkway Trail into a useful alternative transportation network.
As for the trail itself, it is a paved pathway that is in good shape, although the southern end in Powell is beginning to show its age. The trail itself crosses Sawmill Parkway twice, once at Big Bear Avenue in Powell and again at the US-42 intersection in Delaware. Definitely use the crosswalk call buttons at these crossings. Automobile traffic on Sawmill Parkway is heavier on the southern end of the trail from the shopping district to Olentangy Liberty High School. Extra caution should be taken at street crossings in this area by following pedestrian crossing signals. Starting with the Sawmill Parkway-Hyatts Road intersection, traffic lights have been replaced with roundabouts. There are five of these roundabouts along northbound Sawmill Parkway until you reach a final traffic light where the parkway runs into US-42 in Delaware. The trail’s street crossings at these roundabouts have been moved out from the center of the circles. Visibility is good for the trail users at these traffic circles but caution should still be practiced here, particularly when traveling south on the trail. This is because southbound cars could be turning right onto the street you’re crossing from behind your line of sight. Traffic becomes lighter as you enter more rural areas the further north you go along the trail. However, as the area along the parkway develops, traffic will become heavier and these crossings at the roundabouts may become more problematic.
Construction has begun north from Hartford Road seemingly to connect to the southern most part of the Meredith State Road trail. The gaps are being filled in and this will be an awesome trail connecting Westerville and Columbus to Mt. Vernon and beyond when completed.
I rode this yesterday for the first time. My route was from the end point back to the Lester Trail parking lot. What a great shaded ride! The only problem I encountered was newly placed gravel in the parking lot.
I love the open space on this route. Smooth path and very scenic.
The trail is close-by and I enjoy the ride. Lots of trees and relatively smooth trail. A couple of bumps along the way due to root growth.
Have traveled Danville to Glenmont multiple times. The trail is mostly covered with shade from the trees and that is the reason I like riding it. I don't mind the horse poo on the trail just go around. What I do mind is the buggies not giving any room to pass. This weekend had two buggies not giving but a foot or two to pass around. Guess I'll need a rather loud horn rather than a bell from now on!
I've ridden this trail quite a few times in the past and did it again today. There are places where one has to be holding on firmly with both hands when some of the bumps are hit, otherwise a wreck could be imminent. I experienced this 5-6 times, mostly in the woods where you can't see the root bumps. Also I had 3 separate encounters with other bikers who were riding straight at me in my lane on 3 of the big curves on the trail. I don't plan on riding this one again any time soon, as there are other trails in central Ohio that I like better.
We rode this trail on a hot and humid day and enjoyed the shady tree canopy. The surface is currently crushed gravel not asphalt. We began at the surprisingly nice trailhead on the east end of Danville and continued over the covered bridge and through the short tunnel onto the southern section of the Holmes County Trail. At this point the trail was very nice asphalt and definitely a steady uphill!
I’m from California where we like to say we have great bike trails. Nothing we have can compare to this trail. Flat, scenic, paved and absolutely charming ice cream stop in Butler, Five Points Ice Cream¿¿
I cycle this trail several times a week, year round. It's quiet and peaceful, a corridor of nature. Two weeks ago a large owl flew in front of me and landed on a tree. I often see bald eagles near Marion Community Foundation Lake, and I spotted an osprey recently. In the last month I've seen a fox twice and many deer, including fawns. I've also seen a family of baby raccoons often the last few weeks.
I often stop for ice cream in downtown Marion after my ride, or add on a 13 mile loop from the west end of the trail to explore Hardin County's Amish Country on quiet roads.
A reviewer mentioned mosquitoes. These are sometimes a problem for walkers in the evening when there is not much breeze, but aren't a problem for me because they can't fly fast enough to catch a cyclist.
I especially love the tunnel under Riley Road, and the area just east and west of the tunnel. The sunsets over Marion Community Foundation Lake can be spectacular.
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